WORLD MENOPAUSE DAY EVERYONE PAUSE
October was Menopause Awareness Month, with World Menopause Day being held on 18 October. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of the menopause and the support options available for improving health and wellbeing
It is vital open conversations are had within the police service to contribute to creating an inclusive and supportive work environment. So, to mark World Menopause Day, the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), working with the national Menopause Action Group, launched its second survey, ‘Everyone Pause’. The survey will enable the police service across the UK understand everyone’s personal experiences of the menopause, the awareness of line managers and senior leaders around this subject and what training is in place. It is anticipated the findings of the second survey will help with education, standardisation and understanding so the right support can be provided to police officers and police staff. This survey, jointly conducted by PFEW researchers, Unison, the Police
10 | POLICE | DECEMBER | 2023
Superintendents’ Association, the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, builds upon the
“After five years, the present survey seeks to analyse the current landscape and identify ongoing needs for supporting individuals in transition within the policing sector.”
success of the initial 2018 survey. The insights from the first survey contributed to the development of the National Menopause Guidance, still applicable across all police forces. Hayley Aley, PFEW women’s lead, was instrumental in getting the guidelines to their final stage and has been hard at work making sure they’re embedded in forces throughout England and Wales. Why does this matter to the police
service?
Menopause symptoms may pose a series of difficulties for individual women in the workplace. Loss of sleep, for example, can reduce ability to concentrate and stay focused. Heavy periods or hot flushes are physically distressing and can be embarrassing in front of colleagues and managers. A vast majority of officers who participated in our last survey (76 per cent) who
had either gone through or were going through the menopause admitted they had found symptoms either moderately or extremely problematic at work, with more than eight out of ten agreeing tiredness and sleep disturbances were having a detrimental effect. Irritability and mood swings could mean that a woman’s relationships with others at work are affected by uncharacteristic behaviour. As well as impacting on their performance at work,
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