麻豆社

The ongoing trial of the former head of the International Monetary Fund Dominique Strauss-Kahn for pimping prostitutes has been headline news inside and outside France.聽 Since 5 out of 6 plaintiffs dropped their cases against him earlier this week, it looks increasingly likely that he will be acquitted, as the prosecutor has advised the judge to do.聽 Guilty or innocent 鈥� do French women care about the outcome? Jenni is joined by French journalist Agnes Poirier to discuss.

A study carried out by a children鈥檚 charity has found that almost a third of parents of children aged 5 鈥� 18 years old admit they would feel embarrassed if their child wanted counselling in school. As part of the UK鈥檚 first Children鈥檚 Mental Health Week, the charity Place2Be wants to raise awareness of the benefits of getting children support at the earliest opportunity to stop the problems developing into more serious health issues as they grow into adults and to encourage parents to talk openly to their children about their feelings. Jenni is joined by Dr. Fiona Pienaar Clinical Director at Place2be and from 23 year old Allie who suffered mental health problems as a child. 聽

The satire 鈥淭he Last of the De Mullins鈥� by St John Hankin was set in 1908, a time when Britain was going through great social change and the Suffragette movement was growing. Hankin鈥檚 play is a feminist comedy-drama about an unmarried woman, who rejoices in being a working single mother, and refuses to be tied to the institution of marriage. Progressive ideas for the time! The current production of the Last of the De Mullins is at the Jermyn Street Theatre in London, the first professional staging in London for over a century. Does it still have the power to shock? Jenni is joined by actor and author, Roberta Taylor, who plays Mrs Jane De Mullin and Dr Jean Chothia, Reader Emerita in Drama and Theatre at Selwyn College, Cambridge. The Last of the De Mullins runs until the 28th February 2015.

Around 15,000 migrant domestic workers enter the UK every year. They are brought to Britain legally, as household servants for foreign nationals, mostly from Gulf countries. Their visa "ties" them to their employer - meaning their right to be in Britain is solely at the behest of their employers. Those who work for abusive employers are faced with an unenviable choice: stay and suffer in silence or escape and risk deportation. Woman鈥檚 Hour hears from a female domestic worker who has escaped an abusive employer and is now in the country illegally, trapped in a cycle of exploitation. Jenni Murray also speaks to Marissa Begonia who helps rescue women from this form of modern day slavery. 聽聽

This issue is explored in depth in today.

Former diplomat Jean Harrod spent her working life travelling the world.聽 She has now published her first novel, "Deadly Diplomacy," which tells the story of a British consul caught up in a murder investigation in Australia. Jean's 30 year career took her to Europe, China, Australia, Indonesia and Mauritius. So, how much did her real life experience influence her fiction? And how did Jean鈥檚 local coffee shop in Yorkshire help her get into print?聽