Call for Evidence

This short inquiry will look at women’s reproductive health and the challenges that women face when they are being diagnosed and treated for these conditions. The inquiry will consider any disparities that exist in the diagnosis and treatment, and the impact of women’s experiences on their health and lives.

Women’s reproductive health

The Committee invites written evidence on the following questions:

• What constitutes healthy periods and reproductive health;
• What are women’s experiences of being diagnosed with, undergoing procedures and being treated for gynaecological or urogynaecological conditions;
• What disparities exist in the treatment and diagnosis of gynaecological or urogynaecological conditions;
• What barriers exist in the treatment and diagnosis of gynaecological or urogynaecological conditions.

The Committee is interested in reproductive health, gynecological and urogynaecological conditions which include, but are not limited to: heavy menstrual bleeding, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse.

The Committee welcomes submissions by 5.00pm on 1 September 2023.

Important information about making a submission 

Please read this section before making a submission. This information is particularly important for people making written submissions in an individual capacity, and about their own lived experience. 

Written evidence must address the terms of reference as set out above, but please note that submissions do not have to address every point. Guidance on giving evidence to a select committee of the House of Commons is available here. 

Individual cases 

In line with the general practice of select committees the Women and Equalities Committee is not able to take up individual cases. If you would like political support or advice you may wish to contact your local Member of Parliament.

How your submission will be treated  

The Committee has discretion over which submissions it accepts as evidence, and which of those it then publishes on its website. If your submission is accepted by the Committee, it will usually be published online. It will then be available permanently for anyone to view and may be found online by using search engines. It cannot be changed or removed. If you have included your name or any personal information in your submission, that will normally be published too. Please consider how much personal information you want or need to share.  

Your contact details will never be published. 

Evidence accepted by the Committee is protected by parliamentary privilege. However, if published evidence suggests that criminal behaviour has occurred, there is no bar on external bodies investigating that behaviour, which may lead them to find independent evidence which could be put before a court. 

Anonymisation  

Decisions about publishing evidence anonymously are made by the Committee. If you would like to ask the Committee to accept your submission anonymously (meaning it will be published but without your name) please tick the box when you make your submission. This lets the Committee know what you would like but the final decision will be taken by the Committee. 

If you would like to request that your submission be published anonymously, then you are responsible for ensuring you cannot be identified from your submission. Please make sure you have not included information that would allow someone to work out who you are.  

We may anonymise or redact some of your submission if it is published, even where you have not requested this.  

Confidential submissions  

The Committee may decide to accept evidence on a confidential basis. Confidential submissions remain available to the Committee but are not published or referred to in public.  

If you would like to ask the Committee to accept your submission confidentially, please tick the box when you make your submission. This lets the Committee know what you would like but the final decision will be taken by the Committee. 

We may treat submissions confidentially, even where you have not requested this.  

Information about other people in your evidence  

If you include personal information about other people in your submission (including your friends and family), the Committee may decide not to publish it. It is advisable to make your submission about your own experiences and to keep information about other people to a minimum. 

Legal cases 

We can’t publish submissions that mention ongoing legal cases. Please do not include details of an ongoing case, or details that are likely to be the subject of future proceedings, in your submission. 

Safeguarding 

If your evidence raises any safeguarding concerns about you, or other people, then the Committee has a responsibility to raise these with the appropriate safeguarding authority. 

If you have immediate safeguarding concerns about yourself or someone else, we would urge you to contact the Police on 999.

Signposting

We understand that the issues raised in this work may be sensitive or upsetting. In addition to contacting your G.P the following organisations may be able to offer support or further information:  

Samaritans 116 123 General support for everyone. Call: 116 123 - 24 hours a day, every-day Email: jo@samaritans.org