Woman's Hour

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Woman's Hour: Puberty blockers - parents' reaction, Pottery, Power List : Diane Gilpin, A Girl from Mogadishu - Ifrah Ahmed

Puberty blockers - parents' reaction, Pottery, Power List : Diane Gilpin, A Girl from Mogadishu - Ifrah Ahmed

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Puberty blockers - parents' reaction, Pottery, Power List : Diane Gilpin, A Girl from Mogadishu - Ifrah Ahmed

Puberty blockers - Parents' reaction.  Pottery - the therapeutic benefits of working with clay.  Power List - Diane Gilpin. A Girl from Mogadishu - Ifrah Ahmed's story.

Last week the High Court ruled that it was ‘unlikely that children under 16 could give informed consent to puberty blocking drugs.  The Tavistock - which runs the only clinics in the UK that have been offering this treatment on the NHS – is seeking to appeal the judgement.  Meanwhile NHS England have suspended all new referrals for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for the under 16’s.  Children already on the drugs will have their cases reviewed, and a court order will be required to start or to continue treatment.  We asked you to get in touch if you were affected.  Today, we hear from ‘Jen’ – not her real name – whose 14 year old was due to start assessment for puberty blockers this week.  On Friday, a parent we’re calling Nicola who has serious concerns about this treatment for her child, talks to us.

Around 90% of the goods we buy spend at least some of their life travelling the world's oceans. Cargo ships are efficient in terms of cost but burn large quantities of thick, unrefined fossil fuels and generate more emissions each year than Germany or Canada. So how can this globally-important industry reduce its impact on the planet? Diane Gilpin, CEO of Smart Green Shipping, believes that harnessing the tried-and-tested method of wind power and sail could halve emissions and save millions in costs on fuel. She talks to Jane about how intelligent, 40m-high aluminium sails will bring shipping into the 21st century.

Kate Malone is one of the UK’s leading potters and ceramicists – and she is keen to share the therapeutic benefits of working with clay. She joins Jane along with Charlotte Clarkson, who’s getting the chance to try the medium for herself at a local youth centre.

Somali- born Ifrah Ahmed was just eight when she was subjected to female genital mutilation. At 17, she was smuggled out of the country alone and ended up in Ireland. She’s now an Irish citizen and a successful campaigner against the practice of FGM. She was instrumental in bringing about legislation banning the practice in Ireland. Her inspiring story has been made into a film ‘A Girl from Mogadishu’ and she joins Jane to tell her story, along with the film’s director Mary McGuckian 

Presenter: Jane Garvey 
Producer: Dianne McGregor

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Puberty blockers - parents' reaction, Pottery, Power List : Diane Gilpin, A Girl from Mogadishu - Ifrah Ahmed

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