Storytelling to undo sexism, shame, and stigma: Dr Tori Ford presents evidence to Parliament

On 3 December 2025, I was invited by the Women and Equalities Committee to present oral evidence for its inquiry into the reproductive health of women and girls. The session brought together advocates, clinicians, and educators working on this pressing issue. Panellists included: Dr Aziza Sesay, GP and women’s health advocate, Chella Quint OBE, Founder of Period Positive, Kerry Wolstenholme, RSHE specialist, and Dr Nighat Arif, GP and women’s health broadcaster.

I was invited in my role as a researcher on gender health equity and as the Founder and Executive Director of Medical Herstory, a social impact organisation working to eliminate sexism, shame, and stigma from health experiences.

The session focused on tackling stigma and taboos around periods, effective teaching about menstrual wellbeing in schools, including Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE), countering online misinformation, the pros and cons of ‘FemTech’ such as period trackers, and access to free period products, particularly in schools and colleges.

We spoke with MPs on the cross-party committee, chaired by Labour MP Sarah Owen, about the potential impacts of NHS reforms, particularly the Government's proposed refresh of the Women's Health Strategy for England, expected in 2026. The day began with Dr Aziza Sesay holding up a crocheted vulva and asking the members of parliament to not be ashamed to say the words vulva and vagina. Soon after, we were the importance of research, investment, and education into under-recognised gynaecological and menstrual conditions.

I drew upon my work both in qualitative research and with Medical Herstory about the power of storytelling, the importance of capturing patient voices, and how we can use them to challenge shame and stigma.

My DPhil research examined patient experiences with recurrent vulvovaginal thrush and healthcare professional perspectives on its management. I found that recurrent thrush is a distinct condition, not simply acute episodes on repeat. It is experientially different and requires specific support needs, investigation, and management plans. I explored how recurrent vulvovaginal discomfort can be effectively managed; it does not need to be tolerated. Help is available, but clinicians and patients need to establish trusting relationships and work together to find long-term solutions and overcome shame and stigma.

I drew upon how first-person narratives are used in our research, dissemination approaches, as well as in training for train medical students, patients, and healthcare researchers. I emphasised how we hear from our community that shame and stigma keep people feeling alone and it keeps them from seeking out care. We know that currently and historically women and gender diverse (trans and non-binary folks) individuals are more likely to be dismissed or unbelieved in healthcare with stereotypes that they are being dramatic or emotional. This leads to a loss of trust and feelings of isolation.

I was asked what drew me to work in this space and adopt a storytelling approach. I shared that my research and Medical Herstory began with a single story, my own, of living with chronic vulval pain and attempting to seek care as a teenager. When I started talking about it, others encouraged me to share it. I was met with many others who said ‘me too’, of having similar experiences of shame and stigma and asking for a platform to share these. Now my research works to capture a wide range of patient stories and to use these to enact change.

Being able to share my story with policy leaders felt impactful and helped centre the importance of lived experience in these conversations. We know that every time we share a story, it makes it easier for others to tell their own. It helps start conversations and reduce the isolation we can feel.

When asked about improving current NHS resources, I spoke about meaningful co-design and co-production working with patients and community groups to foster more understanding. This looks like including people with lived experience in decision-making as active participants who are experts by experience. It also looks like including patient voices in teaching within medical school curriculum, and having gendered health conditions be central to this learning. It looks like including voices of patients alongside statistics and valuing qualitative research. It could also look like the NHS increasing visibility of patient stories and experience on their websites and patient and practitioner facing materials. The NHS doesn’t need to become experts in storytelling, but they can create meaningful partnerships and collaborations with groups we have here today doing this work.

One example of this is my approach to disseminating my research findings on vulval pain and recurrent thrush. As part of my DPhil research, I used Medical Herstory’s approach to gathering stories and representing them visually, this was collated and analysed and shared on a public-facing platform with audio, video, and text clips on a platform called HEXI. This online resource (found here: https://hexi.ox.ac.uk/Recurrent-Vulvovaginal-Thrush/overview) was then included in materials for recurrent vulvovaginal thrush by the GIRFT programme (NHS England’s quality improvement programme).

Upon closing, we were asked for one takeaway towards the renewal of the Women’s Health Strategy for England. I spoke about the need to include the word ‘vulva’ more, to capture the experiences of vulval pain conditions such as recurrent thrush, vulvodynia, lichen sclerosus, and other dermatological conditions that have been overlooked. I spoke about the need to capture the experiences of the trans, non-binary and gender diverse individuals who are also accessing the same health services and require compassionate and comprehensive care.

The session was full of vibrancy, community, and calls for concrete action. It was an honour to sit alongside other advocates leading impactful work and to speak with MPs who were open to having this conversation and engage with the ideas we were bringing forth. The inquiry remains open and I look forward to seeing what comes of it next.

A recording of the session is available on ParliamentLive: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/b19b1b5b-28da-4afa-b094-6fc47005fa6f