Woman's Hour - 18/05/2009

With Jane Garvey. It has been revealed that the UK has the lowest rape conviction rates out of thirty-three European countries listed in a new study to be published by London Metropolitan University. Why do our institutions compare so badly with those across the channel in securing convictions for sexual assault? Simon Foy, Commander of Homicide, Rape and Serious Sexual Violence at the Metropolitan Police Authority and Fay Maxted, from the Survivor's Trust, join Jane to discuss why it's thought the new 'Rape Support Programme' will soon be able to offer some answers. Jane also visits a Sexual Assault Referral Centre to find out more about how these centres are improving the care and treatment of victims. Girls now out-perform boys in every subject of the curriculum except maths and science, with almost 50 per cent going on to university or college, as opposed to fewer than 40 per cent of boys. Considering that less than a century ago the chances of a girl even being allowed near a university were negligible, this is a remarkable reversal of fortunes. But has girls' success been at the cost of their male peers? What can be done to help get boys back on track? Jane speaks to Sue Palmer, author of 21st Century Boys, a guide for parents, politicians and the public at large. American singer Maureen McGovern has spent nearly forty years songwriting and performing for concerts, television and film. Her repertoire includes pop, scat, easy listening and musical theatre. She tells Jane about how listening to the Beatles helped her through high school; how, in the 1970s, she became known as the 'disaster-theme-queen' (when she recorded the themes for the Poseidon Adventure and Towering Inferno); and how her current CD, a musical scrapbook from the 1960s to the early '70s, takes her back to her roots as a folk singer. She also sings live.