Iqra Wasim from Fishponds in Bristol has struggled with PMOS symptoms such as painful acne since the age of 11.

PMOS affects about one in eight women. It is a major cause of female infertility and symptoms can include irregular periods, excessive hair growth and weight gain.

Wasim, who learned more about it through asking doctors questions and social media, said she now educates her mum, who also has PMOS, on ways to manage symptoms.

“My mum was going through heavy bleeding with her PMOS and didn’t know what birth control was,” she said.

“I told her about it and she thought I was talking about being sexually active, but I explained there’s so much more to the medicine – that showed the main knowledge gap between us.

“My mum’s generation did have knowledge, but it only stayed between women, families or doctors and now someone can talk about their period and PMOS online and millions of women can relate to it.

“Our generation is more willing to ask whether something is normal.

“But I don’t think that social media is a replacement for a medical professional,” Wasim added.

Caroline Herman founded ‘All Yours Period Box, external‘ with her daughter, which operates in Wiltshire and donates boxes with period products to foodbanks.

She said there is still “a huge amount of work to be done” to improve menstrual health education.

“We have a generational gap in the country,” she said.

“We have generations like mine where we weren’t taught anything to do with our periods and then there’s our parents – there was this layer of silence that we’ve had to fight our way through.”

Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in women under 50 in the UK.

About one in seven women develop breast cancer in their lifetime, yet only 5-10% of cases are linked to inherited genes.

Most cases – 96% – are in women over 40, while 25% are in women over 75.

Men can get breast cancer too, with about 420 new cases every year in the UK.

In England, guidance from Nice recommends GPs ask about family history if a woman is worried that she might have a higher risk of breast cancer, and sometimes if they are over 35 and using an oral contraceptive pill or considering taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Hormones have been linked to a slightly increased risk of breast cancer, although larger risk factors include alcohol intake and obesity.

The study, by a team from Cambridge University and the Institute of Cancer Research, looks at how to predict breast cancer risk in younger women.

They used a risk calculator called Boadicea that combines factors such as family history, lifestyle, reproductive history and genetic information to give a risk score.

If all women under 50 were to have this done, they estimate about a quarter (26.5%) would be categorised as at above-average risk and referred for further assessment.

This would include a third of women under 50 (34.8%) who develop breast cancer within 10 years.

By comparison, the current Nice criteria would result in 1.4% of women under 50 being referred for further assessment, which would include just 4.4% of those women who develop breast cancer.

A main reason for the disparity, the researchers say, is because three-quarters of women (73%) under 50 who develop breast cancer within a decade have no family history of breast cancer – the key criterion in the Nice guidelines.

The young people are campaigning for a new role to be established, similar to the Minister for Women and Equalities at Westminster, or the Deputy Minister for Social Care, Mental Health and Women’s Health in Wales.

The Ballycastle-based group were drawn to the idea because, Pearse said: “A minister has a basic obligation to make legislation, and creating one could be a good step towards changing how women’s safety and healthcare is approached in government.”

Aoísha O’Neill, 18, who is Pearse’s sister said establishing a dedicated Minister for Women’s Safety and Health would bring together women’s issues “so they can be tackled in a more efficient way”.

As well as improving infrastructure, the group is calling for a Minister to shrink healthcare waiting lists and broaden the school curriculum.

She said the group wants to see is improved sex and relationship education in schools and said young people growing up must be given “enough information about their own bodies”.

Post-primary schools in NI get guidance on how to deliver classes on sex education.

“I think, currently, issues of women’s health and safety are quite low on departments’ priority lists,” added Aoísha.

There have been efforts to take action on the issue.

The first and deputy first ministers have both been involved in work to end violence against women and girls, external and the Executive Office (TEO) launched its Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy in 2024.

A spokeswomen for TEO said promoting the health and safety of women, including ending violence and abuse, is a priority.

She said this was underscored by the inclusion of the strategy.

“Addressing this long-term issue requires a coordinated, whole Executive approach, with all Ministers working collectively.”

In 2022 the PSNI launched an action plan aimed at reducing violence against women and girls.

The teenagers hope a dedicated women’s minister would be a member of the Northern Ireland Executive, holding office as a minister within the Executive Office and appointed by the First and Deputy First Ministers.

Responsibility for tackling VAWG, healthcare and education sits across Stormont departments for justice, health and education.

“Women’s safety and health is such a large and pressing issue that it’s so difficult to keep up with,” Eimear said.

“With a Minister’s resources and attention it could be tackled effectively.”

Devyn says, for example, it’s “abhorrent” that women in Northern Ireland face lengthly waits for gynaecology appointments.

The morning-after pill, known as emergency contraception, external, is medication designed to prevent unwanted pregnancies. It usually has to be taken within three to five days of having unprotected sex. The sooner it is taken, the more effective it is.

It works by delaying or preventing the release of an egg, but will only prevent pregnancy if ovulation has not already happened.

Alternatively, women can visit a doctor or nurse to have a coil or intrauterine device (IUD) fitted to prevent pregnancy at any time during their menstrual cycle. To be effective, it needs to be fitted within 120 hours or five days of unprotected sex.

The government said making the morning-after pill available free from pharmacies would end the “unfair” barriers and postcode lottery some women faced – with access varying dramatically depending on where they live.

Under the scheme, women can visit their local pharmacy and have a confidential consultation with a pharmacist or trained pharmacy technician, before receiving the medication on the same day.

Prior to this, women had to book an appointment with their GP, sexual health clinic or pharmacy to get the morning-after pill. Women could also access it privately, as they still can now.

In 2024/25, there were around 150,000 NHS prescriptions for the morning-after pill – far fewer than under the new service.

Dr Sue Mann, NHS National Clinical Director for Women’s Health, said the pharmacy service was a “major step forward for women’s health”, with “no appointment, no waiting and no judgement”.

“This service is already making a real impact, particularly for women living in more deprived communities, by making contraception easier to access closer to home,” she added.

Women can check online, external to find their nearest participating pharmacy. All pharmacists and pharmacy technicians delivering the service have received specialist training to provide emergency contraception and wider contraceptive care.

Gender equality agency UN Women sounded the alarm this week over what it called a “dual terror” gripping the North Kordofan capital.

“In El Obeid, Sudan, drone attacks during the day and sexual violence at night have left no safe window for women and girls to collect water,” said Anna Mutavati, UN Women’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, briefing journalists in Geneva from Nairobi.

The pattern, she said, echoes atrocities documented in El Fasher last year.

No safe hour

Drones have targeted water points and distribution sites during the day, pushing women to wait for nightfall in the belief that darkness offers cover. Instead, Ms. Mutavati said, many have been “harassed, raped, and subjected to other forms of sexual violence” while simply trying to fill a jerrycan.

Foreign-made drones flooding into Sudan have pushed the war deeper into civilian life, bringing critical infrastructure within range. 

The UN’s human rights chief Volker Türk warned in May that the conflict was “on the cusp of entering yet another new, even deadlier phase.” 

Drone strikes killed at least 880 civilians in the first four months of 2026 alone – more than 80 per cent of all civilian deaths recorded by the human rights office in that period.

El Obeid’s position on routes linking the capital Khartoum with Darfur, the wider Kordofan region and southern Sudan has made it a prized target since the war between rival militaries began in April 2023. 

More than half a million people live there, including 83,000 internally displaced people, most of them women and children.

Disease closing in

With the rainy season set to peak next month, the water crisis is fuelling fears of disease. 

Cholera is already spreading in Sudan, with 1,330 cases reported by the World Health Organization in early July. Malnutrition, which weakens the immune system and is increasingly affecting women and girls, is compounding the risk, alongside severely limited access to food and healthcare, particularly in displacement sites.

Sexual violence has been used as a weapon throughout Sudan’s three-year war, with testimonies describing rape committed in front of family members alongside brutal physical abuse. 

The number of women and girls needing gender-based violence services nationwide has quadrupled since the conflict began, UN Women said, reaching an estimated 12.7 million in 2026.

Lifelines cut

Women-led organizations remain a lifeline in Sudan, reaching communities others cannot to deliver protection and support. 

But funding cuts have forced two-thirds of them to close or scale back safe spaces and gender-based violence services. Half of those surveyed said they expect to suspend operations or shut down entirely within the year without urgent financial support.

Ms. Mutavati repeated UN Women’s call for an immediate ceasefire, inclusive peace talks and an end to the war. 

Earlier this month, the UN Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan warned that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces appeared to be replicating tactics used in El Fasher by encircling El Obeid and attacking critical infrastructure – raising fears the city could face mass atrocities.

Paula Narvaez, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, briefed journalists in New York on her recent visit to the country. 

Speaking from Chile, she said the earthquakes left more than 5,000 people dead and displaced over 23,000, “but statistics alone cannot capture the human toll and true scale of this tragedy.” 

Women on the frontlines 

Ms. Narvaez visited some of the hardest-hit areas, including La Guaira, where she met families who lost everything yet are still determined to rebuild their lives. 

“I witnessed something that recurs in every emergency: women organizing safe spaces for their families, and caring for others, and frontline responders working tirelessly despite also being personally impacted,” she said. 

But amid the resilience, needs remain high. Damage to health facilities, shortages of medicines and equipment, lack of staff, and disruptions to basic services are hampering healthcare, particularly provision of reproductive health services and emergency obstetric care. 

Inequalities now evident 

“The earthquakes exposed and heightened pre-existing inequalities when it comes to access to healthcare and safety,” she said. 

“We know that women do not stop giving birth during an emergency, yet vulnerable women and adolescent girls are more likely to be cut off from the life-saving services they need.” 

Ever since the crisis began, UNFPA has been scaling up life-saving reproductive health services and strengthening gender-based violence prevention and response.  

The agency and partners have already reached thousands of people. They have distributed reproductive health kits and provided medical equipment and supplies to 16 health facilities.  

Solidarity and support 

UNFPA is also working alongside other UN agencies to make temporary shelters safer for women and girls  

With its work “far from over,” UNFPA is seeking $10 million to expand efforts and reach 121,000 people but has only received 40 per cent of this amount to date. 

“Venezuelan communities have demonstrated enormous strength and resilience,” Ms. Narvaez said. “Their courage must now be matched with sustained international solidarity and support.” 

It is vital that those at risk are diagnosed early to prevent long-term organ damage, the charity says.

Type 2 diabetes can sometimes be put into remission by eating a healthy diet and keeping slim without needing to rely on glucose-lowering medications.

The researchers say newer obesity treatments – such as GLP-1 jabs and pills – might help, alongside healthy eating advice.

About 90% of the six million people in the UK living with diabetes have the type 2 form of the disease rather than type 1, or insulin-dependent, diabetes.

Risk increases with age and older adults still make up the largest proportion of new diagnoses.

But 12,000 people under the age of 30 are now living with type 2 diabetes, with women making up more of those younger cases, according to NHS England estimates, external.

The most common symptoms include feeling very tired, peeing more than usual and feeling thirsty all the time.

A man who listens without judgment, responds with patience, remembers every conversation, and is available at any hour of the day sounds like the ideal partner. Increasingly, for many women in China, that partner is not a person but an artificial intelligence chatbot.

While much of the global attention around AI companions has focused on Elon Musk’s Grok introducing anime-style virtual companions aimed largely at male users, China’s rapidly expanding AI romance industry has taken a different direction. Instead of catering primarily to men, many Chinese AI companion platforms have found their strongest audience among women seeking emotional support, companionship, and attentive conversation.

That growing trend has now drawn the attention of regulators.

Beginning next week, China will introduce sweeping new regulations designed to limit the risks posed by highly anthropomorphic artificial intelligence systems. The rules are expected to become the world’s most comprehensive attempt to regulate emotionally engaging AI companions, reflecting increasing concerns that people may become psychologically dependent on machines that simulate empathy and affection.

The move comes at a critical moment for China, which is grappling with record-low marriage rates, declining birth rates, economic uncertainty, and growing social pressures. While regulators are presenting the measures as safeguards against harmful AI interactions, the popularity of AI companions also reveals deeper social challenges that technology alone cannot solve.

Major Chinese technology companies have already begun responding to the incoming regulations.

Industry giants including ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent have reportedly started removing or limiting features that allow users to create customized AI companions capable of sustaining intimate emotional conversations. Other role-playing and virtual companion applications remain available, but analysts expect stricter oversight to significantly reduce their ability to simulate long-term romantic relationships.

Among the expected requirements are reminders informing users that they are communicating with AI rather than a human being, as well as restrictions on prolonged emotional exchanges that could encourage psychological dependency.

For Beijing, the concern extends beyond entertainment.

Artificial intelligence has become increasingly capable of recognizing emotional cues, adapting responses based on previous conversations, and creating the illusion of genuine understanding. Unlike human relationships, AI companions never become impatient, never forget details, and remain instantly available around the clock.

That combination creates a powerful emotional attraction—but also raises ethical questions.

Critics argue that AI companions represent more than a technological novelty. They could become highly profitable products built around emotional attachment.

Modern AI systems are capable of learning users’ preferences, anxieties, habits, and vulnerabilities over thousands of conversations. This information can make interactions increasingly personalized and emotionally persuasive.

Such capabilities raise concerns that companies could eventually monetize loneliness itself.

Subscription models encouraging users to pay for deeper conversations, premium emotional experiences, or exclusive AI personalities could transform emotional dependency into a recurring source of revenue. Even more concerning is the possibility that advertising or commercial recommendations could be tailored using deeply personal information disclosed during intimate conversations.

Unlike traditional social media, AI companions engage users directly through sustained one-on-one dialogue, making their persuasive potential considerably stronger.

Experts increasingly warn that emotional attachment to AI could influence beliefs, purchasing decisions, and even major life choices.

The phenomenon is not entirely new.

Nearly sixty years ago, MIT computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum created ELIZA, one of the world’s earliest chatbots. Despite its extremely limited capabilities, many users quickly became convinced that the program genuinely understood them.

Weizenbaum himself was deeply unsettled by these reactions.

He warned that people naturally anthropomorphize machines, projecting human emotions and intentions onto software that merely imitates conversation.

Today’s large language models are vastly more sophisticated than ELIZA ever was.

Modern AI systems can remember previous discussions, recognize emotional language, offer comforting responses, and adapt their personalities over time. What once required imagination now feels remarkably authentic, making emotional attachment significantly easier.

The popularity of ChatGPT following its launch in late 2022 demonstrated this shift. While much public discussion centered on its ability to answer questions, many users were equally fascinated by how natural and empathetic the conversations felt.

That emotional realism has become one of AI’s most powerful features—and one of its greatest risks.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of China’s AI companion market is its audience.

Rather than primarily attracting lonely men, many AI relationship platforms have gained significant popularity among women.

Observers argue that this reflects broader social realities rather than changing technological preferences.

Women across many societies continue to shoulder disproportionate emotional labor within relationships, alongside expectations surrounding caregiving, housework, marriage, and motherhood. In China, these pressures are compounded by demanding workplaces, fierce educational competition, and traditional expectations regarding family life.

For many users, AI offers something often missing from everyday relationships: consistent emotional attention.

Unlike human partners, AI companions never interrupt, criticize, or lose patience.

As the director of a documentary examining Chinese women’s relationships with AI told *Wired* earlier this year, one of the attractions is simple: chatbots possess a level of patience that many women feel they do not receive from men.

The observation carries an uncomfortable implication.

Technology may be filling emotional gaps that human relationships increasingly struggle to satisfy.

China’s embrace of AI companions also reflects broader economic and demographic trends.

Young adults face an increasingly difficult labor market, slowing economic growth, rising living costs, and intense workplace competition. At the same time, government initiatives continue encouraging widespread AI adoption across education, business, healthcare, and public services.

These forces have combined to normalize interactions with artificial intelligence in everyday life.

For a generation that grew up communicating through smartphones and social media—and then experienced years of pandemic isolation—the transition from digital friendships to AI companionship may not seem particularly dramatic.

In many ways, AI relationships represent an extension of existing digital lifestyles rather than a radical departure from them.

China’s technology companies now face a difficult balancing act.

AI companions have proven highly engaging, encouraging users to spend longer periods interacting with platforms. Such engagement typically translates into stronger user retention and greater commercial opportunities.

Restricting one of AI’s most compelling features could slow growth in an industry that many companies see as commercially promising.

However, the regulations taking effect on July 15 appear less restrictive than earlier draft proposals released last year.

Legal experts suggest that regulators have taken industry feedback into account.

Jeremy Daum of Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center has noted that the final rules include several important exemptions, including allowances for customer service systems and other practical AI applications that are not intended to simulate intimate emotional relationships.

Daum has also observed similarities between portions of China’s AI legislation and recent California laws addressing AI-related risks.

Those similarities suggest that concerns surrounding emotionally persuasive AI are increasingly shared across jurisdictions despite broader geopolitical competition.

China’s regulatory approach arrives as governments worldwide begin confronting similar issues.

Earlier this year, Google and Character.AI agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by the mother of a 14-year-old boy who died by suicide after extensive interactions with an AI chatbot. Following public scrutiny, Character.AI announced additional safety measures designed to better protect younger users.

The case intensified debate about the responsibilities of companies developing conversational AI.

Although such incidents remain relatively rare, they highlight the profound emotional influence AI systems can exert, particularly on vulnerable individuals.

Many policymakers fear that without stronger safeguards, public backlash against AI could intensify, resulting in stricter regulations after preventable tragedies have already occurred.

One area where China’s new regulations are expected to be especially stringent involves protections for minors.

The country has previously imposed restrictions on children’s gaming time, social media use, and online content, arguing that excessive digital engagement poses developmental risks.

Critics often describe China’s internet governance as heavily censored and extensively monitored. While few democratic governments would seek to replicate that model, Beijing has consistently treated digital addiction among young people as a public policy issue rather than solely an individual responsibility.

The forthcoming AI regulations continue that approach.

By limiting emotionally manipulative AI interactions and requiring greater transparency, regulators hope to reduce the likelihood that young users develop unhealthy emotional dependence on artificial companions.

Ultimately, China’s AI romance crackdown addresses a genuine technological risk.

Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly capable of mimicking empathy, building trust, and sustaining emotionally meaningful conversations. Guardrails that encourage transparency and discourage unhealthy dependency are likely to become necessary in every major AI market.

Yet regulation alone cannot resolve the social conditions driving demand.

Restricting AI boyfriends will not make human relationships more emotionally fulfilling. It will not persuade young adults to marry earlier, nor reverse China’s declining birth rate. Nor will it address workplace pressures, economic uncertainty, or changing expectations surrounding modern relationships.

The popularity of AI companions is not simply a story about advanced technology.

It is also a reflection of loneliness, unmet emotional needs, and changing social dynamics in an increasingly digital world.

As governments race to regulate artificial intelligence, they would do well to remember that the strongest demand for artificial companionship often reveals weaknesses in real human connections. Managing the risks of AI is essential, but rebuilding the social conditions that make genuine relationships possible may prove the far greater challenge.