https://sputnikglobe.com/20220628/new-row-as-nhs-erases-women-from-menopause-web-page-1096766026.html
New Row as NHS Erases 'Women' From Menopause Web Page
New Row as NHS Erases 'Women' From Menopause Web Page
Sputnik International
Health Secretary Sajid Javid weighed in to a similar row earlier in June when the site scrubbed gender-specific terms from its page on ovarian cancer - a... 28.06.2022, Sputnik International
2022-06-28T18:54+0000
2022-06-28T18:54+0000
2022-06-28T18:54+0000
national health service (nhs)
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The UK's public health service has sparked new controversy by erasing references to women from its online advice about exclusively female conditions.Health professionals spoke out on Tuesday after the National Health Service site removed all references to "women" from its menopause page.Health Secretary Sajid Javid waded into a similar row earlier in June when the site scrubbed gender-specific terms from its page on ovarian cancer — a disease that kills around 4,100 British women every year — but no men, who are born with testicles, not ovaries.The organisation defended the changes on the grounds of wanting to sound more "inclusive" of transgender and 'non-binary' people who make up a fraction of a per cent of the UK population.But an Australian nursing and midwifery expert, who has previously criticised such gender-free language about women's health issues, condemned the edits."The risk of de-sexing this information remains that women who have low English or health literacy may not know that the information applies to them," said Dr Karleen Gribble of Western Sydney University."That first sentence of the older version 'The menopause is when a woman stops having periods and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally' is really important in signposting to women that they should read further."Gribble said the revised text went against the "basic principle" that public health advice should spell out who it is aimed at.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20220608/javid-slams-deletion-of-women-from-nhs-ovarian-cancer-webpage-1096116598.html
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Sputnik International
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Sputnik International
feedback@sputniknews.com
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James Tweedie
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national health service (nhs)
national health service (nhs)
New Row as NHS Erases 'Women' From Menopause Web Page
Health Secretary Sajid Javid weighed in to a similar row earlier in June when the site scrubbed gender-specific terms from its page on ovarian cancer - a disease that kills around 4,100 British women every year, but not men because they are born with testicles rather than ovaries.
The UK's public health service has sparked new controversy by erasing references to women from its online advice about exclusively female conditions.
Health professionals spoke out on Tuesday after the National Health Service site removed all references to "women" from its
menopause page.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid waded into a similar row earlier in June when the site scrubbed gender-specific terms from its page on ovarian cancer — a disease that kills around 4,100 British women every year — but no men, who are born with testicles, not ovaries.
The organisation defended the changes on the grounds of wanting to sound more "inclusive" of transgender and 'non-binary' people who make up a fraction of a per cent of the UK population.
"The NHS website provides information for everyone. We keep the pages under continual review to ensure they use language that is inclusive, respectful and relevant to the people reading it," said a spokesperson for NHS Digital, the agency that runs the website.
But an Australian nursing and midwifery expert, who has previously criticised such gender-free language about women's health issues, condemned the edits.
"The risk of de-sexing this information remains that women who have low English or health literacy may not know that the information applies to them," said Dr Karleen Gribble of Western Sydney University.
"That first sentence of the older version 'The menopause is when a woman stops having periods and is no longer able to get pregnant naturally' is really important in signposting to women that they should read further."
Gribble said the revised text went against the "basic principle" that public health advice should spell out who it is aimed at.
"The fact that some women might have low literacy and not know basic terms is shown by the fact that they included a link to a definition of what periods are in the earlier version," Dr Gribble said. "In de-sexing the page they have removed the links to further information."
