March 25, 2025

Domestic violence, Women & the gig economy, Boxing, UN leadership

57 minutes

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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