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Available Episodes

5 of 1995

Domestic violence, Women & the gig economy, Boxing, UN leadership
Deaths by suicide among victims of domestic abuse in England and Wales have overtaken the number of people killed by an intimate partner, for a second year in a row. The figures are revealed in the annual national police report on domestic homicides published today, although police chiefs say the increase is due to improvements in recording, rather than a rise in the number of such cases. They've also said more perpetrators will be charged with manslaughter following their victims' deaths in future. Clare McDonnell talks to Phyllis Daly, whose daughter Jessica Laverack was 34 when she took her own life in 2018, and Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, Chair of the domestic violence charity Refuge. Amber Anning made history when just a few days ago she fought off a mid-race shove from her chief rival to become Great Britain's first ever women's 400m champion at the World Athletics Indoor Championships. She joins us to talk about her experience in Nanjing in China, and such a promising start to her professional career. We look at how the gig economy is impacting migrant women working in the UK, especially those in Ecommerce and social care. Clare's joined by director Laura Carriera, whose award-winning film On Falling explores the loneliness of a young Portuguese woman working as a picker in an online retailer's warehouse. We also hear from Dr Dora Olivia Vicol, Chief Executive of the Work Rights Centre, a charity supporting migrant workers, and ‘Rose’ - who came to the UK to work in the care sector - shares her experience of being exploited and threatened by her employers. The race for the next UN Secretary-General - who will be appointed for five years in 2026 - has begun. Campaigners are fighting for a more transparent, fair and inclusive process to elect the world’s top civil servant, and are demanding that the appointee finally be a woman. We hear from two of the people who are part of the push to make this happen - Maria Noel Leoni, Director of the GQUAL Campaign and Susana Malcorra, co-founder and President of Global Women Leaders Voices - about how the process works and why a woman has not been elected in the UN's 80-year history. Earlier we heard how victims and survivors of domestic abuse want the police to better protect them from perpetrators, but there's also a very practical and positive way some women have been trying to process their trauma to build a future for themselves. British boxer Lesley Sackey - who previously won gold at the EU Championships - is a survivor of an abusive relationship and now helps other women to gain confidence and move forward by getting into the boxing ring. She joins us along with Olivia Culverhouse, who took part in Lesley’s 10-week Fight Forward course last year. Presenter: Clare McDonnell Producer: Sarah Jane Griffiths
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Protests in Turkey, Adolescence, Women in Revolt! exhibition
Last night saw the fifth night of fierce protests across Turkey, after the main rival politician to the country's President Erdogan, was formally arrested and charged with corruption, having been detained on Wednesday. Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, has been declared as the CHP - the Republican People's Party's 2028 presidential nominee - in the last few hours. Women are being seen on the streets in their thousands and Imamoglu's wife, Dilek Kaya Imamoglu, addressed crowds outside of the Istanbul city hall yesterday. Clare McDonnell discusses the situation with the BBC's Emily Wither and Feride Eralp, a feminist activist in Turkey.Since its release, the Netflix TV series Adolescence has caused widespread discussion about what’s shaping our teenagers’ lives. The four-part series follows the fallout from 13-year-old Jamie’s arrest on suspicion of murdering his female classmate, Katie. The show is a critique of social media-boosted toxic masculinity and its role in the teenage experience. Clare discusses the issues with clinical psychologist, Dr Amani Milligan and Consultant Forensic Psychologist, Dr Ruth Tully.The National Crime Agency has launched a month-long social media campaign to combat the threat posed to teenage boys (15-17 years old) by financially motivated sexual extortion or ‘sextortion’. Marie Smith from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Emma Hardy from Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) explain why this campaign is so urgent. Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990 is a landmark exhibition currently on at the Whitworth in Manchester featuring more than 90 women artists and collectives whose ideas helped fuel the women’s liberation movement during a period of significant social, economic and political change. Clare is joined by Linsey Young, independent curator and researcher who curated the exhibition when she worked at Tate Britain, and Amrita Dhallu, also herself a curator.Presented by Clare McDonnell Producer: Louise Corley
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56:01
Weekend Woman’s Hour: Sugababes, Lockdown babies, June Sarpong, History of abortion, Women in construction
The Sugababes started their music career together in 1998 but, after Siobhán left the band in 2001, it wasn't until 2019 that Mutya, Keisha and Siobhán came back together as the Sugababes. All three members joined Nuala McGovern to celebrate the release of their brand new single, Jungle, and their biggest ever UK and Ireland tour.Five years on from the first Covid lockdown, what can be done to support the 200,000 ‘Lockdown babies’ born when lockdown was at its most restrictive, between 23 March and 4 July 2020? Nuala was joined by Nicola Botting, Professor of Developmental Disorders at City St George’s, University of London, Jane Harris, CEO of Speech and Language UK, and mum of three, Frankie Eshun.Broadcaster June Sarpong co-founded the Women Inspiration and Enterprise Network and in 2019 was appointed the first BBC Director of Creative Diversity. She joined Nuala to discuss her biography of Una Marson, the poet, playwright, feminist and activist who made history as the first black female broadcaster at the BBC.A new book Abortion – A History, gives the long view of ending pregnancy. From ancient Greece to Roe v Wade, Mary Fissell charts changing practices of and attitudes towards abortion. She joined Nuala in the Woman’s Hour studio to explain why she wrote the book and what she has learned.Work has started on a home extension and renovation that is being built and designed entirely by women. In an industry facing huge labour shortages, women remain a minority in construction, only making up 15% of the industry and only 1% of those in manual, skilled roles. Nuala was joined by the project's lead, Kat Parsons and builder, Yas Poole.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Annette Wells Editor: Laura Northedge
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Newborns & communication, Kirsty Coventry, Women in Construction
Long before they can speak, babies are brilliant communicators and all that those who care for them have to do is to listen to them, to be curious about them and to be ready to discover who they are, and everything else will fall into place. That's what child psychotherapist and mother of four Marie Derome has written about in her book for new parents - What Your Baby Wants You To Know. She joins Nuala McGovern.Kirsty Coventry has been elected as the first female and African president of the International Olympic Committee. She beat six male candidates including Britain’s Sebastian Coe. The 41-year-old former swimmer will replace Thomas Bach on the 23 June and will be the youngest president in the organisation's 130-year history. The BBC's Sport Editor Dan Roan tells us more.We’re hearing more misogynistic lyrics in music, and some of it is from female artists themselves. Is this a good way to reclaim the language or is it women being derogatory about themselves? India McTaggart, entertainment correspondent at The Telegraph, discusses.Santosh, which was the UK’s official entry into the Oscar’s International Feature Film category for 2025, is set to be released in UK cinemas on 21 March. The Hindi language film follows the title character who, through a government scheme, takes on her deceased husband’s role as a police officer in North India and is quickly embroiled in the murder investigation of a young girl. The film was written and directed by documentarian Sandhya Suri in her narrative feature film debut and she received a Bafta nomination for her efforts. Sandhya is in the Woman's Hour studio to discuss the film.Work has started on a home extension and renovation that is being built and designed entirely by women. In an industry facing huge labour shortages, women remain a minority in construction, only making up 15% of the industry, and only 1% of those in manual, skilled roles. We hear from the project's lead, Kat Parsons and builder, Yas Poole.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Kirsty Starkey Editor: Karen Dalziel
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57:10
Disability and maternity care, Ads in mobile games, Nursery costs, Playwright Julia Grogan
Disabled women in the UK face significant barriers in maternity care, with new research highlighting higher risks of stillbirth, lack of support, and negative attitudes of staff. Labour MP Marie Tidball is camplaigning for change. She joins Kylie Pentelow to describe her own experience, along with Professor Hannah Kuper, one of the researchers behind the report, who details her findings. The Advertising Standards Authority has recently banned a number of ads in mobile games which objectify women, use pornographic tropes, and feature non-consensual sexual scenarios. It's not what you expect to see popping up when playing your favourite mobile game. Kylie hears more from Jessica Tye, Regulatory Projects Manager at the ASA, who led the investigation.Nursery costs have fallen for the first time in 15 years - according to the children's charity Coram. This comes as the Government is continuing to roll out its funded childcare scheme, which will provide all eligible working parents of pre-school children with 30 hours of childcare per week from September 2025. But while some parents have seen a reduction in fees, many with children or grandchildren will be aware of the challenging costs of childcare. Are costs really falling? Can you get a nursery place? Kylie discusses the picture with BBC Education Correspondent Vanessa Clarke, Neil Leitch, Chief Executive of the Early Years Alliance, and nursery owner, Claire Kenyon.Julia Grogan's debut play Playfight was the breakout hit of last year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It earned five-star reviews, sell-out audiences – and even praise from Phoebe Waller Bridge, who called it ‘a blinding sucker-punch of a play’. The very funny and very frank play about three young women navigating sex, porn and friendship is now touring the UK, and Julia joins Kylie to discuss.Presented by Kylie Pentelow Producer: Louise Corley
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