This feature documentary interweaves three narrative threads: the historical medical bias against women documented in Jackson’s “Pain and Prejudice,” the director Leah Filley’s personal chronicle of chronic pelvic pain, and the movement towards change. Through these interwoven stories, we expose how medical gaslighting and prejudice have created a healthcare crisis for women, while following those working to create change.
Women and gender diverse people are more likely to suffer from chronic pain conditions and, as a result, live lower quality lives. For women of colour, disabled women, and trans people, these biases compound exponentially. Studies show Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications. Indigenous women face some of the longest wait times for diagnosis and treatment. The intersection of racism, sexism, and medical bias creates a perfect storm of dismissal and delayed care.
For too long, this has been the accepted norm, but a shift has begun, and we are seeing more and more people bring their experience out of the shadows and into the public light.
In the last five years, endometriosis has become a familiar word, due to an abundance of media attention and advocacy around the disease, but it is just one of many diseases that predominantly affect women and gender diverse people. We are also seeing a significant shift in awareness with the historic Victorian inquiry into women’s pain which received over 13,000 submissions. These stories need to be told and awareness needs to be brought to the issues around chronic pain.
Pain and Prejudice will investigate the history of medical misogyny and will explore different stories from a variety of pain professionals, advocates and pain sufferers to see how they are fighting for change in women’s healthcare and overcoming a history that has excluded them.
All donations over $2 are tax-deductible. Every donor will be acknowledged with a thank-you credit in the film and invited to attend our premiere.
