Each year for World Diabetes Day (WDD), the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) selects a theme and develops a suite of information resources. Member Associations of the IDF are encouraged to take on the theme, adapting the message to their country. In previous years, themes have included eye health and diabetes, access to healthy food, and diabetes education and prevention.
This year, the focus is women living with and affected by diabetes. And apparently, some people are not happy.
There are murmurings on a number of SoMe pages that the theme is discriminatory. Men have diabetes, too! And men care for people with diabetes! Why the focus on women? It’s not all about women, you know!
I’ve had a look through all the IDF materials and other WDD materials from other organisations and nowhere has it said anything about men not having diabetes, or not being involved in diabetes care. That’s not the point of the campaign at all, and if that is all anyone is seeing, they are missing the point.
Why the focus on women? Because health outcomes for women – including women with diabetes – are worse than for men. Women Deliver, a leading global advocate for the health, rights and wellbeing of girls and women, has some outstanding resources that show just how significant these differences are. Some information from the IDF materials:
- As a result of socioeconomic conditions, girls and women with diabetes experience barriers in accessing cost-effective diabetes prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment and care, particularly in developing countries.
- Socioeconomic inequalities expose women to the main risk factors of diabetes, including poor diet and nutrition, physical inactivity, tobacco consumption and harmful use of alcohol.
- Stigmatisation and discrimination faced by people with diabetes are particularly pronounced for girls and women, who carry a double burden of discrimination because of their health status and the inequalities perpetrated in male dominated societies.
- These inequalities can discourage girls and women from seeking diagnosis and treatment, preventing them from achieving positive health outcomes.
And these points don’t even mention women’s health issues such as diabetes and pregnancy, or reproductive and sexual health.
The campaign is not suggesting that men do not experience struggles when it comes to living with diabetes themselves, or are not involved and integral in the care of others living with diabetes.
But it’s not just the exclusion of men in this year’s campaign that seems to be a problem for some. I’ve seen a number of people complain because they feel the IDF materials are not talking about the great things women with diabetes can do. We can work! We can travel! We can have healthy babies! We can jump out of aeroplanes! We can be successful career women! We can run marathons! We can start businesses!
Of course we bloody can. And, again, nowhere in the campaign collateral is there any suggestion that women are not capable of doing these things. And if you are one of the women who is able to achieve all of those things, despite your diabetes, that is fantastic! But it is the very definition of privilege to think that just because your life is one way, then it must be the same for everyone else – or that if something is not a problem for you then it mustn’t be a problem for anyone else.
Those of us in a position of privilege can use WDD to draw attention to those in need. We can encourage others to donate and to lobby. We can highlight the inequality and inequity of health outcomes for different groups of people. This year, it’s about women.
And you known what? I can’t wait until diabetes health outcomes are the same for everyone, regardless of gender. Because then we won’t need to have a women as a theme.
10 comments
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November 13, 2017 at 8:36 pm
Cheryl Steele
I don’t often read blogs but made an exception today and very pleased that I did.
The small mindedness of some people is stifling. Amazing how the knockers never have solutions; only complaints.
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November 13, 2017 at 11:30 pm
RenzaS / Diabetogenic
Thanks, Cheryl.
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November 14, 2017 at 4:42 am
profjanespeight
Great blog!
There is also the issue that women health professionals and researchers typically dont do as well as men. For example, there are more male consultants and more male professors, and you are more likely to win a NHMRC grant if you are a man! Just saying… 🙂
Hopping all is well. Looking forward to catching up again later next week.
J.
Sent from my iPad
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November 14, 2017 at 8:10 am
Diabetes and feminism – yes, it’s a thing | My Lazy Pancreas
[…] Renza said in this fantastic blog post on this topic, “the campaign is not suggesting that men do not experience struggles when it comes to living […]
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November 14, 2017 at 1:09 pm
Rick Phillips
I guess I do not mind a focus on women this year. I believe that a focus on men will come. I do think that women make up the lion’s share of the online community so I get it. I wish more men were engaged and if so we would have our own day as well. Ahh, I doubt it if we did have an emphasis on men, only women would show up and those men who do show up would only talk about women. 🙂
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November 14, 2017 at 4:17 pm
World Diabetes Day 2017. | Diabetes Blog - Happy-Medium.net
[…] on women living with and affected by diabetes worldwide. To find out how I feel about that, CLICK HERE. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Probably because I’m not a […]
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November 14, 2017 at 8:45 pm
healthwings
Socioeconomic factors are rightly quoted by IDF. For example, my dad went for a root canal and my mom went for tooth removal. Both had same diagnosis.
It is the matter of mindset and why to bear so much expenses for women. It is not poverty. Looking back, I feel bad for this disparity in my own family. Luckily, no one has diabetes at home.
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November 15, 2017 at 7:51 am
Weltdiabetestag 2017 – Frauen & Diabetes – beateputzt
[…] This is what diabetes privilege looks like (Warum das Thema Diabetes & Frau so von Bedeutung ist… […]
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November 18, 2017 at 4:05 am
Blood Sugar Trampoline
I do struggle every year to relate to the WDD theme. This year I could identify but I didn’t have the time to focus on it. But I have to say I LOVED What diabetes Australia did with it!!!
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December 8, 2017 at 3:10 pm
Pastor Lily
Great post. Thanks for sharing.
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