CensHERship

A year ago, the CensHERship campaign didn't exist. Our mission is to level the playing field for women’s health content and businesses across online platforms from social media to financial services. Since creating the campaign in February we have: ✍ initiated three pieces of research and engaged with hundreds of organisations to gather evidence on digital suppression and refusal of financial services. 📰 had our research published in national media including The Times and The Guardian as well as WIRED, Glamour and more. 📻 appeared on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour, TWICE!! 🤝 partnered with The Case for Her on our piece of research looking at social media censorship in the EU 💻 met with two social media companies (we'd love to chat to more!) 😊 organised one incredible roundtable meeting with brands, charities and creators impacted by social media censorship. ♥️ gained support from four amazing women who are now our advisory board (more to be revealed here soon!) And lots more!! We're just getting started. We have big plans for 2025 to change the landscape for women's health content and businesses across the board. If you've completed one of our surveys, talked to us about your experience, followed our page, joined an event or even just 'liked' a post on social media THANK YOU from our co-founders Clio Wood and Anna O'Sullivan for being a part of it. Together, we can make change!

Medical misogyny should be no surprise when women aren't even allowed to talk about our own bodies properly. Last week, a new Government report by the Women and Equalities Committee highlighted that women and girls suffer years of pain and undiagnosed or untreated conditions due to inbuilt gender bias and poor training. ....But it's no wonder when censorship of women's health issues and women's bodies is rife on social media and elsewhere. The way that we are treated by medical professionals is shaped by our language and societal expectations of behaviour.  We started the CensHERship campaign in February 2024 to tackle social media censorship of women's health content - both organic and paid, and authored by charities, brands, creators and medical educators.  Our research has shown that 9 in 10 organisations have experienced censorship or suppression of content in the last 12 months, with 4 in 10 of those experiencing 10 instances or more in the same time period. Our work highlights this issue that is widespread and hypocritical. Stigma and bias in healthcare and medical training is shaped by societal discourse. We believe that censorship has a far greater bearing on women's health and wellbeing than getting fewer 'likes' or 'views'. When nearly naked images of women's bodies are allowed to be posted unchecked when viewed through a sexual lens, but breast cancer awareness campaigns are censored, something is wrong with the system. We're here to change things. Please 'like' this post and follow this page to help us raise more awareness.

Earlier this month our co-founder Clio Wood was back on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour hosted by Nuala McGovern with Tess Isabelle Cosad of Béa Fertility and Farah K. of HANX to talk about our CensHERship work once again. Our first report shows that 9 in 10 organisations experience censorship of women's health content (organic and paid) on social media and 100% of the organisations surveyed in our second piece of research experienced refusal or difficulties with financial services. This censorship extends to ecommerce and payments platforms too, but perhaps more worryingly also to banking and insurance - fundamental administration that businesses need to operate. This suppression means that the whole life cycle of women's health and femtech businesses (the vast majority of which are female-founded) is negatively impacted. As most of these businesses are tackling traditionally under-served and under-researched women's health problems, it ultimately means that the gender health gap is being sustained. We'd love to talk to Amazon and Meta for starters (the two companies we mentioned in our case studies) but everyone is welcome to come and chat to see how CensHERship can help you help us all make some change! Get in touch via our website: www.censhership.co.uk Link to listen in the comments!

Our Co-Chair, Pamela San Martín, on what we should be holding social platforms accountable for, at this year's Web Summit in Lisbon. Video credit: Web Summit #WebSummit #Meta #socialmedia

💋Let’s talk about the double standards that are impossible to ignore. As a small brand in the s*xual wellness and intimate health space, I’m constantly battling censorship on platforms like Meta. Ads are rejected, posts are shadowbanned, and accounts are silenced—even when we’re simply educating and empowering people to care for their bodies. And yet, I’m bombarded with ads for big-name brands using innuendos like “we sit on your face” for sunglasses or “better bangs” for hair products. Let’s be real: if a small business posted anything like this @sabrinacarpenter for @ultabeauty advertisement we’d be flagged immediately. So why the free pass? Because these brands have celebrity clout and massive budgets to skirt the so-called “community guidelines.” Meanwhile, small businesses and educators trying to dismantle shame, promote pleasure, and advocate for health are treated like cyber criminals. It’s frustrating. It’s demoralizing. It’s BS. This isn’t just about ads—it’s about the systemic policing of female pleasure, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ health, and the double standards that allow big corporations to profit from the very same things we’re punished for. We need change. We need fairness. And we need platforms to do better. I’ll keep advocating, sharing, and speaking out—because our voices and our work matter. Ps I love Sabrina Carpenter. Have you noticed this double standard too? Let’s talk about it below. ⬇️ #Censorship #SexualWellness

Does your start-up or brand operate in the EU? Have you faced digital suppression on social media when sharing essential health information? We want to do something about that! CensHERship is partnering with The Case for Her to gather insights from across the EU about social media censorship of health content. Perhaps your content has been flagged as inappropriate, shadowbanned, or even removed, we want to collect your experience. Our last research landed in national media and sparked meetings with two major social media platforms. There's more we can do to create a level playing field for everyone sharing health content! 👉 Please add your voice to help make a difference. Take our short survey here: https://lnkd.in/ehhJ8J_c

🚨👋 Attention Health Companies! Do you work in communications at a European health company and do you use very large online platforms (VLOPS) such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Linkedin, and Google to advertise your product or service? Have you faced digital suppression on social media when sharing essential health information? We want to hear your story! 🚀 The Case for Her, in partnership with the CensHERship campaign, is gathering insights from health innovators like you. Whether your content has been flagged as inappropriate, shadowbanned, or outright removed, we need to understand how censorship is impacting both women’s and men’s health content. Examples include: 💻 Flagging of accurate sexual health information as “explicit” or “inappropriate” content. 💻 Shadowbanning posts about menstruation, menopause, or erectile dysfunction—leaving followers unaware of these vital messages. 💻 Removal of ads or posts for reproductive health products with little to no explanation. CensHERship's last research made waves, landing in national media and sparking meetings with two major social media platforms. Now, we need your voice to push this forward, break down these barriers, and create a fair digital space for all. Take the survey below and let’s make a difference together! 👉 https://lnkd.in/dde98aRQ #femtech #womenshealth #womenshealthinnovation #healthcare #ecosystem #advertising #marketing #socialmedia #digitalhealth #ads #europe #socialnetworks #sponsored

Our co-founder Clio Wood spoke to BBC Persia about our work with CensHERship - take a look here:

Did you catch The Case for Her and CensHERship in the latest Femtech Insider newsletter? 😍 Today we are spotlighting our research on social media and big tech platform censorship of health content 💻 If you or someone you know works at a European health company and has experienced censorship while marketing your service and product, please fill out our survey! Your insights are integral to generating fair advertising policies for sharing essential health information. 🌟 Please fill in our survey here: https://lnkd.in/dde98aRQ #Censorship #SocialMediaMarketing #Entrepreneurship #Investing https://lnkd.in/dbZS89h9

When sharing a video that could save someone’s life using a crochet prop and a Barbie ® doll to educate about self checks and raise awareness about cancer and it’s still seen as inappropriate with a sensitivity cover put over it and a warning message comes up before sharing on Instagram. The video in question had over 1 million views and so many positive comments a few of which I’ve included in the images below. I also received so many uplifting DMs. This is the reality of women’s and gynae health education. This perpetuates the shame and stigma, the embarrassment - it is one of the reasons the gender health gap exists, it’s why many women are suffering in silence. It’s what is leading to untimely death! This is so exhausting, disappointing and disheartening but I won’t stop. If you want to see the video kindly reshared on The Female Lead page that has this cover put by Instagram click this link https://lnkd.in/ewFhJBgn Women’s health deserves better.