Boys, Women in South Africa, Perinatal suicide

Catherine Carr has two teenage sons and, through talking to them and to other parents of teenaged boys, she became aware that boys were experiencing confusing and often troubling messages about their role in society. Catherine decided to speak to boys directly and, in a series which is running all week on Radio 4, About the Boys features the voices of teenage boys around the country discussing topics like sex and consent, masculinity, friendship, life online and education. She joins Clare McDonnell to talk about what she has learned.Perinatal suicide, while thankfully rare, is the leading cause of maternal death in the UK. A new study from King’s College London is the first of its kind to focus on the causes. The perinatal period runs from the start of pregnancy to a year after giving birth – and the suicide rates among these women has recently risen. Clare speaks to Dr Abigail Easter, the lead researcher, and Krystal Wilkinson, who shares her own experience.This week marks 30 years since South Africa’s first democratic elections following the end of apartheid. Millions of South African’s braved long queues to take part after decades of white minority rule which denied Black people the right to vote. But will the upcoming election at the end of May see as many turn out to vote, and are women in South Africa as engaged with politics as they were 30 years ago? Clare talks to the BBC's Nomsa Maseko about her own memories of 30 years ago, and what has happened in her country since.