Feminist activism in action

Lucy had first-hand experience of the excruciating pain an IUD fitting can be. After voicing her concerns, 1500 people shared their experiences with Lucy. On a pain rating scale of 0-10, 43% of respondents rated their pain as a 7 or higher and described their excruciating experiences as worse than childbirth or breaking bones.

Lucy began a petition on Change.org to see the following actions being taken: 

• Better expectation management of what the insertion and removal of an IUD will entail. Without fully explaining the real potential pain, how can consent truly be given?

• More pain relief options as standard including gas and air, sedation and muscle relaxants.

• Not everyone will choose to have additional pain relief, but I strongly feel that for those who want it, it should be administered - and that real consent can only be given once all risks, including that of extreme pain, have been explained.

  Her campaign was successfully featured across Vogue, Forbes, BBC, ITV, Daily Mail, Glamour, The Independent, Metro, Grazia, Huffpost, The Telegraph, The Times, and Cosmopolitan. The petition received more than 35,500 signatures in support.