Woman's Hour

This week the Government set out its strategy to deal with violence against women and girls. This makes up nearly 20% of all recorded crime in England and Wales. Over the last year alone, one in every eight women was a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking, according to Home Office figures. Educating boys on misogyny is a key aim of the strategy and figures show that nearly one in five boys aged 13 to 15 are said to hold a positive view of the self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate, according to a YouGov poll. Alex Davies-Jones, the minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls, joins Anita Rani to discuss the Government's strategy.Hollywood actor Kate Hudson’s latest movie Song Sung Blue is based on the real life story of Wisconsin couple Mike and Claire Sardina. Kate plays Claire, who along with her husband Mike, played by Hugh Jackman, finds local fame in the 1990s as a Neil Diamond tribute act. Kate tells Anita about the appeal of the role and how she’s now found empowerment and her voice.Woman’s Hour celebrates the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. Nuala McGovern delves into the world that Jane was born into in 1775. She is joined by the author Gill Hornby, President of the UK Jane Austen Society, and by Dr Zoe McGee whose book Courting Disaster explores the issue of consent in Regency literature.According to a survey in the press this week, nearly half of younger women surveyed said they are confident in painting and decorating, compared with just 28% of young men. The stats are from the motoring and cycling firm Halfords who said its study revealed a reversal from previous generations. We hear from Vickie Lee, DIY YouTuber known online as The Carpenter's Daughter, alongside Caroline Henn, founder of bePractical DIY in Bristol, who runs courses aimed at making DIY accessible.We celebrate the phenomenon of female tribute acts to male bands. Gobby Holder, aka Danie Cox of Slady and Lolo Wood of The Fallen Women and Ye Nuns discuss.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

Hollywood actor Kate Hudson’s latest movie Song Sung Blue is based on the real life story of Wisconsin couple Mike and Claire Sardina. Kate plays Claire, who along with her husband Mike, played by Hugh Jackman, finds local fame in the 1990s as a Neil Diamond tribute act. Kate tells Anita Rani about the appeal of the role and how she’s now found empowerment and her voice. Set up in 2015, the Undercover Policing Inquiry is one of the most complicated, expensive and delayed public inquiries in British legal history. At its heart is a series of very serious allegations of systematic abuses by undercover policing units over 40 years, which involved spying on tens of thousands of activists and led to relationships with women who did not know they were being spied on. The BBC's Ayshea Buksh has been following the inquiry closely and joins Anita to explain the latest revelations. Sophie Blake is a former TV presenter and now a campaigner for cancer charities. She is also a single mother living with stage 4 cancer. She joins Anita, along with her teenage daughter, Maya, to talk candidly about parenting through incurable cancer, what this means for their relationship and why time together, especially around the Christmas holidays, is that much more valuable.We hear a lot about young men moving to the Right politically, but at the last election young women swung just as strongly, if not more so, to the Left. Why is this so little discussed and what does it mean for the UK’s political future? Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff has been exploring these issues in a new Radio 4 documentary, Left Out: the political radicalisation of young women - and the silence surrounding it. She and Scarlett Maguire from political pollsters, Merlin Strategy, join Anita.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Corinna Jones

Today the Government sets out its strategy to deal with violence against women and girls. This makes up nearly 20% of all recorded crime in England and Wales. Over the last year alone, one in every eight women was a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking, according to Home Office figures. Educating boys on misogyny is a key aim of today’s strategy and figures show that nearly one in five boys aged 13 to 15 are said to hold a positive view of the self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate, according to a YouGov poll. Alex Davies-Jones, the minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls, joins Anita Rani to discuss the Government's strategy.With the long, cold and dark evenings, now feels like the perfect time to curl up indoors and get lost in a book. Well, if you’re looking for something cosy to read over Christmas, look no further than Jenny Colgan. Her books have been Sunday Times & New York Times bestsellers, selling more than 15 million copies worldwide. Jenny tells Anita about her latest novel, The Secret Christmas Library, set in the snowy landscape of the Scottish Highlands.In England almost two thirds of people are considered obese or overweight. An estimated 1.5 million people in the UK, are using weight-loss injections, or GLP1s. But what happens when you decide to stop, or have no choice but to come off them? A BBC News documentary on iPlayer, What Happens When, asks just that. To find out more Anita is joined by Dr Emma Anders who, after a short break, has decided to continue using weight loss jabs, and the GP, Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi. Amara Okereke has been taking the musical theatre world by storm, with roles including Cosette in Les Misérables and Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. She’s currently singing and dancing across the stage as American model Dale Tremont, in the Irving Berlin’s 1930s musical Top Hat at London’s Southbank Centre. She tells Anita about the role and her love of musical theatre.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Andrea Kidd

A man believed to be the UK’s most prolific romance fraudster, who conned a number of women into giving him almost a million pounds, has been jailed for seventeen years - the longest sentence ever handed down for romance fraud in the UK. Anna Rowe, founder of Catch the Catfish and a former victim of romance fraud joins Nuala.It’s 50 years this month since the Sex Discrimination Act was passed - a cause and campaign which united women across classes and generations. Historian Dr Lyndsey Jenkins tells us about the struggle to make it law, and the impact it had on women’s lives.This morning we reveal that the Home Office is planning to expand a pilot scheme where domestic abuse specialists are embedded in police 999 control rooms to advise officers handling calls. They listen in, provide feedback, run training sessions for call handlers and ensure victims are pointed to support services. This pilot was introduced earlier this year under "Raneem's law" after Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem were murdered by Raneem's ex partner. Raneem had called West Midlands police 14 times to report concerns about her safety. Her aunt Nour Norris has campaigned for this change and joins Nuala in the studio.We celebrate the phenomenon of female tribute acts to male bands. Gobby Holder, aka Danie Cox of Slady and Lolo Wood of The Fallen Women and Ye Nuns tell us how their audiences have grown.

Jill Hornby, author and UK Jane Austen Society president, Dr. Zoe McGee, academic and author focused on consent in classic literature, and comedian Rachel Parris discuss the enduring relevance of Austen for women today. They explore Austen's personal experiences with marriage, the role of female households, and the social context of Regency England. The guests reveal how Austen's spin-off characters inspire new stories and adaptations, showcasing her rich legacy and universal themes that continue to resonate across cultures.

The Government is set to unveil its long-awaited Violence Against Women and Girls strategy later this week. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has described violence against women and girls as a 'national emergency'. Some early releases of what will be in the strategy have been reported in the press over the weekend, including establishing specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams in every police force across England and Wales by 2029. Andrea Simon, Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, and Harriet Wistrich, founder and Director of the Centre for Women's Justice, join Nuala McGovern to talk about what we know so far. According to a survey in lots of the papers today, nearly half of younger women surveyed said they are confident in painting and decorating, compared to just 28% of young men. The stats are from the motoring and cycling firm Halfords who said its study revealed a reversal from previous generations. Vickie Lee, DIY YouTuber known online as The Carpenter's Daughter, joins us, alongside Caroline Henn, founder of bePractical DIY in Bristol, who runs courses aimed at making DIY accessible. Food is a ‘form of conversation between people, between generations of the same family, or between members of local and global communities’, says Alissa Timoshkina, a food writer and historian, whose family has a Ukrainian-Jewish lineage. At the start of Hanukkah, Alissa - author of new recipe book Kapusta - joins Nuala to talk about why she believes food is the language of unity.The Midlothian singer-songwriter Brooke Combe first came to prominence with her singalong, handclapping debut single, Are You With Me? Her early cover songs found mass appeal, particularly her rendition of Baccara’s Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, the Scotland international football team’s anthem in summer 2021. She has performed at Glastonbury and opened for Benson Boone on his American Heart World Tour. She joins Nuala to discuss her music and debut album, Dancing at the Edge of the World.Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Simon Richardson

Baroness Amos, who was appointed by the Health Secretary to lead an independent rapid investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal care in England, has said nothing prepared her for the scale of 'unacceptable care' that women and families have received. Presenter Krupa Padhy is joined by the BBC’s Social Affairs correspondent Michael Buchanan and Theo Clarke, former Conservative MP who also chaired the UK Birth Trauma Inquiry and hosts the podcast, Breaking the Taboo, to discuss the review and what comes next.Wages for housework was a feminist mantra in the West in the 1970s – feminist campaigners arguing for recognition of the economic value of domestic labour. The debate has been revived in India over the last decade with an estimated 118 million women across 12 states now receiving unconditional cash transfers from their governments. Devina Gupta, a reporter based in Delhi, and Professor Prabha Kotiswaran from King’s College in London unpick the impact of ‘wages for housework’ on women’s lives and the Indian economy.When Kaitlin Lawrence was just 22 years old, she collapsed whilst playing netball for the then Super League side Surrey Storm. She was eventually diagnosed with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a genetic condition she never knew she had. Following this, she was forced to give up her dream of playing professionally for Scotland and has gone on to successfully campaign to get cardiac screening introduced in the Netball Super League next season. She tells Anita her story. They were joined by Presenter Gabby Logan, whose younger brother died suddenly at the age of 15 years old from an undiagnosed heart condition. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.A new report highlights the crucial role of strength training and exercise for people on weight loss drugs. Data gathered by fitness professionals, Les Mills and the not-for-profit industry body, ukactive, shows the impact of weight loss drugs on skeletal muscle mass. Their report says that 20-50% of weight loss is lean body mass, which poses significant health risks such as frailty, disability, reduced metabolism, and increased mortality. Physiotherapist Lucy McDonald and Dr Sarah Jarvis join Krupa to discuss the importance of strength training to mitigate muscle loss.Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

In a lively discussion, Vanessa Clarke, a BBC Education Correspondent, dives into the government’s new £3 billion plan for SEND funding, highlighting its potential impact and the need for more specialized staff. Meanwhile, Tabitha Morton, Executive Director at UN Women UK, introduces the Same Side campaign aimed at countering toxic masculinity, especially among young men influenced by online figures. Exciting insights from both guests make for a powerful conversation about education and societal change.

Caitlin Lawrence, a former Super League netball player, shares her inspiring journey after being diagnosed with a serious heart condition, leading her to successfully campaign for cardiac screening in netball. Gabby Logan discusses the explosive growth of women's sports and her pivotal role during a remarkable year, including her new role on Match of the Day. Journalist Norberto Paredes offers insights into Venezuelan leader Maria Corina Machado's dramatic return to public life and the political struggles she faces, highlighting her commitment to opposition efforts.

John Smyth is believed to be the most prolific serial abuser associated with the Church of England. In 2024, an independent review carried out by Keith Makin found that Smyth abused 30 boys and young men in the UK, and around 85 in Zimbabwe and South Africa. A new Channel 4 documentary, See No Evil, reveals the scale of Smyth's abuse and features testimony from victims and survivors, the journalists who uncovered the story, and from Smyth's family. Fiona Rugg, John Smyth's daughter, is part of the documentary and joins Nuala in the studio. Woman's Hour also hears from Madeleine Davies, Senior Writer at the Church Times, who has followed this story closely.As the government announces plans to spend £500m on youth services in England, what is the state of youth work today? Nuala is joined by Abbee McLatchie, Deputy CEO of the National Youth Agency, who has been working in and around youth services for 25 years, and Letitia Simms, a youth worker for the charity Cranstoun in the Routes youth advisory hub in Dudley in the West Midlands.Wages for housework was a feminist mantra in the West in the 1970s – feminist campaigners arguing for recognition of the economic value of domestic labour. The debate has been revived in India over the last decade with an estimated 118 million women across 12 states now receiving unconditional cash transfers from their governments. Devina Gupta, a reporter based in Delhi, and Professor Prabha Kotiswaran from King’s College in London unpick the impact of ‘wages for housework’ on women’s lives and the Indian economy.