Jury-free trials, Endometriosis, WI and transgender women, Scruffy hosting

Dec 3, 2025

Melissa Green, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Women's Institutes, shares insights on the organization's decision to exclude transgender women from membership. She discusses the legal constraints and member sentiments that influenced this choice. The conversation also touches on the emotional aspects of sisterhood groups and the need for practical implementation as they await guidance from the EHRC. Additionally, Green emphasizes the diversity of opinions within the WI and the importance of leading discussions on this sensitive topic.

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INSIGHT

Backlog Caused By Pre-Trial Failures

Juryless trials target 'either way' offences to clear a large Crown Court backlog but won't address pre-trial inefficiencies.
Emma Torr and Fiona Rutherford warn case preparation and underfunding, not juries, cause most delays.

INSIGHT

Juries As A Bias Filter

Juries act as a community filter against individual bias and can reduce risks of misogyny and racial prejudice.
Emma Torr argues judge-only trials remove that communal safeguard and may disadvantage minorities.

INSIGHT

Magistracy Lacks Social Diversity

Magistrates are more socioeconomically skewed towards professionals despite appearing diverse in role.
Fiona Rutherford notes recruitment and volunteer constraints limit bench diversity.

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Justice Secretary David Lammy has announced plans for a sweeping range of reforms to criminal courts in England and Wales. The proposals include scrapping jury trials for cases where sentences are likely to be less than three years and for trials involving ‘particularly technical and lengthy fraud and financial offences’. They will only be kept for the most serious offences, including murder, robbery and rape. However there are fears that the proposed changes will have a disproportionate impact on women, whether as victims or when accused of a crime and then particularly for women of colour. Nuala McGovern discusses the reforms with Fiona Rutherford, Chief Executive of legal reform charity Justice, barrister Emma Torr, Co-chief of Appeal, a law practice dedicated to challenging wrongful convictions, and Val Castell, Deputy National Chair of the Magistrates’ Association.

A petition has been launched calling for a national endometriosis registry to track and audit data on diagnosis, treatment and surgery outcomes. It's been spearheaded by Jessica Smith, who, like an estimated one and a half million women in the UK, suffers with endometriosis, a condition which occurs when the tissue, similar to the lining of the uterus, grows in other places, such as the ovaries and the fallopian tubes. Campaigners say the level of care is a post code lottery, with long wait lists and that by streamlining this information some of the gaps in care could be eliminated. Jessica joins Nuala along with Professor Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians.

The Women's Institute has announced a big change - from next April it will no longer offer membership to transgender women. The UK Supreme Court earlier this year ruled that the legal definition of a woman can only be based on biological sex. This comes the day after it was announced that transgender girls can no longer join the Girl Guides, Brownies or Rainbows. The Women's Institute says it's decision comes with the ‘utmost regret.’ Melissa Green, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes explains why they came to this decision. The BBC's political correspondent Phil Sim gives the background.

Do you like everything to be perfect for Christmas dinner party hosting – the spotless house, the elaborate menu, the Instagram-worthy table setting? But what if the secret to a great dinner party isn’t perfection, but scruffy hosting – a trend that is apparently transforming the way we gather together and makes stress-free dinner parties more attainable - perhaps a one-pot dinner, mismatched cutlery, toys under the table or children running around screaming. Helen Thorn, Comedian, Podcaster and one half of Scummy Mummies tells Nuala why she embraces this type of hosting.

Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Andrea Kidd