Farhana Shahzady is campaiging for better menopause awareness in family law

If you're currently going through divorce, or considering it - this episode is for you. Farhana Shahzady is a Director, Family Law Solicitor, Collaborative Lawyer and Mediator at Family Law Partners. She is ranked in Legal 500 and has practiced for over 20 years specialising in divorce, finances and children. In 2022, Farhana founded the Family Law Menopause Project, with the aim of raising awareness amongst the family law community of the significant impact of menopause on many women so that family lawyers can ensure that their client care and advice is attuned and reflective of this important issue which affects so many women and families. According to the research conducted by the Family Law Menopause Project and Newson Health Research and Education in 2022, 7 in 10 women (73%) who took part in the survey blamed the menopause for the breakdown of their marriage with a further 67% of the 1,000 women taking part worryingly claiming it increased domestic abuse and arguments. Unsurprisingly, 80% said that perimenopause had placed strain on their children and family life.    In this episode we cover: the fact that - given divorce is a stressful life change - this stress may ‘mask’ the symptoms of perimenopause, and at present, most family lawyers simply don’t think to check with clients whether they may be perimenopausal the long term financial implications for women if their earning capacity is or has been impacted by perimenopausal symptoms (especially if they have left work as a result), including the ‘pension gap’ - and why this would need to be borne in mind for financial settlements why it is important for lawyers to bear in mind the impact symptoms might have on a client (eg extra time for completing complex forms, difficulty remembering certain facts or chronology, difficulty dealing with confrontational situations)   You can read more about the research we talk about in the interview at https://www.nhmenopausesociety.org/menopause-puts-final-nail-in-marriage-coffin/   You can also find Farhana’s practice at www.familylawpartners.co.uk and the Family Law Menopause Project is on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/lawmenopause    You can find the podcast on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/middlingalong_podcast/ and you can listen to past episodes/subscribe to the newsletter at https://middlingalong.com     It would mean so much if you’d subscribe, rate, and review us to share the love and help others find the podcast too!   You can also find me at https://www.instagram.com/managingthemenopause  or at www.managingthemenopause.com where we offer 1-2-1 coaching and workplace training.