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Last week we heard from Lara, a young woman who had been sexually exploited for four years from the age of 13. Lara talked about how traumatic her court experience had been last summer. In the light of the many cases nationwide of grooming still being investigated and prosecuted, Jenni talks to barrister Hugh Davies and campaigner from Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation, Fleur Strong. How have the judiciary, the Crown Prosecution Service and the government attempted to remedy the way these young girls are treated once they are in the legal system?

Writer and feminist activist Beatrix Campbell says we are living in an era where new inequalities are emerging in our culture. Talking about her new book ‘End of Equality: The Only Way Is Woman’s Liberation’, she tells Jenni why the time has come to re-evaluate our society. She says we need a new way of thinking in order understand why violence against women has increased, rape is still committed with impunity and the struggle for equal pay has made so little progress. 

The American stage and film actress Lillian Gish has been described as the First Lady of American Cinema and had a career that spanned 75 years. She was interviewed on Woman's Hour in 1957 by Gordon Gow. In the interview, which is now part of our archive collection, she explains how she played her last heroine role at the age of 17 because she was beginning to look too old on screen. She also describes working in silent films. With the Oscars approaching, Film critic Antonia Quirke joins Jenni to discuss her legacy.

Instead of the usual sweary scrawls that teenagers graffiti on their school textbooks, Jodi Ann Bickley would write ‘You’re lovely’, or ‘Don’t worry – it’ll be lunch soon!’. Next she started leaving little notes of cheer and positivity on bus seats or in doctors’ surgeries for strangers to find. She also wrote poetry, which she performed at festivals all over the country - but at one festival, she was bitten by a tick, and contracted encephalitis. This was complicated by a mini-stroke, which left her needing to relearn how to write and walk, and . But, in this place of exhaustion and depression, she began her One Million Lovely Letters project. Anyone can email Jodi if they’re feeling down for any reason, and she will post a written letter to remind them that they are loved, have worth, and mustn’t lose hope. She talks with Jenni about how it feels to receive emails from strangers all over the world sharing their problems, and the importance of spreading happiness.