In an unlikely twist for a town better known for its curry awards and occasional bin strikes, Rochdale is now hosting an event tackling one of the most agonising medical conditions women face, endometriosis, and its chilling link to self-harm.
Affecting one in ten women, the condition causes chronic pain, lethargy, and symptoms so far-reaching they’ve been recorded in lungs and even brains. Despite this, the NHS has historically treated it with the same urgency as a stubbed toe, leaving sufferers to endure years of agony, infertility worries, and a medical shrug that amounts to: “Have you tried paracetamol?”
The figures are brutal: women with endometriosis are 42% more likely to self-harm, including overdose and suicide. Which is why Dr Anita Sharma, founder of Endometriosis Awareness North, has taken it upon herself to organise what large healthcare systems apparently can’t manage, a serious conversation.
“For months, we’ve given women platforms to talk about their pain,” Dr Sharma explained. “But the thing they keep coming back to is mental health. More and more are self-harming because no one listens. There is no greater cry for help.”
The event, taking place at Rochdale Golf Club (because nothing says gynaecological trauma quite like polite applause in a function room with a bar), will cover spotting the signs of self-harm, busting myths, and what doctors can actually do instead of just prescribing platitudes.
Dr Sharma will be joined by Manchester researcher Harriet Cant, who is developing tools for GPs that might finally move consultations beyond: “Well, let’s wait and see.”
Online audiences are expected to tune in from as far away as India and the United States, proving that Rochdale has somehow become the accidental world capital of endometriosis awareness, a title nobody saw coming, least of all Rochdale Golf Club.
“Frankly, it’s shameful it takes a small charity here to offer life-changing support when decision-makers haven’t,” Dr Sharma said. “But we’re proud to do it.”
From down the M62, it seems Rochdale is quietly stepping up to fill the gaping void left by policymakers. And if it takes a borough better known for meat-and-potato pies to spark global change, then perhaps that says more about the state of women’s healthcare than anyone would like to admit.
