If so, we invite you to participate in a gathering called Stand Up and Be Counted, from 4:45 – 5:20 p.m. on Sept. 14, 2022, in Killian Court.
This event will include a short educational program on gaps in research, diagnosis, and treatment of gynecological disorders, and will be a call for action to address these gaps: “Mens et Manus” for gynecology!
For event updates, or if you would like to volunteer to help at this gathering, contact Victoria González-Canalle at vgonz@mit.edu. We are seeking volunteers to help refine the educational program, to help with set up of the event, and to help with logistics before and during the event. You will be asked to participate in 1-3 pre-event organizational/educational meetings, which includes becoming familiar with the educational component through our “gynecology school.”
This event will precede an exclusive advance screening of the new documentary film, Below the Belt, to be shown at 6:30 p.m. on Sept 14 in Room 10-250 on the MIT campus. The screening will be followed by an expert panel discussion with clinicians, scientists, and patients from the MIT community about the challenges in integrating basic and clinical research to improve patient care. Attendance at the film screening is not required for you to participate in the Stand Up and Be Counted gathering.
If all individuals in our community who have missed work or class due to gynecology problems gathered for a photo –- we could overflow Killian Court, and the photo would go viral!
If you want to stay informed about this event, please contact Victoria González-Canalle at vgonz@mit.edu to be added to the listserv. No pre-registration is needed, however feel free to let us know if you plan to join us for to Stand Up and Be Counted – especially if you would like to volunteer to help us with this huge effort!
Our goal with this gathering is to make the constant needless suffering by people with gynecology disorders vividly visible. We are inviting everyone in the MIT community (students, staff, faculty, alum) who has a gynecology disorder that causes interruption in their lives for a powerful visible demonstration of the impact on our community. An estimated 20-25 percent of MIT women are affected. Others who have been affected through personal relationships are invited to join the patients as a parallel statement.
The Film: Below the Belt: A film to change endometriosis
The documentary film, executive produced by Hillary Rodham Clinton, addresses the social and scientific challenges of endometriosis, through first-person stories. The film exposes widespread problems in our healthcare systems. It reveals how millions of people with endometriosis are effectively silenced.
If you are interested in the screening, follow this link for tickets and more information. MIT Community members (active and alumni) may attend the event at a reduced ticket cost of $10, and some fee waivers are available.
The Sept. 14 event is an opportunity for the MIT community to advocate for the roles MIT and others can play in improving diagnosis and treatment of gynecology diseases in clinical practice, and bolster calls for improved funding for research.