“We will set up free periodic protection”

Jean-Luc Mélenchon agreed to answer aufeminin’s questions as part of the campaign for the 2022 presidential election. The candidate of La France Insoumise submitted to our questionnaire evoking various themes such as women’s rights, gender equality or education. Jean-Luc Mélenchon also discussed with us his positions on women’s health.

Thus, Jean-Luc Mélenchon takes a stand for “set up free periodic protection”, particularly targeting “people most in difficulty and young women.” It intends, for example, to set up “distributors of free periodic protection of different types in all colleges and high schools.” Jean-Luc Mélenchon also positions himself in favor of menstrual leave by proposing “allow those who wish to adapt their working hours with menstrual leave”. Furthermore, Jean-Luc Mélenchon wishes to recognize endometriosis as a long-term disease.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon in favor of menstrual leave

Contraception, reproduction, medical examinations, periodic protection… The cost of a woman’s sexual health is very high, how do you plan to lighten this burden?

We will set up free periodic protection, particularly for the most disadvantaged people and young women. In particular, we plan to provide adolescent girls with distributors of free periodic protection of different types in all middle and high schools.

Several countries around the world, particularly in Asia, have already introduced “menstrual leave”. Is this possible in France? Do you plan to wear this measure?

The Common Future is accompanied by thematic booklets which specify it. The gender equality booklet provides for allowing those who so wish to adapt their working hours with menstrual leave.

One in 10 women suffers from endometriosis in France today. It takes an average of 6 to 10 years to be diagnosed. Will you make it a great national cause? How do you intend to improve the situation of patients?

The rebellious deputies have tabled a bill for the recognition of this disease as a long-term condition. This bill was passed unanimously. However, LREM did not seize the opportunity to make it happen. The government of the People’s Union will respect the vote of parliament and issue the decree that will make this recognition effective. This will allow women who are affected to be better taken care of, to have access to sick leave and reimbursement of part of the care. We will also put the means into medical research because it is not acceptable that the average time for diagnosis of this disease is 7 years and that so many women suffer from it.

Mental Health: The past two years have been eye-opening on the subject of mental health, especially for women. What measures will you take on this subject?

We are planning a major plan for mental health which aims to strengthen the networks of CMP (medico-psychological centres). There is an urgent need to recruit professionals in sufficient numbers to facilitate access to this care. We plan to recruit 100,000 caregivers. We also plan to ensure the presence of psychologists in schools which are currently understaffed. It is also necessary to allow ambulatory psychological follow-up by agreeing to more professionals and for this to increase the number of places in the faculty of medicine in the corresponding sectors.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon: his positions on abortion, PMA, surrogacy…

abortion:

Access to abortion is sometimes complicated for some women who live in medical deserts. What solutions do you propose to facilitate their procedures?

L’Avenir en Commun provides a network of 5 essential public services 15 minutes away, including a health center and a maternity ward. Since 2017, 35 maternities have been closed! 20% of municipalities are more than 30 minutes from emergency services. The disappearance of public services has concrete consequences: infant mortality has been increasing since 2012. Women wishing to have an abortion have to face the refusal of certain practitioners to perform abortion. We will remove the double conscience clause and enshrine the right to abortion in the Constitution. Information on abortion should no longer be an obstacle course. We will actively and financially support family planning. It is also necessary to create the conditions so that each woman who wishes to have abortion is referred to a practitioner or a structure that can perform it, and this within the legal deadlines. For this, it is necessary to hire 100,000 caregivers and develop health centers with salaried doctors. In the immediate future, we will put in place a system of rotation of care in the health center via the establishment of a monthly hourly quota to be carried out in the regional medical desert zone.

Would you like the legal deadline for abortion to be extended?

We supported and voted in favor of the bill in the National Assembly allowing the time limit for access to abortion to be extended from 12 to 14 weeks. This victory is one more step towards improving, by all means and for all women, access throughout France to abortion. This right is fundamental, which is why we propose to enshrine it in the Constitution.

GPA:

More than 7 out of 10 French people are in favor of surrogacy, what is your position on this alternative method of procreation?

We are opposed to the commodification of women’s bodies. Surrogacy is therefore not in our program. But the best interests of the child must come first. We are therefore in favor of the recognition of children born abroad by GPA.

LDCs: what will you do for women who are worried about waiting times?

We lack practitioners in all medical specialties, a fortiori in view of the needs to access PMA. We plan to recruit 100,000 caregivers, including 10,000 doctors. For this, we will put the corresponding means in the faculties of medicine so that they are able to welcome and train.

Many women have recently testified to obstetrical violence. How can we better protect them and help them free their voices?

Obstetrical violence has long been taboo, like all forms of violence suffered by women. They take place in an intimate setting and can be so difficult to tell. This is a new stage in the liberation of women’s speech. There is an urgent need to train practitioners. We must also create the conditions so that the voices of the victims of violence are heard. Justice will then do its job.

Midwives have demonstrated several times this year. What action plan do you propose for better recognition of their status?

We plan to explicitly integrate midwives as primary care professionals and open the right to prescribe necessary for their practice.

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