The Pain Women Are Told to Ignore
For many women across Australia, severe pelvic pain is still brushed aside as “normal”. Women are expected to continue working, caring for families and managing daily life while silently enduring pain that can be physically and emotionally exhausting. One of the leading causes of this pain is endometriosis, a chronic condition affecting nearly one million Australians, or one in seven women and those assigned female at birth.
Despite how common it is, endometriosis remains widely misunderstood. Many women spend years searching for answers while being told their pain is stress, hormones or simply part of being female.
Anu’s Story: “I Thought I Just Had to Tolerate It”
When Anu* first came to my clinic, she looked exhausted. A hardworking mother balancing a full-time job and family responsibilities, she had spent years hiding her pain from those around her.
Every month, her periods became unbearable. She often curled up on the bathroom floor waiting for the pain to pass, while trying to care for her toddler and continue working. But like many women from multicultural communities, she believed suffering quietly was expected.
Growing up, she had rarely heard open conversations about periods or pelvic pain. She visited doctors and emergency departments several times, tried painkillers and home remedies, yet repeatedly heard the same words: “It’s normal”, “It’s stress”, or “It will settle”.
Only when the pain became so severe that she struggled to lift her child did she finally seek specialist care. After proper assessment, Anu was diagnosed with endometriosis. When she received the diagnosis, she cried with relief.
“Finally,” she said, “someone believes me.”
What Exactly Is Endometriosis?
Endometriosis happens when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside it, around the ovaries, bowel, bladder or pelvis. This can lead to inflammation, scarring and severe pain.
Women may experience painful periods, pelvic pain, heavy bleeding, bowel or bladder problems, pain during intimacy, fatigue and fertility difficulties. What makes the condition especially difficult is that the level of pain does not always match what doctors see on scans or surgery. Some women have severe pain despite only mild disease, while others have extensive disease but fewer symptoms.
This often leads to delays in diagnosis and years of frustration.
Why Multicultural Women Suffer Longer
For many Indian and multicultural families, menstruation and women’s health are still considered private topics. Girls are often taught to “be strong” and tolerate discomfort quietly. Many women feel embarrassed discussing intimate symptoms or worry they will not be understood.
Language barriers, cultural stigma and busy family responsibilities also stop many women from seeking help early. As one patient told me, “In our culture, women just keep going. We don’t talk about period pain, even when it becomes unbearable.”
The result is years of unnecessary suffering.
The Hidden Cost to Families, Careers and Australia
Endometriosis affects far more than physical health. It impacts education, relationships, mental wellbeing and financial stability. Many women lose workdays every month because they physically cannot function during painful episodes. Some reduce their work hours, leave jobs or miss career opportunities because of chronic pain and fatigue.
Families also carry the burden. Women often continue caring for children and households despite severe symptoms, leading to emotional exhaustion and strain on relationships. Mental health is commonly affected, with many women experiencing anxiety, depression and isolation after years of not being believed.
The condition also carries a major economic cost for Australia through healthcare expenses, repeated hospital visits, surgeries and lost workplace productivity. Billions of dollars are estimated to be lost nationally each year due to endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain.
Australia Finally Listening to Women
Australia is finally beginning to recognise pelvic pain and endometriosis as serious women’s health issues. A major turning point came with the Victorian Government’s Inquiry into Women’s Pain, where more than 13,000 women, carers and healthcare professionals shared stories of being dismissed, ignored or told their pain was “normal”. The inquiry also highlighted the extra barriers faced by multicultural women, including stigma, language difficulties and lack of culturally sensitive healthcare.
In response, the Australian Government has funded 33 Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Clinics across the country, including 11 new clinics announced in the 2025–26 Federal Budget. These clinics will provide earlier diagnosis, physiotherapy, counselling, pain management and specialist support closer to home.
Updated national guidelines from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists are also helping doctors diagnose endometriosis earlier using ultrasound and MRI, while recognising that pelvic pain affects emotional wellbeing, family life and mental health, not just the reproductive system.
Awareness Is Breaking the Silence
Every March, Endometriosis Awareness Month helps shine a spotlight on this invisible illness. Campaigns such as March into Yellow and Endo Enlightened encourage Australians to start conversations, wear yellow and support women living with pelvic pain.
Awareness matters because conversations change lives. When families, schools and workplaces understand endometriosis, women seek help earlier and receive better support. Most importantly, awareness helps women realise that severe pain is never something they should simply “put up with”.
A Message to Every Woman Living With Pain
If you are experiencing severe period pain, pelvic pain, heavy bleeding, fatigue or pain during intimacy, please know this: your pain is real, and you deserve to be heard.
Anu now has a treatment plan including physiotherapy, medication and emotional support. While her journey continues, she finally feels hopeful.
“I wish I had known earlier that this wasn’t normal,” she recently told me.
My hope is that no woman, especially from Indian and multicultural communities, waits years to hear those same words.
The silence around women’s pain is finally breaking. And that change cannot come soon enough.
Dr Preeti Khillan is a gynaecologist and women’s health advocate dedicated to supporting multicultural communities and improving early diagnosis and compassionate care for women living with pelvic pain and endometriosis.
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