Woman's Hour

With most families self-isolating how should we explain the sudden absence of close family members to very young children? Listener Glynis is 73 and self-isolating alone. She used to see her 26 month old granddaughter regularly but has now completely disappeared from her life. Will her granddaughter be feeling abandoned and confused? Is she too young to really notice? Lynne Hipkin is a Clinical Psychologist who works with children and families and will be explaining how everyone can accommodate these recent changes to our lives.

Durags, black culture and high fashion. This week, Rihanna made history – and a statement – by wearing a durag for her photoshoot on the front cover of British Vogue. Is this a turning point for how the scarf is perceived in both popular culture and high fashion? Kenya Hunt is a Fashion Director at Grazia UK. Funmi Fetto is a Contributing Editor at British Vogue and the Beauty Director at the Observer Magazine.

Young workers and women have been hardest hit by the shutdown of large sectors of the economy, according to research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The American podcast Criminal has over 5.5 million downloads each month, and 133 episodes to date. Each episode tells a different real life story, ranging from Jolly Jane the notorious woman poisoner, to the tale behind the phrase Stockholm syndrome. Phoebe Judge, host and co-creator, joins Jane to talk podcasting, women criminals, and why people find true crime so fascinating?

Novelist Sarah Vaughan on her new book, Little Disasters - a psychological thriller about the impossibility of understanding what’s going on in the mind of another. It explores the judgement of mothers, the loneliness some women feel and the need to reach out even when someone appears to be coping just fine.

Presented by Jane Garvey

Interviewed guest: Lynne Hipkin

We're being told to work from home if we can, so how is it going? Anna Harris who works for a marketing and advertising agency, and Caroline Whaley, the co-founder of a coaching consultancy aimed at women and leadership, discuss.

Lara Lewington from BBC Click offers some tips and advice for staying in touch via tech.

The Lives of Houses is a collection of essays which asks what a house can tell us about the person who lived there. Hermione Lee describes why we are so fascinated by the homes of famous literary figures.

The Government has issued new guidelines on the personal protective equipment that should be used by NHS staff on the frontline. It's also said that it's important for social care staff to feel safe, and the new guidance will offer them information and reassurance. Christina McAnea, Assistant General Secretary of UNISON which represents thousands of workers in the sector, and Margaret Hodge MP for Barking and Dagenham, discuss.

Kayleigh Llewyellyn is the writer and creator of a new BBC comedy drama series called In My Skin. Based on her own story of growing up in Wales, it follows 16 year Bethan as she negotiates her school life, sexuality, and hiding her mother’s mental illness from her friends and teachers.

What does social distancing look like in one of the more remote parts of the UK? We find out through The Woman's Hour Corona Diaries with Angela Crawford from the Isle of Lewis.

DIY hair care: the Dos and the Don'ts. Tanya Harrison is the founder of Harrison Hair Studio in Liverpool. She shares some tips if you’re eager to have a go yourself.

Presenter: Jane Garvey

The Government has issued new guidelines on the personal protective equipment that should be used by those on the NHS frontline. It has also said that it is important for social care staff to feel safe, and that the new guidance will give them information and reassurance. But how do the army of women working to provide care in care homes and care to vulnerable adults in their own homes feel?

You may have heard us on Tuesday talk about the sad expectation that violence within the home is likely to increase because of our current lock-down.

In 1953 pioneering journalist Anne Scott-James started to write a weekly column for the Sunday Express newspaper. 'The Anne Scott-James Page' set the bar for a new way of writing. She perfected the art of the short, sharp column - filled with her views on men, children, fashion, beauty and anything else that took her fancy. Anne’s daughter, the writer Clare Hastings, provides an insight into the first female star of London's Fleet Street.

In today’s Woman's Hour Corona Diaries, we hear from Pauline in Morecambe. She tells Jane how if you live alone but aren’t classified as vulnerable, it’s easy to slip through the net when you need a helping hand.

Is isolation the perfect time to experiment with your hair? Or a reason to leave well alone until it’s in the hands of a professional? We discuss DIY hair care - the Dos and the definitely DON'Ts. Tanya Harrison is the founder of Harrison Hair Studio in Liverpool. She’s set up a virtual hair clinic for her clients and tells us what kind of questions they’ve had and shares some tips if you’re eager to have a go yourself.

Presenter – Jane Garvey

With the government announcement that low risk, pregnant women prisoners, and those in mother and baby units are to be released we hear from Dr Kate Paradine, Chief Executive of Women in Prison and Natasha Walter, Director of Women for Refugee Women. They discuss their concerns and reveal the fears of women in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre, where a COVID 19 case has already been confirmed.

Coronavirus has finally reached the Outer Hebrides. So for our second instalment of the Woman’s Hour Corona Diaries, Jenni speaks to Angela Crawford from the Isle of Lewis. How is this news affecting island life? What does social distancing look like in one of the more remote parts of the UK? And how do people feel about supplies and medical care away from the mainland?

Kayleigh Llewyellyn is the writer and creator of a new BBC comedy drama series In My Skin. Based on her own story of her childhood years in Wales, it follows 16 year Bethan as she negotiates her school life, sexuality, and hiding her mother’s mental illness from her friends and teachers. She’s also one of the writers on the fourth series of Killing Eve. She joins Jenni to discuss.

Regula Ysewijn’s new book ‘Oats in the North, Wheat from the South’ is a love letter in recipes to the history and heritage of British baking culture. Each of the recipes are accompanied by stories of landscape, legends and traditions of Great Britain. Regula joins Jenni to talk about how the diverse climate of the British Isles influenced the growth of cereal crops and the development of a rich regional baking identity.

Presenter - Jenni Murray

All professional and grassroots football matches across the country have been suspended due to the COVID-19 outbreak. As the men’s teams are forced from the pitch and income falls away what will happen to the women’s teams they supported? Jen O'Neill, editor of shekicks.net and Kerys Harrop, Captain of Birmingham City Ladies, discuss the issues.

The Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, told Woman’s Hour at the start of the year that the system of support for the most vulnerable children was under strain. The Covid 19 crisis has put additional pressures on that system, with many vulnerable children now out of school and many of their services closed. She says that she’s especially concerned about one million children who were at risk -living in households which are not stable, where there might be domestic violence, drug or alcohol addiction, financial hardship and severe mental health issues. She explains what these children need now.

The Lives of Houses – a collection of essays which asks what a house can tell us about the person who lived there. Hermione Lee describes why we are so fascinated by the homes of the famous and often long dead.

And, as the word home takes on a new significance in this lockdown – how hard is isolation if you live alone and how can you avoid suffering from loneliness? Jenni speaks to Kate Shurety the executive Director of the Campaign to End Loneliness and Rosie Weatherley from the mental health charity Mind.

We're being told to work from home if we can, so how's it going? What if you're sharing your home with someone else #WFH? Do you have enough space? As well as the paid work you're doing, how are the chores getting divided up? And what about looking after children in the middle of it all?

Victims of violence in the home are being reassured that there's still help available for them despite what's happening. Sarah Green from End Violence Against Women describes how dangerous the lock-down is for victims of domestic abuse.

We hear from Kate Elisabeth Russell, author of My Dark Vanessa. It's about an American teenager who's been groomed and raped by a teacher. At the time that it's happening the character thinks it's love, but realises when she's older that is was abuse.

And how we're using tech to stay in touch. Lara Lewington from BBC Click gives us some tips on Zoom, Whatsapp and Houseparty.

The Royal College of Midwives says that coronavirus may mean its staff have to work elsewhere in the NHS, rather than looking after pregnant women. Dr Mary Ross Davie explains the RCM's concerns.

Social workers are trying to keep working safely and effectively despite restrictions around Covid-19. However, a survey by the British Associations of Social Workers says many haven't been given solid advice or the right personal protection equipment. Dr Ruth Allen, Chief Executive of the BASW, describes the challenges that social workers face right now.

We hear from two healthcare workers who've cared for SARS patients and Ebola patients. How did they cope during those pandemics and what can we learn from them now?

And Calamity Jane: you're probably thinking of Doris Day right now but Calamity Jane really did exist in real-life. Professor Karen R. Jones from the University of Kent tells us how an American called Martha Jane Canary was the real Calamity Jane.

For women of colour, planting is becoming a popular way to establish ownership and celebrate cultural heritage. Aimée Grant Cumberbatch, founder of Grown, a gardening club for women of colour, and Flo Headlam, professional gardener and BBC Two’s Gardeners’ World’s first black presenter discuss.

Ten organisations across the UK including Rape Crisis and End Violence Against Women have issued a joint statement about the impact Covid-19 could have on the lives of women and children. Women's Aid, Lucy Hadley on what action they would like to see taken.

Dr Camilla Pang was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of eight. Now aged 26, and with a PhD in biochemistry, she has used her specialist scientific knowledge to identify what it really means to be human in her new book, 'Explaining Humans'.

Why do we choose the clothes we do? In her new book, ‘Dress Your Best Life’, the American fashion psychologist Dawnn Karen explains how our clothing is the ‘connective tissue’ between the physical and emotional.

How can parents help their children navigate the constant stream of information about Covid-19 online? Sonia Livingstone, professor of social psychology at the London School of Economics and an expert in digital literacy in children, and GP Dr Radha Modgil discuss.

How is Covid-19 affecting regular Woman's Hour listeners? We hear from Mercy Haruna.

Exercising when you're isolated at home. Fitness instructor Rosemary Mallace of Over Fifty Fitness and Professor Janet Lord, an expert in muscle health and immunity from the University of Birmingham, about why keeping moving is particularly important as you get older, and what you can do to exercise at home.

Presenter: Jenni Murray

Keeping up fitness when you're isolated at home. Jenni talks to fitness instructor Rosemary Mallace of Over Fifty Fitness and Professor Janet Lord, an expert in muscle health and immunity from the University of Birmingham, about why keeping moving is particularly important as you get older and what you can do to exercise at home.

Earlier this week the Government published advice that women could be prescribed both abortion pills for a medical abortion, which they would be able to take at home, without attending a hospital or clinic. It has since said that this was published in error. With women trying to observe instructions to stay at home – some self-isolating – trying to reduce the spread of Coronavirus the British Pregnancy Advisory Service says that 500 women a day must make unnecessary journeys, with services and clinic closures forcing them to travel greater distances. So, how can those women who need an abortion access one safely and legally? Jenni speaks to Professor Lesley Regan, Past President RCOG and Co-Chair National Women’s Health Task Force and to Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow.

Hampstead Theatre in London is currently streaming on Instagram, ‘I and You’ a play they produced in 2018 starring Maisie Williams in her first stage role. It looks at the struggle a teenager finding herself restricted to her home. The playwright, Lauren Gunderson, currently the most produced living playwright in the US, tells us about her play and what it says about the struggles of youth confined across the globe.

Keeper by Jessica Moor is a novel set in a women’s refuge. Katie, an employee there, has died. As the women in the refuge insist Katie didn’t take her own life the police are forced to investigate. Jenni talks to debut novelist Jessica Moor and to Natasha Saunders who has experience of domestic abuse and of life in a refuge. What can fiction do to shed light on domestic abuse?

Presented by Jenni Murray

Interviewed guest: Stella Creasy

Dr Jenny Harries, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England has become a familiar face and reassuring voice at the regular press conferences from Number 10 over the last couple of weeks. Today she joins Jenni to talk about the latest advice and information about the coronavirus pandemic and answers questions posed by our listeners.

We've been hearing a lot from medical experts, politicians and commentators recently. But how is Covid-19 affecting regular Woman's Hour listeners? Over the coming weeks, we're going to be following a range of families and individuals and asking them for their take on the unprecedented situation we currently find ourselves in. Then - once it's all over - we'll have a unique social record of the coronavirus crisis from the perspective of women. To kick it all off, Jenni speaks to mum of two, Mercy Haruna.

Why do we choose the clothes we do? In her new book, ‘Dress Your Best Life’, the American fashion psychologist Dawnn Karen explains how our clothing is the ‘connective tissue’ between the physical and emotional. She joins Jenni to discuss how our clothes do the talking.

A lot of people suddenly have extra time on their hands, either from the lack of a commute because they're now working from home, the loss of a social life or from not being able to work at all. So once you've cast a critical eye over your bookshelf and binged on box-sets, why not take up that hobby you've always meant to start - or indeed return to. Jenni asks nature writer Emma Mitchell, journalist Almara Abgarian and Woman’s Hour listener Rhiannon Jenkins for their top picks of activities that can be easily accessed - from learning a language, to mastering macrame and drawing a leaf.

Presenter - Jenni Murray