The Feminist Files

Secondary traumatisation: An investigation into how domestic abuse victims are treated

In this episode, Helena Kondak is joined by Professor Shazia Choudhry (University of Oxford) to discuss her two-year comparative European research project on how justice systems and family law deal with domestic abuse cases. Drawing on extensive work with women’s rights organisations and key stakeholders across England & Wales, France, Spain, Italy, and Bosnia & Herzegovina, the research exposes how survivors often face secondary traumatisation within legally sanctioned processes.We unpack how narrow legal understandings of violence, procedural barriers, and the growing reliance on concepts like “parental alienation” systematically discredit mothers and silence survivors, even where abuse is well-documented. Placing family law in conversation with human rights obligations under the ECHR and the Istanbul Convention, this episode asks what states are required to do to truly protect women and children, and why current systems can fail to do so.*Get in touch with us : For any responses, comments, or suggestions, please get in touch via thefeministfiles2025@gmail.com, or on Instagram @the_feminist_files_ *CreditsHosted by Helena KondakJoined by Professor Shazia ChoudhryEdited by Rowan BerkleyCover design by Madeleine BaberMusic by Jacob Carey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

GROK: “A digital manifestation of a millennia felt entitlement”

In this episode, Helena Kondak, Astrid Carrasco and Isobelle Oppon interview Dr Daisy Dixon, philosophy professor at the University of Cardiff, for insights on her embodied experience of AI assault. What does the Grok sexual image generation scandal say of emerging digital violence, its impact on vulnerable bodies, and necessary legislation? Analysing the onset of Grok AI image-generation in recent weeks, Dr Dixon grounds her interpretation of new tech, sexist and sexual violence in the philosophical concept of “aesthetic injustice”. Dr Dixon insists on understanding the physical impacts produced by images, inducing new forms of digital age dysphoria. From concepts to law, this episode dissects how new digital laws are debated, from accusations of restricting free speech to concerns about weak law implementation. References:Klein and D’Ignazio, Data feminism, 2024Bates, Laura, The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny, 2025. Dalaqua, Gustavo H. “Aesthetic injustice.” Journal of Aesthetics & Culture 12.1 (2020). Dixon, Daisy, and Tom Roberts. “Review of Dominic McIver Lopes: Aesthetic Injustice.” Ethics (2026).*Get in touch with us : For any responses, comments, or suggestions, please get in touch via thefeministfiles2025@gmail.com, or on Instagram @the_feminist_files_ *CreditsHosted by Helena Kondak, Astrid Carrasco & Isobelle OpponJoined by Dr Daisy DixonEdited by Rowan BerkleyCover design by Madeleine BaberMusic by Jacob Carey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This House Would Abolish Prisons: Theories of Power and Control

In this episode, Asha Metcalfe and Rosie Hillary sit down with Lauren Sayers and Rosie Freeman after the debate: This House Would Abolish Prisons, held by Gender Agenda, the University of Cambridge’s largest feminist collective. In our first episode out in the field (breaking free from the recording studio), we are joined by two fellow Human, Social, and Political Science students to discuss abolitionism, crime, and systems of power and oppression. We move beyond the prison system to discuss theorists like Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, and Max Weber to explore the ways power and surveillance can be theorised in society. We apply these theories to our lives to examine how relationships and institutions are impacted by systems of power and control. What do we gain from understanding these topics? What is the benefit of social critique? If you are interested in our discussion, consider reading:The Right to Sex by Amia SrinivasanExperiments in Imagining Otherwise by Lola OlufemiThe New Spirit of Capitalism by Luc Boltanski and Ève ChiapelloDecolonial Feminism in Anya Yala: Caribbean, Meso, and Southern American Contributions and Challenges by Espinosa, Lugones and Maldonado Torres - particularly the chapter by Iris Hernandez MoralesIf you enjoyed this episode, please follow us on Instagram and Substack!https://www.instagram.com/the_feminist_files_/https://substack.com/@thefeministfiles Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Feminist Files in conversation with Gemma Kelly, anti-commercial sexual exploitation advocate

We have been nominated for the Political Podcast Awards' People’s Choice Award, please vote for us here: https://politicalpodcastawards.co.uk/the-peoples-choice-award/ In this episode, we explore commercial sexual exploitation: its specificities, how it can be combated, and its evolving technological manifestations. In an era of rapid digital expansion, how can feminist organising and policy-making respond to this growing form of misogynistic violence?Drawing on eighteen years of experience across research institutions, frontline child protection services, and policy-making, Gemma Kelly unpacks the perverse dynamics of commercial sexual exploitation and its increasingly digital nature. Her work highlights the centrality of structural change, particularly through legislative and regulatory interventions, in addressing exploitation at its roots.This conversation probes the contradictions at the heart of feminist debates: how can we reconcile individual choice with structural misogynistic violence? Can the former ever truly be disentangled from the latter?We also discuss attempts to regulate the online space, often perceived as opaque and impenetrable, where regulatory efforts frequently fall short despite mounting harms.About the GuestGemma Kelly is a Policy Consultant at the SERP Institute (Sexual Exploitation Research and Policy Institute), Ireland’s only independent research body dedicated to the study of sexual exploitation.Throughout her career, she has worked on combatting human trafficking and addressing sexual exploitation in both online and offline contexts, with a particular focus on women’s rights, gender-based violence, and child rights.She holds an MA in Human Trafficking, Migration and Organised Crime from St Mary’s University, an MA in Equality Studies from University College Dublin, and a BA in Social Care from Dublin Institute of Technology.Get in TouchIf you’d like to respond to something discussed in this episode or propose an episode of your own, get in touch via email at thefeministfiles2025@gmail.com or on Instagram @the_feminist_files.CreditsHosted by Helena Kondak and Astrid Healy CarrascoJoined by Gemma KellyEdited by Rowan BerkleyCover design by Madeleine BaberMusic by Jacob Carey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Black Girls’ Experiences in British Private Schools: Misogynoir and the Racialised Politics of Visibility

In this episode, hosts Asha Metcalfe and Rosie Hillary are joined by Reese Marley Robinson, a recent Cambridge graduate, to discuss her sociology dissertation exploring the lived experiences of Black girls in Britain’s private schools. Drawing on interviews and her own experiences, Reese explains the “affective cost of inclusion” and the emotional labour of navigating elite, predominantly white institutions which marginalise the experiences of racial minorities. We discuss topics like misogynoir, structural racism, code-switching, hair politics, and the racialised politics of visibility. We explore how Black peer networks can be sites of resistance and care, and talk about what meaningful institutional change could look like for Britain’s education system. Here are some readings that are related to our discussion! Anti-Community: The Kitchen & Our Cooked Community https://radicalblackbrits.substack.com/p/anti-community-the-kitchen-and-ourThe Brixton Balck Women’s Group https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2024/07/30/book-review-speak-out-the-brixton-black-womens-group-milo-miller/Farleigh’s Place: Wealth, Privilege and Whiteness by Reese Marley Robinson https://www.thecambridgestudent.co.uk/culture/farleighs-place-wealth-privilege-and-whitenessLewis, Amanda E., 1970-. Race in the Schoolyard : Negotiating the Color Line in Classrooms and Communities. New Brunswick, N.J. :Rutgers University Press, 2003.Nash, J.C. (2019). Black Feminism Reimagined: After Intersectionality. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv111jhd0Carby, Hazel V. (1982) ‘White woman listen!: Black feminism and the boundaries of sisterhood’ in Centre for Contemporary Cultural StudiesDavis, Angela (2016) Freedom is a Constant Struggle Chicago: Haymarket Books.Episode Edited by Rowan BerkleyVote for us in People’s Choice Awards 2026:https://politicalpodcastawards.co.uk/the-peoples-choice-award/Follow The Feminist Files on instagram:https://www.instagram.com/the_feminist_files_/Follow The Feminist Files Substack:https://substack.com/@thefeministfiles Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.