An open letter calling for an end to the censorship of women鈥檚 health content online has been co-signed by more than 190 organisations, founders, health professionals and campaigners.
The letter has been published by CensHERship and The Case For Her, calling for social media platforms to update content moderation policies to better reflect medical context and gender equity.
On Instagram, a health coach had her posts repeatedly flagged for using the word 鈥渧agina,鈥� despite the content being educational and not sexual.聽
Meanwhile, a TikTok creator鈥檚 videos about endometriosis were hidden from feeds and search results without explanation, even though they received strong engagement, whilst LinkedIn removed posts from a FemTech founder promoting a menopause product, citing violations of adult content policies.聽
Facebook and Instagram also rejected ads for fertility tracking apps, misclassifying them as adult or sexual content.
The letter has been signed by high-profile figures from businesses including Essity (Bodyform), Love Honey and Fertility.
鈥淲e will not replace vagina with 鈥榁-word鈥� or refer to menopause as 鈥榯he change鈥�,鈥� it states.
鈥淲e will not avoid topics like libido, discharge, prolapse, or periods – because we need to talk about real bodies, real experiences, and real health concerns.鈥�
聽Clio Wood and Anna O鈥橲ullivan, co-founders of CensHERship, added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to level the playing field for women鈥檚 health content.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 about isolated errors. It鈥檚 about an entire digital ecosystem that treats women鈥檚 health as inappropriate.聽
鈥淭his censorship isn鈥檛 just frustrating – it鈥檚 economically damaging and, in some cases, can cost lives.鈥�
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