Women’s voices had to be heard

The last fortnight has seen women in their droves talking openly about the menopause. They have spoken of depression, pain, mis-diagnoses and many have said the experience brought them to the brink of suicide.

Family relationships and even marriages were torn asunder by often misunderstood illnesses because the menopause was not treated with the seriousness these women knew it deserved.

Often, doctors had not updated themselves on hugely significant advances in medicine and treatments that could have led to life-altering improvements for the women affected.

These stories were told to presenter Joe Duffy on RTÉ’s Liveline show, and the presenter has been hailed as a ‘hero’ by many of these women for allowing the discourse in such an open and accessible way.

It may be a sad state of affairs that it took a prime time radio show to de-stigmatise a debate on something that every woman will experience in their lifetime – whether to a lesser or greater extent.

But, in a week which sees reports of further staff cuts at the national broadcaster, it is also a little bit ironic. Liveline has shown the true importance of public service broadcasting, with campaigns now gathering speed after a government TD called for an awareness campaign on the menopause. The campaign has been given the full backing of the Taoiseach.

People power at is best.