The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) has welcomed a landmark report released yesterday in Victoria acknowledging that women's pain is real and our health system must do a better job of acknowledging it.
The Bridging the Gender Pain Gap report aims to see a new 'women's pain standard' set which will provide health workers with clear expectations on how to treat women seeking medical care. It outlines 27 recommendations to improve women's experiences.
RACGP Victoria Chair Dr Anita Muñoz said: "Medical misogyny is a widespread issue that has real and, in many cases, damaging impacts on the health and wellbeing of women in Australia.
"Women often encounter disbelief or minimisation of their pain symptoms, leading to under-diagnosis and inadequate pain relief.
"This report reaffirmed that chronic pain disproportionately affects women, who also face more instances of being ignored or dismissed by clinicians.
"We have seen a clear lack of funding and support in this area and it is female patients and female GPs who bear the brunt of this under-investment.
"We commend the report's recommendation for the Victorian Government to advocate to the Australian Government to increase Medicare rebates for longer consultations with GPs, nurse practitioners and midwives.
"The RACGP has been consistently advocating for a 40% increase to Medicare rebates for consultations over 20 minutes, to ensure we reach those most at risk in our society.
"Our recently released 2025 Health of the Nation report revealed that women's health presentations are increasing and women are more likely to see their GP for mental health issues.
"We know that people with complex and chronic conditions need more time with their GPs and in our current system women are being shortchanged.
"The recommendation for the Victorian Government to work closely with the RACGP to endorse Victorian-based training materials for GPs and provide additional training opportunities in Victoria, is also an important step.
"The RACGP has called for support for professional training for GPs in chronic pain which profoundly affects the lives of women in Australia.
We urgently need a comprehensive understanding of women's experience of chronic pain and the complexities and challenges in achieving effective management to improve the health and wellbeing of women around Australia."
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