Concussion in women, Age of criminal responsibility, Why women read fiction

The word ‘concussion’ might sound like a benign knock to the head but it can have lasting consequences. Women are particularly at risk. With all else being equal, women are two to three times more likely to experience a concussion, will have worse symptoms and take longer to recover. Dr Willie Stewart from Glasgow University has been trying to find out why – but has been hampered by the lack of female brains available to study. He’s now asking women to consider donating their brains in the name of science and understanding how sex differences affect the outcome and treatment of traumatic brain injury. Jane is also joined by Samantha Ainsworth, who talks about her experience of post-concussion syndrome.

Back in October we spoke to the anti-abortion group who put up graphic posters of aborted foetuses in the constituency of the MP Stella Creasy. At the time she was heavily pregnant. The same group, called CBR UK, is now planning regular anti-abortion demonstrations at Cardiff University. They've had three of them already, just before Christmas. We speak to the student who encouraged an automatic pro-choice stance at Cardiff University, and a recent graduate who's part of a group which helps students who are against abortion to express their views. Also, Dr Pam Lowe from Aston University who has been researching attitudes to abortion at UK universities.

Women are the main readers of fiction. They outnumber men in all categories of fiction bar fantasy, horror and science fiction. In her new book Why Women Read Fiction, Professor Helen Taylor draws on over 500 interviews with women readers to examine how and why women consume fiction and why reading fiction is so important to huge numbers of women.

The government’s official advisers on youth justice are calling for a full review of the age of criminal responsibility. They would like it raised by at least two years to 12, as Scotland has done recently. So why do England and Wales continue to set theirs at ten despite it being the lowest in Europe? Should children as young as ten caught committing a crime receive welfare interventions rather than being dealt with by the justice system? Jane is joined by Dr Eileen Vizard, Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist at the Institute of Child Health in UCL and Louise King, Director of Policy and Campaigns, from the legal charity, Just for Kids Law.

Presenter - Jane Garvey Producer - Anna Lacey Guest - Isadora Sinha Guest - Madeline Page Guest - Pam Lowe Guest - Samantha Ainsworth Guest - Willie Stewart Guest - Eileen Vizard Guest - Louise King Guest - Helen Taylor