Femicide, The impact of the Budget on women, Remembering Pam Hogg

Nov 27, 2025

Guest

Sarah Pennells

Guest

Laura Goetze breaks down Italy's groundbreaking femicide law and its societal implications. Kassa Pancho discusses Ballet Black's mission to tackle racial barriers in ballet and her adaptation of a novel for the stage. Grace Walker explores her debut novel, highlighting themes of identity and ethical dilemmas amid dystopian settings. Erin Mansell and Sarah Pennells analyze budget measures affecting women and child poverty, touching on pensions and financial strategies. Together, they shine a light on crucial issues facing women today.

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INSIGHT

Italy Creates A Separate Femicide Crime

Italy has introduced femicide as a distinct crime punishable by life to spotlight gender-motivated killings.
Laura Goetze says the move aims to quantify and raise awareness, not just duplicate homicide laws.

ANECDOTE

Giulia Cicchettin’s Case Sparked Change

Giulia Cicchettin's murder and her family's public campaign galvanized Italian outrage and reform.
Her diaries showing emotional burden highlighted cultural expectations on women and kept the case in headlines.

INSIGHT

Patriarchy Shapes Ownership Over Women

Patriarchal norms in Italy can teach men a sense of ownership over women, worsening domestic control.
Gino Cicchettin framed the murderer as a product of societal expectations, not an isolated monster.

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The Italian Parliament has voted unanimously to introduce the crime of femicide, the murder of a woman motivated by gender, as a distinct law to be punished with a life sentence. It makes Italy one of very few places in the world to categorise femicide as a distinct crime. The BBC's Senior Reporter Laura Gozzi tells Anita Rani why this has been voted in.

There was a lot of anticipation and debate about what the Budget would include for women and how it would affect them. There has been a close watch on the two-child benefit cap, which it's been announced will be lifted, pensions and of course the cost of living. Now the final numbers are in, Anita discusses the Budget with Sarah Pennells, consumer finance specialist with the Royal London pensions and investment company, and Erin Mansell from the feminist economics group The Women's Budget.

Pam Hogg, the legendary Scottish fashion designer, known for her eccentric and outlandish designs, has died. She dressed everyone from Rihanna, to Bjork to Lady Gaga. Her family, said in a statement that the trailblazing designer’s creative spirit and body of work has ‘touched the lives of many.’ Anita is joined by journalist Kate Hutchinson to discuss her style and her legacy.

Cassa Pancho founded Ballet Black in 2001. She was 21 at the time and it was in response to the fact that no black or Asian women were performing in any of the UK’s ballet companies. This week Ballet Black conclude their UK tour of SHADOWS at London's Sadler's Wells and features as part of its double bill Cassa's adaptation of Oyinkan Braithwaite’s international bestselling novel, My Sister, The Serial Killer.

Grace Walker is the author of a new speculative dystopian novel, The Merge. It's set at a time when the Earth’s resources have been pushed to breaking point and there’s a new controversial procedure in which two people’s consciousness can be combined to exist in one body. Grace explains to Anita where the idea came from and her love of dystopian fiction.

Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Andrea Kidd