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Sprinter twins Shannon and Cheriece Hylton

Jenni Murray speaks to athletes and twins Shannon and Cherice Hylton. Plus Woman's Hour looks at a campaign to stop abuse agaist people with disfigurments.

Many of us will be familiar with sibling rivalry, but probably not on a level experienced by 21 year-old twins Shannon and Cheriece Hylton. They are both professional sprinters-Shannon runs the 200m and Cheriece the 400m, and they have their sights firmly set on competing in Tokyo in 2020. They join Jenni to talk about how they balance their studies with training and what it's like to be managed by Sir Andy Murray.

Today the charity Changing Faces launches a Hate Crime campaign (funded by the Home Office) to stop abuse against people with disfigurements. Their research has found that only 30% of those that have experienced a hate crime reported the incident to the police. And few believe the police would deal with it effectively. Their anecdotal evidence also shows that women with disfigurements tend to be more of a target for abuse than men. Jenni speaks to Victoria Wright and Henrietta Spalding, Head of Advocacy at the charity Changing Faces.

Five years ago in September, four men were found guilty of a fatal gang rape on a bus in Delhi. The case caused riots and the Indian government started a process of looking at laws surrounding sexual violence. But for girls and women in the country, the threat of harassment and assault remains. A cultural reluctance to talk openly can make it hard to share. Yet there are pockets of change. Reporter, Catherine Carr went to visit a new group set up in the rural district of Orissa. Here women are encouraged to speak up. They have never spoken publicly like this before.

What does it mean to be a mother today? How much does society both idealise and scapegoat mothers? Is it possible for any woman to live up to expectations and be a good mother? We hear from Jacqueline Rose, Professor of Humanities at Birkbeck and author of 'Mothers, An Essay on Love and Cruelty' to talk about the role we expect mothers to perform in the world.

Available now

54 minutes

Chapters

  • Changing Faces

    Duration: 08:42

  • Shannon and Cheriece Hylton

    Duration: 08:10

  • #MeToo India

    Duration: 12:24

  • Jacqueline Rose

    Duration: 08:31

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Jenni Murray
Interviewed Guest Victoria Wright
Interviewed Guest Henrietta Spalding
Interviewed Guest Cheriece Hylton
Actor Shannon Hylton
Interviewed Guest Jacqueline Rose
Reporter Catherine Carr
Producer Kirsty Starkey

Broadcast

  • Wed 18 Apr 2018 10:00

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