Christmas hosting, Epstein files, Women in retail, FGM

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.2 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 22 December 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Christmas parties, Christmas dinners, Christmas Day: this time of the year can be full of hosting duties and opportunities. But for many women, hosting can be the source of stress and worry, whether it’s the house, the food or the relationships between our family and friends. To discuss what our worries reveal and what you can do to enjoy hosting more and stress a bit less, Datshiane Navanayagam is joined by psychotherapist and author Philippa Perry and content creator Matilda Bea.

Thousands of pages of documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's abuse were released by the US Department of Justice last Friday and dominated headlines over the weekend. The DOJ then removed at least 13 files from the website without explanation by Saturday because of concerns raised by victims, according to the deputy attorney general. One of the images removed included a photograph of US President Donald Trump. Datshiane Navanayagam is joined by BBC Correspondent, Joe Inwood to hear more.

The government has announced that next year it will cease funding its flagship international programme to prevent FGM, or Female Genital Mutilation. A recent report published by a group of MPs says access to services for survivors in the UK is a postcode lottery and they are often not provided with the appropriate counselling services. To discuss this, Datshiane Navanayagam is joined by Sema Gornall, CEO of The Vavengers, a UK-based charity committed to ending Female Genital Mutilation, and Christine Jardine, Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West and member of the Women and Equalities Committee.

Christmas shopping is stressful at the best of times, but what about for those working in retail? Women account for 66% of jobs in the sector, and a recent study by the retail trust found three quarters have experienced abuse this year, with 43% wanting to quit their jobs as a result. The rate of shoplifting has also gone up by 13% from last year, the highest for 20 years. We hear from retail worker Stephanie Michelle and Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the Retail Trust.

Presented by: Datshiane Navanayagam Produced by: Sarah Jane Griffiths

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:07.0	Hello, Greg Jenner here, host of You're Dead to Me, the comedy podcast that takes history seriously and then laughs at it.
0:13.4	This Christmas, forget about socks. We've got the best present of all.
0:17.2	Dead people!
0:18.2	All that sounds like zombies. Sorry, it's not zombies. Let me start again.
0:21.8	In our new family-friendly podcast series, dead funny history,
0:25.0	historical figures come back to life
0:26.8	but just long enough to argue with me,
0:28.7	tell their life stories and sometimes get on my nerves.
0:31.8	You're dead to me, dead funny history.
0:34.1	Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:36.5	Hello, I'm Dashiani Navanayagam and welcome to Women's Hour on BBC Radio 4.
0:42.2	Good morning and welcome to the programme. I hope you've had a lovely weekend.
0:47.2	Although, let's be honest, if you ventured anywhere near the shops, well, lovely might not be
0:52.4	quite the word. We are just three days away from Christmas
0:56.3	after all. I know you don't need reminding. How did that happen? It feels like it comes around
1:01.6	faster every year, at least for me. But if you were out this weekend, were you out there
1:07.0	battling the crowds, doing some last-minute shopping. How did it go? Did you survive?
1:13.2	Or maybe you're still avoiding it entirely, in which case all my festive good luck wishes
1:19.0	are coming your way. But I wanted to ask, have you ever thought about Christmas shopping
1:24.2	from the other side of the tills. The reason I'm asking is because
1:28.9	I'll be speaking to one woman who's worked in retail for the last eight years about what this
	...

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