How The Code Red Club is transforming conversations about women’s health issues
- Megan Wells
- Mar 11
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 8
The topic of women’s health, particularly menstrual health and fertility, are extremely overlooked topics. Millions of women across the world suffer from women’s health issues, such as endometriosis, and diagnosis issues, and are left to suffer in silence. However, these topics are becoming less taboo each year and sparking more discussions, specifically as initiatives are created to raise awareness of these problems. As people celebrate International Women’s Day, it’s a crucial time to recognise these groups’ importance and their role.
A fundamental example of one of these groups is The Code Red Club. The Liverpool-based initiative, founded in 2023 by Lois Balshaw, advocates and educates about raising awareness for endometriosis and menstrual health issues. Their key goals are simple: to break down taboos, encourage open conversations, and advocate for policy changes about improved access to resources and better education about endometriosis. All of which link closely with the battle for gender equality in healthcare.
After suffering with symptoms at the age of 14, and then being diagnosed at 18, Lois went to university where she discovered the lack of understanding of endometriosis from others. She explained that she found it hard to explain to people what she was going through or why she couldn’t make plans. The idea was sparked during her internship: when discussing with a colleague about how isolating the journey of endometriosis can be, Lois realised there wasn’t a society in place at Durham University for people to share experiences and support each other… “this is my time to shine,” she said, and The Code Red Club was born.
Lois said her main focus for the group was to: “create a space where people could come and talk and feel part of something…feel less alone, seek advice and seek comfort, and if they needed anything at all, they had somebody that understood”. The Code Red Club had their first support group two weeks ago, where Lois explained for some women, it was the first time they had properly spoken about their condition to people that recognised the isolating experience.
There have been many challenges faced when launching the group for Lois, but she said, “I was so determined to bring this dream I had into reality”. From managing work-life balance, to building a strong social media presence, overcoming these obstacles required significant perseverance, drive and passion. She has had to constantly promote the group, while staying true to the club’s mission of educating and advocating. The group have gained 200 followers in the past week, with their work over International Women’s Day capturing the attention of many. She said her biggest challenges are the aftercare and treatment options after diagnosis, highlighting the need for safe, supporting spaces like this… “but I’m always up for a challenge”, the founder said.
Women’s health issues, particularly endometriosis, are becoming less-taboo topics and therefore are gaining more attention and sparking discussions in the news, however is it enough to see change? Lois said, “how it is now, compared to then [the time of her diagnosis] …the growth and awareness have grown massively, but…actions speak louder than words. So, yes there has been a massive, massive change but in terms of actual progression: no one’s diagnosis times have been decreased, everyone’s still on waiting lists, and there’s no aftercare.” The Royal College of Nursing (2022) state it that “on average, it takes eight years from the onset of symptoms to get a diagnosis.” So, for Lois, her diagnosis time of four years, is seen as extremely quick.
A key date for women around the world, and organisations advocating for issues affecting women, is International Women’s Day, which took place on 8th of March this year. The Code Red Club collaborated with Girls on the Go, an initiative tackling loneliness with young girls, with an article that will reach their huge audience of over 60k followers. Lois explained that International Women’s Day feels personal to her, her diagnosis and now her influential organisation. She said: “it was such an empowering thing for me to express my goals with society, my concerns with how the government and healthcare systems are failing us in terms of diagnosis times and treatment, and the lack of acknowledgment that there’s an issue here that needs to be sorted. It’s a great day to be able to uplift women to be able to speak on matters that maybe they wouldn’t speak about in everyday life, which is sad that they feel like can’t do but it is a great day where we can all come together and just talk about really important matters and be able to support each other through it, although I wish that happened every day.”
The Code Red Club is growing in followers every day, meaning the founder’s goals are also evolving. A long-term goal for Lois is to be able to fundraise enough money so people who can’t afford sanitary products, treatment or prescriptions are taken care of and are provided with what they need. Another future goal for her is to educate a vast amount of people; she said, “I’d love to go into schools because I feel like that’s where a lot of people’s symptoms start, as mine did at 14/15. I feel like when you don’t know that these symptoms aren’t normal, then this is something that needs to be talked about more.”
Issues in women’s health are circulating social media and the news more each year, but it still needs more growth to see real improvements in the healthcare system. Lois said: “I’ve been through so many challenges trying to get here, to a point where we’ve got stable growth and progression within the organisation. But all the blood, sweat, tears and late nights have all been so worth it to be able to give people a space where they feel like they can be themselves and feel understood and feel less alone. Coming home and knowing that’s the impact I’m making on people’s lives is the most rewarding feeling in the whole world.” The Code Red Club stands as a powerful symbol of empowerment and advocacy, and the passion of Lois and the women following the group will push it to become even more influential.
Listen to the interview with Lois Balshaw as she discusses why she created the organisation, challenges she has faced, the importance of International Women’s Day, and her future goals.
The Royal College of Nursing. (2022). Endometriosis explained | RCN Magazines | Royal College of Nursing. [online] Available at: https://www.rcn.org.uk/magazines/Clinical/2022/Feb/Endometriosis-awareness-and-diagnosis.
Article by Megan Wells.
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