Throng

7:30pm Monday, August 30 on C4

Tonight's Dispatches is part of a series of programmes on 4 this week, highlighting slavery and trafficking, including the three-part documentary series The Hunt for Britain's Sex Traffickers and the drama I Am Slave . Over 15,000 overseas domestic workers come to the UK every year. Many make the sacrifice to leave their country for the UK in order to better provide for their families back home. But lobby groups and charities communicate that a worrying proportion of domestic workers have their passports taken away from them, are kept locked up and subjected to sexual, physical and psychological abuse. Dispatches investigates the plight of those overseas domestic workers who find themselves isolated and living in fear in the UK.

8:00pm Monday, August 23 on C4

Dispatches reveals the tragic consequences of first cousin marriage in Britain. The practice is most common in Britain's Pakistani community, in which more than 50% of people marry their first cousin. The medical risks include infant mortality, birth defects, learning difficulties, blindness, hearing impairment and metabolic disorders. Reporter Tazeen Ahmad meets affected families, including one with three children with serious degenerative genetic diseases. Dispatches questions why no major national publicity campaign warns of these health risks.

8:00pm Monday, July 26 on C4

In some African churches in the UK, evangelical pastors perpetuate a strong belief in witchcraft. Often it is children who are denounced as witches by these pastors, and this labelling can lead to the physical and emotional abuse of those children at the hands of their families. In extreme cases it has led to the deaths of some children. In parts of Africa, branding a child a witch is now outlawed, but in Britain this practise is perfectly legal, despite the fact it can have horrific consequences. Dispatches goes undercover to reveal just what goes on behind closed doors in these African churches.

8:00pm Monday, July 12 on C4

Gay people in Africa are facing increased persecution in a continent where two thirds of countries retain laws against homosexuals. Award-winning filmmaker Sorious Samura investigates for Dispatches what it is like to be a gay person in Africa, discovering shocking levels of prejudice and hate, driven by governments, religious organisations and communities. Samura tracks down the victims of a recent mob attack in Kenya, speaks to gay men who have spent time in prison for their sexuality, and meets African homosexuals who are often forced into secret lives.

8:00pm Monday, June 21 on C4

On the eve of the emergency budget announcement, in a live hour-long debate, Dispatches sets out controversial cuts that could save Britain �100 billion. Krishnan Guru-Murthy presents a team of experts who believe their radical proposals could get Britain's budget back in shape; but can the nation stomach such swingeing cuts or tax increases? A studio of 800 people will vote for or against these cuts: cuts which would potentially mean that cherished frontline services would be protected.

Friday, April 9 on 4

Last year, 36,000 participants in the London Marathon raised a phenomenal £47 million, cementing the Marathon's place as the biggest one-day fundraising event in the world. Journalist Ben Laurance goes on the trail of the Marathon's millions, looking at what it costs to stage this annual event, how much money it generates and the extent of its charitable giving. He also talks to leading charities about the amount they pay to take part, the competition for places, and asks why hundreds of desperate charities are left without a place in Britain's biggest fundraising event.

Thursday, January 21 on 4

This Dispatches Special , screening as part of Channel 4's Indian Winter season, reveals the brutal reality of life on the streets and in the slums of Mumbai, following the daily struggles of four young children to survive over the course of three months and throughout the treacherous monsoon season. Dispatches provides a deeply moving portrait of the lives of India's real slumdogs, blighted by substance abuse, hardship and heartache, yet proof of the infinite resilience of children, and forced to reach adulthood long before they should.

Monday, December 7 on 4

As banks and building societies close their doors to all but the least "risky" borrowers, Dispatches reporter Jane Moore investigates a highly-lucrative financial industry that has stepped in to provide loans to the millions of people denied credit elsewhere. She discovers that many of the loans offered by some of these doorstep operators, payday lenders, and rent-to-buy companies come with sky-high interest rates that can financially overwhelm families already steeped in debt. And the sting in the tail is that these loans are entirely legal.

Monday, November 30 on 4

Dispatches investigates the elusive Russian oligarchs who have been trying to buy up our football teams, newspapers and car companies. Reporter Antony Barnett examines the relationship between Russia's richest men and Britain's political elite. He discovers that members of the House of Lords are a prized attraction in Moscow.

Monday, November 23 on 4

A year ago a BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning Dispatches told the story of how children in Africa's Niger Delta were being denounced by Christian pastors as witches and wizards and then killed, tortured or abandoned by their own families. The film forced the Nigerian authorities and the UN to act. Now Dispatches reveals what happened to some of the children and church leaders who originally featured, and discovers that even now children as young as two are still being stigmatised as witches and treated as outcasts.

Monday, November 16 on 4

Dispatches investigates one of the most powerful and influential political lobbies in Britain, which is working in support of the interests of the State of Israel. Little is known about the individuals and groups which collectively are known as the pro-Israel lobby. Political commentator Peter Oborne sets out to establish who they are, how they are funded, how they work and what influence they have, from the key groups to the wealthy individuals who help bankroll the lobbying. He investigates how accountable, transparent and open to scrutiny the lobby is, particularly in regard to its funding and financial support of MPs.

Monday, October 19 on 4

Dispatches has been given exclusive access to the Metropolitan Police to find out what training officers are given to deal with public demonstrations. The programme looks at how the police are taught to judge the level of force required to suppress disorder, and examines controversial crowd control tactics like "containment", which brings protestors face-to-face with heavily-protected and armed police officers. Dispatches asks why, if the vast majority of protests pass off peacefully, police training still focuses on the worst-case scenario of riots and petrol bombs.

Monday, October 5 on 4

This week's 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.

Monday, September 21 on 4

Seven years after they were introduced, there are now 16,500 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) walking the "beat", costing the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds per year. Filming with PCSOs at work on the streets of Lancashire, Dispatches investigates whether PCSOs have proven to be a policing success story or an expensive mistake. Featuring interviews with the officers themselves, an exclusive survey of more than 1,000 PCSOs, and information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, Dispatches uncovers widespread confusion over their role, both among the public and within the police service itself.

Monday, September 14 on 4

As the number of unemployed people approaches 2.5 million, Dispatches examines one of the biggest surprises of this recession: 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. Set against the backdrop of the government's declared efforts to help the unemployed, Dispatches highlights the practical realities of trying to find work, even when armed with a degree or a glowing CV.