Women, Witchcraft and Violence

Published: Aug. 7, 2021, 5:30 a.m.

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Are you sure that cat is just a cat? Accused witches in Scotland (who were over 80% female) were sometimes believed to have shape-shifted into animal form - but why? Nicole Cumming, researching at Strathclyde University, has been on the trail and she shares her research with Susan Morrison. Women\\u2019s lives changed a lot between the 1950s and 1990s - but how far did they come in terms of escaping domestic abuse? Dr Anni Donaldson, Honorary Research Fellow at Strathclyde University takes Susan into the toxic attitudes and lack of help available to women facing violence and coercive control, and if you're affected by these issues, please see bottom right under 'related links' for the BBC Action line on domestic abuse. Our series ends with Lost Villages of Ayrshire - places like Glenbuck and Benquhat. The houses have gone but can the stories be recovered? Dr Yvonne McFadden of Strathclyde University is part of an oral history project which has been finding out how a woman\\u2019s work was never done in the miners\\u2019 rows. If you're from one of those villages and want to get in touch with the project, you can email her on y.mcfadden@strath.ac.uk up till the end of October 2021.

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