Introducing Endometriosis Action Month 2025: raising awareness and driving change

This month (March 2025) marks Endometriosis Action Month, a dedicated campaign to raise awareness about endometriosis - a condition affecting one in ten women and those assigned female at birth in the UK. This year's theme, ‘Endometriosis Explained’, aims to educate the public and healthcare professionals about the symptoms and impact of this often-misunderstood disease. 

Our Mind Matters Initiative aims to support and protect the mental health of veterinary professionals but also has a lot of cross over with our RCVS-wide equity, diversity and inclusion work. We know that physical and mental health are deeply interconnected, and we cannot talk about one without addressing the other. Therefore, raising awareness of conditions such as endometriosis, which can have a huge impact on mental wellbeing, is of vital importance in helping to create a fully inclusive working environment where everybody can feel physically and mentally safe and supported.

Endometriosis explained 

Endometriosis UK is full of useful information all about endometriosis including what the condition is, the different types, and symptoms. 

It defines endometriosis as the following:

Endometriosis occurs when cells similar to the ones in the lining of the womb (uterus) are found elsewhere in the body. These cells can grow and change in response to hormones in the menstrual cycle, this can cause inflammation, pain and scar tissue. 

Endometriosis is most commonly found on the lining of the pelvis (peritoneum) and may occur in the ovaries and involve other pelvic organs, like the bowel or bladder. Less commonly, endometriosis can also be found outside the pelvis, such as in the chest. 

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms of the condition can vary from person to person. Some may have severe debilitating symptoms, whereas others may have no symptoms at all.

Common symptoms, as listed on The Endometriosis Foundation website, include:

• Pelvic pain (pain in your lower abdomen and lower back) 
• Period pain that stops you doing your normal activities  
• Pain during or after sex 
• Fatigue 
• Pain when passing urine or stools 
• Fertility problems

Treating endometriosis

According to the NHS website, endometriosis currently has no cure, but treatments can help manage symptoms such as pain, for example, through medication. They can also help reduce the severity of symptoms, as well as improve quality of life.  
Surgery may also be offered, for example to:

• remove areas of endometriosis or fluid-filled sacs (ovarian cysts) caused by endometriosis. 
• remove the womb (hysterectomy) or ovaries (oophorectomy). 
• remove part of the bladder or bowel, if endometriosis is affecting these. 

Why do we need to talk about endometriosis? 

Aside from the obvious advantages of raising awareness of endometriosis as specified earlier in the article, our joint RCVS and British Veterinary Chronic Illness Support (BCVIS) Disability and Chronic Illness in Veterinary Work and Education Survey carried out by the Institute of Employment Studies (IES) and published in July last year found that: 

Almost half of respondents reported being affected by two conditions, some of the most common being anxiety and depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), asthma, endometriosis, chronic pain and Crohn’s disease.  

It’s also not uncommon for those impacted by the condition to have their pain and experience dismissed or have to wait longer for diagnosis.

 In October 2024, Nurofen published their Gender Pain Gap Index Report, referring to a phenomenon in which pain in women is more poorly understood and more mistreated (including delays in treatment) compared to pain in men. 

They found that 62% of women who responded to their survey felt their pain had been dismissed or ignored, compared to 60% of men. The impact of pain dismissal was also highlighted in the report, where 34% of women who had their pain dismissed felt it has impacted their mental health, and 20% felt it had an impact on their career.  

According to The Endometriosis Foundation, in the UK, the average amount of time a person has to wait for an endometriosis diagnosis is eight years and ten months.  

Endometriosis is a relatively common condition and if we as professions do not strive to recognise the struggles facing those with the condition, we risk marginalising a large part of the workforce - a part of the workforce that we not only rely upon, but who also deserve to be seen, understood and supported to thrive. As a regulator, our purpose is to uphold animal health and welfare, as well as public health. Supporting our veterinary professionals to work to the best of their abilities ensures that the animals in their care are receiving the best care possible. 

This strongly links to our current reasonable adjustments campaign ‘Let’s talk adjustments’ which aims to raise awareness and empower everyone in veterinary workplaces, no matter their role, disability or health condition, to have important conversations about reasonable adjustments. It is essential that employers address barriers in the workplace so that they can carry out their jobs effectively, but also that people feel empowered to ask for the help they need and have those vital conversations without feeling judged.  

What can I do? 

The burden to create inclusive workplaces shouldn’t just be shouldered by those impacted by the condition. You can learn more about the condition, raise awareness through educating others, hold space for supportive conversations for those affected, and encourage your workplace to become endometriosis-friendly by implementing supportive measures for employees affected by the condition. Remember, just because you can’t see the condition, it doesn’t mean that the individual is not affected.  

Additionally, we encourage you seek help if you recognise some of the symptoms in yourself or others. 

For those who are living with the condition, there are support groups available that can offer you and your friends and family valuable information and support. 

You should see your GP if: 

• you think you might have endometriosis;
• your symptoms are affecting your everyday life, work and relationships; or, 
• you've had treatment from a GP but your symptoms do not get better, or get worse. 

Resources and support 

Being told you may have endometriosis, and living with endometriosis can be very stressful. If you are feeling anxious or worried in any way, please speak to your healthcare team or reach out to one of these organisations. 

• Endometriosis UK offer a free and confidential helpline which you can call on 0808 808 2227 (please visit their website for opening hours).  
• The Endometriosis Foundation also have a free nurse-led helpline, with free 20-minute one-to-one consultations available to book via their website.  
• If you’re an employer or colleague and want to know how to support someone with endometriosis in the workplace, visit Inclusive Employers. 
• There is also lots of useful information on the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists website.