This Dispatches special exposes the brutal regime suffered by millions of women living under Isis, and the extraordinary story of a secret underground network trying to save them.
As the credit crunch bites, thousands of families are cutting back by swapping expensive premium-range food for cheaper budget lines - but at what cost? Food critic and author Jay Rayner examines what goes into these budget products and asks why, too often, low cost means low quality.
Award-winning Pakistani journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy investigates how the war on terror is creating a generation of child terrorists in her homeland - children prepared to kill both inside and outside Pakistan. Sharmeen investigates how the Taliban are recruiting increasingly younger fighters to their campaign. She meets a 14-year-old boy in her home city of Karachi who is desperate to become a suicide bomber. She then follows the elite unit of the anti-terror police squad - who warn that the Taliban are hiding out in the city's sprawling slums and recruiting children from small madrassas in deprived neighbourhoods. Sharmeen also interviews a Taliban commander responsible for child recruitment, who reveals that children as young as five are now being used by the Taliban.
As British forces fight on two fronts in military operations, award-winning filmmaker David Modell examines the devastating trauma suffered by many soldiers - which leaves no visible scars, but great psychological injury. The programme tells the moving stories of four soldiers as a result of their experiences in combat zones. To many here, the conflicts may seem remote, but this film provides an intimate portrait of its impact on the lives of individual soldiers and their families. Examining the consequences of long and repeated tours of duty, the film raises serious questions about the adequacy of existing support structures to help returning soldiers cope with any trauma they may be suffering. In addition to the film, this website details more individual cases, plus information and research into the key issues of alcohol, mental health, relationships and suicide.
Dispatches examines one of the biggest surprises of the credit crunch: middle-class unemployment. From company directors to university graduates, this film follows the experience of several people who have found themselves out of work and desperately in search of a job, with some going to extraordinary lengths to try to secure one. Dispatches highlights the practical realities of trying to find work, even when armed with a degree or a glowing CV.
Dispatches lifts the lid on the pensions crisis. The programme names some of the blue-chip companies that have abandoned final salary pension schemes. It shows how widespread the problem of underperforming pensions is, and how difficult it is to get full compensation if things go wrong. Dispatches also reveals the extent to which public sector pensions are under threat, and how far private pensions have failed to deliver in the recession. The programme asks whether the government has failed to protect pensions, and examines their ideas for tackling the crisis in the future.
