Christmas Day, 1992. Sarajevo, Bosnia. War is ranging - Serb forces surround the city. For nearly four years, its people have endured daily shelling and sniper attacks, cut off from the rest of the world in the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare. More than 11,000 people were killed. 1600 of them were children. 

And in the main hospital, a baby is born: Lejla Damon. Her mother didn’t want anything to do with her - if she held her, she said, she would strangle her.

Lejla was born of sexual violence used as a weapon of war. Her birth mother had been raped, repeatedly, by Serb soldiers in a concentration camp. And Lejla was just too closely linked to her attackers for her to bear.

Lejla was adopted by a British couple, and grew up in London. She felt alone in her earliest life experiences. But in adulthood, she’s found her Bosnian identity, and become an advocate for the countless other ‘invisible’ children around the world born of sexual violence used as a weapon of war.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

For more from Novel visit novel.audio

Christmas Day, 1992. Sarajevo, Bosnia. War is ranging - Serb forces surround the city. For nearly four years, its people have endured daily shelling and sniper attacks, cut off from the rest of the world in the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare. More than 11,000 people were killed. 1600 of them were children.&nbsp;
And in the main hospital, a baby is born: Lejla Damon. Her mother didn&rsquo;t want anything to do with her - if she held her, she said, she would strangle her.
Lejla was born of sexual violence used as a weapon of war. Her birth mother had been raped, repeatedly, by Serb soldiers in a concentration camp. And Lejla was just too closely linked to her attackers for her to bear.
Lejla was adopted by a British couple, and grew up in London. She felt alone in her earliest life experiences. But in adulthood, she&rsquo;s found her Bosnian identity, and become an advocate for the countless other &lsquo;invisible&rsquo; children around the world born of sexual violence used as a weapon of war.
The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
For more from Novel visit <a href="https://www.novel.audio/">novel.audio</a>

The number 1 hit true crime series is back with more women fighting crime, battling injustice and seriously kicking ass.

In Season 1 of The Girlfriends: Spotlight, our global gang of girlfriends grew to include Pussy Riot’s punk icon and political prisoner Nadya Tolokonnikova, British Nigerian beauty queen and founder of Miss Trans Global, Miss saHHara and ‘The Erin Brockovich of East Africa’, environmental activist Phyllis Omido.

Now host Anna Sinfield returns with more incredible stories of women like bodyguard Jacquie Davis, who set out on a daring mission to free a pregnant British woman trapped in Pakistan. We’ll hear the story of Helene, a member of the French Resistance plotting to escape the brutality of a concentration camp. We’ll also meet Visaka Dharmadasa, a Sri Lankan mother who sat face to face with notorious terrorists and helped end a civil war.

The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

The number 1 hit true crime series is back with more women fighting crime, battling injustice and seriously kicking ass. In Season 1 of The Girlfriends: Spotlight, our global gang of girlfriends grew to include Pussy Riot&rsquo;s punk icon and political prisoner Nadya Tolokonnikova, British Nigerian beauty queen and founder of Miss Trans Global, Miss saHHara and &lsquo;The Erin Brockovich of East Africa&rsquo;, environmental activist Phyllis Omido. Now host Anna Sinfield returns with more incredible stories of women like bodyguard Jacquie Davis, who set out on a daring mission to free a pregnant British woman trapped in Pakistan. We&rsquo;ll hear the story of Helene, a member of the French Resistance plotting to escape the brutality of a concentration camp. We&rsquo;ll also meet Visaka Dharmadasa, a Sri Lankan mother who sat face to face with notorious terrorists and helped end a civil war. The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. For more from Novel visit <a href="https://www.novel.audio/">Novel.Audio</a>

The Girlfriends: Spotlight

When Niko Quinn saw her favourite cousin murdered in broad daylight, her life turned upside down. She went looking for justice, but instead uncovered a dark scandal at the heart of her community: A police detective had spent decades targeting, threatening and sexually abusing black women across Kansas City Kansas.

 

Detective Roger Golubski used the power of his badge to launch a reign of terror. He acted as if he was above the law, until Niko, and an incredible group of women, came together to take him down.

 

The Girlfriends: Untouchable tells the story of a courageous sisterhood who exposed the dark underworld of a corrupt police officer, and brought their city’s horrifying truths to light. Because when the women of Kansas City Kansas realised the police weren’t coming to save them from their abuser, they stepped up to save themselves.

 

US resources for Violence and Sexual Assault: https://rainn.org/   

International resources for Violence and Sexual Assault: https://nomoredirectory.org/   

US Suicide & Crisis Helpline: https://988lifeline.org/  

International Suicide & Crisis Helplines: https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/ 

 

The Girlfriends: Untouchable is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit https://novel.audio/. 

 

You can listen to new episodes of The Girlfriends: Untouchable completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

*** 

In Season 1, it’s 1995 and Carole Fisher is a high-flying divorcee looking for love in Las Vegas. It’s slim pickings in the medical community she works in. But then Bob comes to town. Bob Bierenbaum is a plastic surgeon who flies planes and speaks several languages. Her mom loves that he’s Jewish - but there’s something off about him. He’s perfect on paper but he’s quick to anger and he never talks about his ex-wife. Who, it turns out, is missing and presumed dead. After Carole and Bob break up, she tells her friend Mindy all about Bob’s wife and his bizarre behavior. You see, Mindy dated Bob too, in fact a lot of women in Vegas dated Bob and they all have their own strange stories to tell. Before too long they form a club dedicated to bitching about Bob, eating noodles and figuring out what happened to his wife, Gail. In this riveting nine part series, Carole Fisher uncovers the truth of Gail Katz’s death, the systems that failed her and all the girlfriends that brought her justice.

In Season 2, The Girlfriends are back to investigate one part of the story that’s still a mystery. During the investigation into Gail’s case, a torso washed up on Staten Island and was misidentified as Gail. Nobody knows her name or what happened to her after she was ruled out from the case. The amateur lady's detective club have a new mission: to uncover the identity of this woman and finally find Our Lost Sister. The Girlfriends is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.

In Season 3, Anna Sinfield investigates the story of Kelly Harnett, a woman who was found guilty of murder but has always maintained her innocence. Locked up for over a decade, Kelly transformed herself into a jailhouse lawyer and became a beacon of hope for the women alongside her. Throughout the series, Anna asks: What does it really mean to be a victim or a villain? And what happens when the line between the two...starts to blur?

For more from Novel visit Novel.Audio

When Niko Quinn saw her favourite cousin murdered in broad daylight, her life turned upside down. She went looking for justice, but instead uncovered a dark scandal at the heart of her community: A police detective had spent decades targeting, threatening and sexually abusing black women across Kansas City Kansas.
&nbsp;
Detective Roger Golubski used the power of his badge to launch a reign of terror. He acted as if he was above the law, until Niko, and an incredible group of women, came together to take him down.
&nbsp;
The Girlfriends: Untouchable tells the story of a courageous sisterhood who exposed the dark underworld of a corrupt police officer, and brought their city&rsquo;s horrifying truths to light. Because when the women of Kansas City Kansas realised the police weren&rsquo;t coming to save them from their abuser, they stepped up to save themselves.
&nbsp;
US resources for Violence and Sexual Assault: <a href="https://rainn.org/">https://rainn.org/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
International resources for Violence and Sexual Assault: <a href="https://nomoredirectory.org/">https://nomoredirectory.org/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
US Suicide &amp; Crisis Helpline: <a href="https://988lifeline.org/">https://988lifeline.org/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
International Suicide &amp; Crisis Helplines: <a href="https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/">https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/</a>&nbsp;
&nbsp;
The Girlfriends: Untouchable is produced by Novel for iHeart Podcasts. For more from Novel, visit <a href="https://novel.audio/">https://novel.audio/</a>.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
You can listen to new episodes of The Girlfriends: Untouchable completely ad-free and 1 week early with an iHeart True Crime+ subscription, available exclusively on Apple Podcasts.
&nbsp;
See <a href="http://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.
***&nbsp;
In Season 1, it&rsquo;s 1995 and Carole Fisher is a high-flying divorcee looking for love in Las Vegas. It&rsquo;s slim pickings in the medical community she works in. But then Bob comes to town. Bob Bierenbaum is a plastic surgeon who flies planes and speaks several languages. Her mom loves that he&rsquo;s Jewish - but there&rsquo;s something off about him. He&rsquo;s perfect on paper but he&rsquo;s quick to anger and he never talks about his ex-wife. Who, it turns out, is missing and presumed dead. After Carole and Bob break up, she tells her friend Mindy all about Bob&rsquo;s wife and his bizarre behavior. You see, Mindy dated Bob too, in fact a lot of women in Vegas dated Bob and they all have their own strange stories to tell. Before too long they form a club dedicated to bitching about Bob, eating noodles and figuring out what happened to his wife, Gail. In this riveting nine part series, Carole Fisher uncovers the truth of Gail Katz&rsquo;s death, the systems that failed her and all the girlfriends that brought her justice.
In Season 2, The Girlfriends are back to investigate one part of the story that&rsquo;s still a mystery. During the investigation into Gail&rsquo;s case, a torso washed up on Staten Island and was misidentified as Gail. Nobody knows her name or what happened to her after she was ruled out from the case. The amateur lady's detective club have a new mission: to uncover the identity of this woman and finally find Our Lost Sister. The Girlfriends is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.
In Season 3, Anna Sinfield investigates the story of Kelly Harnett, a woman who was found guilty of murder but has always maintained her innocence. Locked up for over a decade, Kelly transformed herself into a jailhouse lawyer and became a beacon of hope for the women alongside her. Throughout the series, Anna asks: What does it really mean to be a victim or a villain? And what happens when the line between the two...starts to blur?
For more from Novel visit <a href="https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnovel.audio%2F&amp;data=05%7C02%7CNateTobin2%40iheartmedia.com%7C497d9dbd748a4a45fa5d08dd6bc3166f%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C638785207822450296%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=XDVXzNUnH5v38U37q0a8585CsvW5jiTakMCsKZaTnV4%3D&amp;reserved=0" data-outlook-id="c6e2adb4-91a0-4b4c-a163-1a05ff7cbfa6">Novel.Audio</a>

The Girlfriends

Christmas Day, 1992. Sarajevo, Bosnia. War is ranging - Serb forces surround the city. For nearly four years, its people have endured daily shelling and sniper attacks, cut off from the rest of the world in the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare. More than 11,000 people were killed. 1600 of them were children.  And in the main hospital, a baby is born: Lejla Damon. Her mother didn’t want anything to do with her - if she held her, she said, she would strangle her. Lejla was born of sexual violence used as a weapon of war. Her birth mother had been raped, repeatedly, by Serb soldiers in a concentration camp. And Lejla was just too closely linked to her attackers for her to bear. Lejla was adopted by a British couple, and grew up in London. She felt alone in her earliest life experiences. But in adulthood, she’s found her Bosnian identity, and become an advocate for the countless other ‘invisible’ children around the world born of sexual violence used as a weapon of war. The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts.  For more from Novel visit novel.audio

The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E19: Lejla Fights for the Invisible

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a8b02986-a7bf-4500-b127-b3e700fcf7b7/transcript