Three years ago, Trinity’s Women’s Health Society was founded. With a community of over 300 members, TCD Women’s Health Soc acts as not only a safe space but a hub for education and connection.
At the end of their second year, a group of medical students recognised the lack of access and resources for women’s health on campus – something that is not unique to Trinity. “Personally, I never got any women’s health education in school”, Seraphina Ho, the current chair of Women’s Health, notes. “It’s stuff you should know by the day you are menstruating or having sex, it is stuff that we should be taught in primary school … There just aren’t health classes that actually teach women about their bodies, about their hormones, about how to even cope with period pain, or pain that isn’t actually normal,” said Ella O’Malley, one of the founders and current OCM.
Women’s health is something that has been gatekept in a way for a long time – stigmatised, seen as taboo, something for behind closed doors, “People do talk about women’s health, but it’s kind of all informal and there isn’t a whole lot of proper information out there – like you really have to go looking [on the internet], and even then how much of it is hocus pocus and how much of it is real science? You never know.” O’Malley noted. This is something that TCD Women’s Health Society wants to change. With an active school community, the society’s mission is to not only educate and create a safe space for women and their bodies, but for everyone. “We want to create a space for all students, and we always want to be more inclusive,” says Christine, the society’s resident Irish Language Officer. Hosting fun events like pub quizzes, arts and crafts, pottery sessions, speaker events, and countless collaborations with other societies at Trinity is only one part of the Women’s Health Society; advocacy and charity are another. “I think everyone in the society and on the committee is very interested in the advocacy and the community outside of college as well, raising money and raising awareness for charities that deal with women and deal with underprivileged groups,” O’Malley stated. From hosting speaker events with AkiDwA, a charity and network of migrant women in Ireland, to collaborating with Trinity’s very own TCD Breast Cancer Society on a “Big Pink Beautiful Breakfast” to raise money for breast cancer, to period product drives that have received over 8.6 kilos of period product, the advocacy and charity work that TCD Women’s Health Society does is undoubtedly incredibly important, especially given today’s political landscape.
Supporting women’s health is a political statement. In a world where rights can be given and taken away, it is important to know that societies like TCD Women’s Health exist. To have the ability and resources to educate others not only on their bodies but on their experiences is invaluable, especially when we are living in a time of uncertainty when it comes to women’s rights. “Women’s health is political, social, medical, and deeply personal for so many people,” Ho states, “I think we’re the perfect middleman for people to learn about women’s health, making it more accessible and, at times, palatable.” With issues of women’s medical rights being revoked and dismissed, there is not just unequal access to essential healthcare, but also unequal access to education about our bodies, something TCD Women’s Health Soc is acutely aware of, as O’Malley makes clear, “We want to talk about normal stuff, everyday women’s health, and to teach women to advocate for themselves in healthcare. I think we have all seen in the hospital how misogynistic the healthcare system is and can be; there are all these unconscious biases against women. General health of women is undermanaged, underfunded, and underresearched.”
In a world where women’s access to abortion is being stripped away, where women’s bodies are becoming more policed by the day, it is a scary time to exist. “It can feel quite isolating,” Ho says, “[TCD Women’s Health Soc] has given me that community to talk about things; I want to give that community to other people who experience the same things as me and who would benefit from that support.” Having societies like TCD Women’s Health provides a safe space in an ever-changing landscape, a community that believes in supporting and uplifting not only each other but the world around them. Given the state of the world today, it is communities like TCD Women’s Health that are more relevant than ever.
