Preventing online abuse, Rage rooms, Puberty and sport, Actor Olivia Williams on AI

Nov 25, 2025

Guest

Issy (Izzy / Isabelle) Kyson

Guest

Jennifer Cox

Guest

Melanie Dawes

Dame Melanie Dawes, Chief Executive of Ofcom, dives into new guidance aimed at enhancing online safety for women and girls. She highlights the need for tech companies to combat online abuse and discusses partnerships to support women in sports. Jennifer Cox, psychotherapist and author, explores the rising trend of rage rooms as a unique outlet for women's anger and offers techniques for healthy emotional expression. 17-year-old athlete Izzy Kyson speaks on her documentary addressing why girls drop out of sports during puberty and introduces a toolkit aimed at supporting young athletes.

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INSIGHT

Guidance Targets Gendered Online Harm

Ofcom's guidance targets the gendered nature of online abuse and offers concrete platform changes to protect women and girls.
Melanie Dawes says transparency and enforcement will push tech firms to act before tougher rules arrive.

ADVICE

Bundle Privacy Controls And Use A Footprint Database

Bundle privacy settings in one place so survivors can quickly secure accounts and switch off geolocation.
Require platforms to detect and remove non-consensual intimate images and join a footprint database to limit spread.

INSIGHT

Public Reporting As An Accountability Tool

Ofcom will publicly report which companies act on women's safety and which do not, aiming for accountability by 2027.
Melanie Dawes links this transparency to potential stricter regulation if platforms fail to implement guidance.

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What should tech companies be doing to prevent online abuse of women and girls? Ofcom's Chief Executive, Dame Melanie Dawes, joins Nuala McGovern to discuss their new guidance. It's urging tech firms to go much further to prevent the harm caused by misogynistic pile-ons, online stalking and intimate image abuse. They've also teamed up with Sport England to highlight the toll such abuse is taking on women in sport.

Have you heard of rage rooms? Or even visited one? Turns out demand for them is surging, and 90% of the UK customers are women. Believed to have started in Japan in the early 2000s, rage rooms are places where people can smash up items such as electronics, white goods and crockery. Nuala is joined by Jennifer Cox, psychotherapist and author of Women are Angry: Why Your Rage is Hiding and How To Let It Out, and culture journalist Isobel Lewis who has visited a rage retreat.

Isabelle Kyson, 17, is a national-level sprint hurdler and passionate advocate for girls in sport. Today, she releases her documentary, Out of the Race, on YouTube which explores why so many girls drop out of sport during puberty. Research shows that more than two-thirds of teenage girls quit sport by the age of 16 or 17—a trend Issey has been campaigning to change for some time, including lobbying government for action. She has also launched a new toolkit for schools, developed in partnership with the Association for Physical Education. Issey joins Nuala along with Kate Thornton-Bousfield, Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Physical Education.

We discuss acting and AI as the actor Olivia Williams discusses why she wants actors to have more control over the data that is obtained from scans of their body. Many actors contracts now include a clause granting producers ownership of an actor’s ‘likeness’ across all platforms, forever. This can cover photos, drawings, figurines, and the full body scans captured with advanced technology. In a recent article in The Guardian, Olivia suggested that something similar to a 'nudity clause' should be added to contracts. She joins Nuala along with consultant solicitor, Kelsey Farish, who advises actors and performers on AI clauses.

Presented by: Nuala McGovern Produced by: Sarah Jane Griffiths