Stella Creasy, Libby Scott and her mum Kym on Autism, Sexual Harassment
Woman's Hour
BBC
4.1 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 30 June 2021
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Labour and Cooperative MP Stella Creasy is threatening legal action over her forthcoming maternity leave cover. Backbench MPs are currently allowed to take informal maternity leave, but not all their duties are covered during their absence. For instance they can employ office staff to help with constituency issues Ms Creasy says she’s currently only being offered two thirds of her salary to employ a suitable replacement but she says that won’t cover important tasks like meeting Ministers, media work or doing school visits. Also a replacement is unable to speak in the House of Commons or attend parliamentary committees. Ms Creasy has said: "I think every woman should be able to have paid maternity cover, proper cover - it's not just about being paid, it's that somebody else will be doing that job.”
She may just be 13 years old but Libby Scott has just released her third novel ‘Ways to Be Me’ in collaboration with the author Rebecca Westcott. Along with the hugely successful Can You See Me? and Do you Know Me?, the three novels feature the story of Tally who is autistic. The books have been widely praised for their realistic portrayal of autism. Although not autobiographical Tally’s story is partly based on Libby’s own experiences of being autistic herself. This latest one - a prequel to Can You See Me? - goes back in time to the period just before she gets a diagnosis age 10. Libby and her mum Kym join Chloe.
A humanitarian ceasefire has just been called but since November last year the fighting between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and government forces in Ethiopia has left thousands of people dead. More than two million have been displaced and 350,000 pushed towards famine. There are reports of women who were kidnapped by soldiers and held as sexual slaves. Chloe discusses the situation with BBC Africa Correspondent in Nairobi - Vivienne Nunis and Rita Kahsay, co-ordinator of the Tigray Youth Network based in the UK.
Fertility clinics in the UK are removing an unsafe number of eggs from women hoping to have IVF, according to a new study. Looking at data from UK fertility clinics between 2015 and 2018, researchers found that some were retrieving far too many eggs from women, reporting cases of up to 50 eggs being removed in a single procedure. The ideal 'safe yield' is around 12 eggs. Chloe Tilley discusses the implications with Joyce Harper, Professor of Reproductive Science at the Institute of Women's health at UCL, and the author of Your Fertile Years.
As we know travellers are obliged to quarantine in a hotel at their own cost after returning from countries on the UK's red list, where Covid infection rates are high. They spend 10 nights in their room and are allowed out for daily exercise only when accompanied by a guard. Private security companies have been hired by the government to ensure hotel guests observe quarantine rules. Kathy Godolphin had a disturbing experience saying she experienced sexual harassment at a hotel after returning from working on a conservation and anti-poaching project in Zimbabwe. She joins Chloe Tilley to discuss the aftermath of that ten days.
Presented by Chloe Tilley Producer: Louise Corley Editor: Beverley Purcell
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.6 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.4 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable |
| 0:14.3 | experts and genuinely engaging voices. What you may not know is that the BBC |
| 0:20.4 | makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | BBC Sounds, Music Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:42.0 | Hello I'm Chloe Tilly. Welcome to the Wall. podcasts. get maternity cover for your job. Well it seems if you're an MP it's pretty |
| 0:53.7 | difficult. Labours Stella Cruzi is threatening legal action because there's no |
| 0:57.9 | system in place to bring in a replacement to fulfill all of her role. She |
| 1:02.2 | says either her baby or her constituents will |
| 1:04.8 | miss out. We'll hear more from her next. Now at 13 Libby Scott has written three |
| 1:09.7 | books about an autistic girl which are in part based on her lived experiences. |
| 1:13.7 | She's dropping in with her mom to tell us about her latest book and how her main |
| 1:17.6 | character Tally has helped gain her some confidence. |
| 1:21.0 | Plus women undergoing IVF treatment at some British clinics are having |
| 1:24.8 | what's been described as far too many eggs retrieved in one go. Researchers found |
| 1:30.0 | that up to 50 eggs were being retrieved in a single procedure at some clinics far above the |
| 1:35.4 | recommended safe range of 8 to 15. So this morning I'd like to hear your experiences of IVF. |
| 1:40.8 | If you've undergone egg retrieval, how many eggs were taken in a single procedure? |
| 1:45.4 | Did you ever question the number? You can text us now on 84844. Text are going to be charged |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

