Episode description

The debate around widescale child sexual abuse and exploitation continues following calls from the Conservatives and Reform UK for a new national inquiry into the issue. Professor Alexis Jay chaired the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. It took seven years and was published in 2022. It warned of "endemic" abuse across society in England and Wales for girls and boys. Professor Jay has called again for implementation of her 20 recommendations. One recommendation was that those who cover up or fail to report child sexual abuse could face professional or criminal sanctions. The Home Secretary Yvette Cooper last night announced that has said that will be implemented as a new offence this year. Nuala McGovern speaks to Maggie Oliver, Founder and Chair of the Maggie Oliver Foundation, who was a former detective who resigned from Greater Manchester Police in late 2012 in order to expose the Rochdale Grooming Scandal, and Ken MacDonald, Director of Public Prosecutions from 2003-2008.

It's hoped a tool which allows women in Wales to log and report symptoms of endometriosis will empower patients to get help from their GPs and potentially lead to quicker diagnosis. It's estimated one in 10 women suffer from the condition, which can cause debilitating period pain and is linked to fertility issues. Nuala speaks to Dr Robyn Jackowich, one of the academics whose worked on the reporting tool, and Karen Hiu Ching Lo, who suffers with endometriosis.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has been urged to boycott next month’s Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan by a group of more than 160 politicians. The England men’s ODI side are due to face Afghanistan in Lahore on 26 February but there are calls for the ECB to refuse the fixture, taking a stand against the Taliban regime’s ongoing assault on women’s rights. Nuala discusses the issues with Felix Jakens, Head of Campaigns for Amnesty International.

Lucy Lawless, best known for playing Xena: Warrior Princess, joins Nuala to discuss another fearless woman. In her directorial debut, Never Look Away, she explores Margaret Moth, a warzone camerawoman for CNN who covered conflicts from the liberation of Kuwait in the early 90s to the Lebanon War in the mid-2000s armed only with a camera and an attitude.

BBC Eye have released an animation narrated by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe for BBC 100 Women 2024. It tells the stories of three women imprisoned in the notorious Evin prison in Iran. Nuala is joined by former Evin prisoner, Mahdieh Golroo and BBC Persian reporter, Baran Abbasi to discuss the prison’s reputation.

Presented by Nuala McGovern Producer: Louise Corley