Women are being told by health professionals that their pain is a psychological or personality issue.
That's according to Victoria's health minister, who detailed early findings from a women's pain inquiry that heard from 13,000 women, girls, clinicians and carers.
Participants shared instances of sexism and misogyny in healthcare, described the toll of chronic pain on their lives and experiences of being ignored, the state government said.
About 4500 people described living with endometriosis, 3000 with migraines and 2500 with period pain.
Health minister Mary-Anne Thomas said it was clear women's pain was not taken seriously enough, with women describing difficulties navigating both public and private health systems.
"Overwhelmingly, they told us that they're not being listened to, and instead their pain is being attributed to either psychological or personality factors," Ms Thomas told reporters in Heidelberg on Tuesday.
"This is simply not good enough, when women are not being listened to it means that their diagnosis is not happening where and when it should."
The report is yet to be finalised but the minister expected recommendations to include educating clinicians about women's health.
"To be frank, we have clinicians that don't really understand a range of conditions that impact women's health," Ms Thomas said.
"We can think about the courses, the degree courses that our healthcare professionals study, and whether or not they have sufficient focus on women's health.
"We can think about the training that they receive on site in our hospitals and other healthcare settings and their ongoing professional development."
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Victoria chair Dr Anita Munoz said she was "not particularly surprised" by the early findings as they are backed up by two decades worth of academic literature.
"Women, when they're presenting with pain, have long reported that they have difficulty being heard and understood," Dr Munoz told AAP.
"There are lots of different diagnoses made when women present with pain, particularly gynaecological and pelvic pain."
She said the current rebate system rewarded GPs for spending "less time, not more" with patients and called for them to be eligible for paid time off to study, as in other health professions.
"Chronic pain is a bona fide medical problem that requires as much careful care as anything else," Dr Munoz said.
"So I think we do need an attitudinal shift, we need time to spend with our patients and we need a greater understanding of, actually, very complex pathophysiology of pelvic pain."
The final report is due to be handed down at the end of 2024.
