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Vagina Monologues author addresses Vancouver conference

Vagina Monologues author addresses Vancouver conference

Every woman who comes to a clinic, doctor's office or surgery room is, on some level, a woman who has been traumatized.

That was the message from author and playwright Eve Ensler, best known for writing The Vagina Monologues, when she addressed the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics' 21st World Congress in Vancouver on Monday.

The event brought together over 7,000 obstetricians, gynecologists and women's health experts from around the world to discuss advancements in the field and best practices.

But according to Ensler, what is still missing is a realization that so many women experience trauma or are at risk of trauma, especially domestic violence and sexual assault.

"That has to be a huge part of how we treat women, how we care for women, how we think about women," she told On The Coast host Stephen Quinn. "And if we don't, we can actually re-trigger memories, bad experiences, all kinds of things that can make women sicker."

Cancer diagnosis

Ensler herself was diagnosed with cancer five years ago, but has since made a full recovery.

That diagnosis and treatment process made a link in her mind between cancer and trauma, and made her rethink the way she thought about her body.

"I think many women who've survived enormous violence — and I think this is true of men, too, by the way — I think we separate from our bodies whenever that violence occurs because it becomes the landscape of our wounds, our horror, where we don't want to remember," she said.

"That detachment makes us very unaware and very disconnected from our bodies. And I think medical care should be trying to help women get back into their bodies, and not further distancing them."

After her diagnosis, Ensler said she was terrified by the medical system, but she found an "amazing" therapist who got her to think of chemotherapy as an "empathetic warrior" in her fight against the disease.

The chemotherapy was rough, she said, but when she could put it in a mental framework, it was much easier to handle.

She says women's health practitioners should look at ways of doing this for more patients to make treatment more holistic and avoid re-victimizing.

What's changed?

With The Vagina Monologues now 20 years old, Ensler was asked what has changed for women since it was first released.

"There are things that are very new, and nothing has changed at all. I go back and forth between those things every other minute," was her reply.

While there are more women having their voices heard, violence is endemic, she said, pointing to the fact that while Western countries might point proudly to the increase in women in positions of influence, rape is still a tool of war in many other countries.

"We have a long way to go, and yet, we're having this discussion. People are at least giving lip service to it, and pretending they care," she said. "The next step will be a radical push to make true, revolutionary change, when we're not having this conversation anymore because gender equality is a given."

To hear the full story, click the audio labelled: Vagina Monologues author on what's changed for women in 20 years