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Episode details

Sounds,17 Nov 2025,36 mins,

3. Have You Ever Wanted to Disappear?

The Pitcairn Trials
Contains very strong language, scenes of a sexual nature, scenes of sexual violence and scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.

Available for 308 days

What is the history of the Island of Pitcairn, its myths and realities? Born from the 1789 Mutiny, the mutineers, led by Fletcher Christian stumble across Pitcairn. Handily wrongly located on maps, this is their opportunity to escape the British Navy and disappear, today all Pitcairn families are descended from the mutineers and their Tahitian ‘wives’. But they were not a contented community, marked by violence and death, which are marked on the Island in place names. Abuse survivor Glenda, now living in the UK, paints a vivid picture of life on the Island, eating breadfruit, swimming, the unique language, the red volcanic dirt. But her memories are not all full of sunshine. If you have been affected by child sexual abuse, help and support is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

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