Woman's Hour

Scotland's most senior law officer has asked nine of the country's judges to overturn an 87-year-old rule on evidence in cases involving rape and other sexual offences. Since she became Lord Advocate in 2021, Dorothy Bain KC has often spoken of her desire to improve the criminal justice system for victims, particularly women and girls. She is now seeking radical changes which would allow more rape cases to reach court. Anita Rani talks to David Cowan, BBC Scotland's home affairs correspondent.A group of state secondary schools in Southwark, south London, has decided to act as a collective and shift their pupils away from smartphones. Children's use of smartphones, particularly in schools, continues to be a hot topic issue, and many schools have decided to create new policies to try and tackle what they call the damaging effects of smartphone use. One of those schools is Ark Walworth Academy in Southwark, and their headteacher, Jessica West, joins Anita to talk about the plans.This evening, Taylor Swift will t