What to know
- Elize Nocente launched a parliamentary petition urging governments to introduce mandatory endometriosis education in Canadian schools.
- Nocente says better education would help young people recognize when period pain is not normal and could help close the years-long diagnosis gap for endometriosis.
- The petition calls for funding for a national advisory board to develop educational standards, resources and public awareness campaigns about the disease.
- With more than 500 signatures, it is eligible to be presented in the House of Commons by Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan after the signature period closes on Oct. 14.
- She says youth should play an active role in politics and advocacy because they understand the issues affecting their generation firsthand.
A Grade 10 student in British Columbia is urging the government to introduce mandatory endometriosis education in schools in hopes of closing the diagnosis gap.
Elize Nocente became deeply interested in women’s reproductive health when she was in Grade 8. Since then, the student has been leading several initiatives regarding endometriosis education, including writing several letters to Prime Minister Mark Carney, the B.C. Minister of Education and Child Care and Canada’s Minister of Health, urging for governmental action to address the impact of the disease on women, girls, and gender-diverse residents across the country.
But when the student didn’t get the response she hoped for, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
“I saw people asking for petition signatures on the street, and I was like, ‘Oh, that is something that I should do because this is such an amazing resource…this is something that will make a lot more impact,” she told Now Toronto.
Last month, Nocente started a parliamentary petition that urges the federal government to work with provincial governments to support the inclusion of endometriosis education in science, physical and health education, or reproductive health curricula across the country.
In addition, the petition asks that the government provide funding for a national advisory board on endometriosis education, which would create educational standards and resources while working to increase public awareness of the disease.
Petition aims to address the diagnosis gap
Endometriosis is a serious, chronic disease characterized by the abnormal growth of tissue, similar to that lining the uterus, according to The Endometriosis Network Canada. It can cause a series of symptoms, with the most common being intense pelvic pain, pain during sex, fertility issues, bladder pain, constipation, nausea, and fatigue.
Symptoms of the disease are often disruptive to patients’ daily routines, with nine in 10 young people affected by the disease reporting they’ve missed school because their periods were too painful.
Despite its reach and disruptive symptoms, endometriosis diagnoses can take several years.
Although The Endometriosis Network Canada reports that it can take an average of five years for a patient to be diagnosed, many often report that it can take much longer, with some saying it took them over 15 years to receive a concrete diagnosis.
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Nocente said that by implementing education about the disease in schools, she hopes to increase societal awareness of the disease and help decrease the diagnosis gap.
“There’s that big gap between what period pain is and what is not normal, and girls aren’t being told what level of pain isn’t normal,” she said.
“Long-term [education] is just to make endometriosis a common knowledge thing, and if everyone knows about it, then it will be better treated in society, and it won’t be such a stigmatizing pain anymore.”
Petition to be presented in front of parliament
At the time of publication, the online petition, first published on the House of Commons website on June 16, had garnered 696 signatures, and it will close for signatures on Oct. 14.
Petitions published on the House of Commons website need at least 500 signatures from citizens and permanent residents before they can be certified and presented in front of the House.
This petition is being supported by Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan, who has been working with Nocente to publish it and will take it to the House once it closes.
Although the petition has now surpassed the minimum number of signatures needed for the next stage, Nocente hopes that getting more support will help raise awareness of the issue.
“The government just really isn’t doing enough. They’re doing some things, but they’re not doing enough to actually make women’s and girls’ lives better,” Nocente said.
“This is a reality that people have to deal with every single day. And if we keep ignoring it, then they’re just going to keep being in pain. We can’t, obviously, close our eyes and pretend that endometriosis doesn’t exist.”
Student encourages young people to get involved
As a Grade 10 student who is thoroughly interested in women’s reproductive rights, Nocente feels young people’s involvement in politics is extremely important.
“It’s so important because we’re the future. We are gonna be the prime ministers, the ministers, the members of parliament, the health [professionals] of the future. So, we need to prepare ourselves for that,” she explained.
In addition, Nocente said young people’s involvement is essential to put issues that affect youth in the spotlight, as she said politicians might not always be well-versed on what contemporary teenagers and young adults face.
“They don’t actually understand our lived experience. We can’t wait for them to make decisions for us,” she added.
