Men and relationships, Amnesty International sex work debate, Penelope Mortimer

Later this week Amnesty International is set to review an internal policy document on sex work at a meeting in Dublin. The proposed policy would decriminalise the buying or selling of consensual sex between adults. We discuss.

Horse racing is one of the few sports where women and men compete alongside one another equally, but men still dominate at the top of the sport. Ultimate Ladies Night has been held at Carlisle Racecourse each year since 2011. It’s the only all-female event in the racing calendar and provides an opportunity for young female jockeys to get extra rides under their belt. Emma Barnett is joined by top Jockey Hayley Turner and Women in Racing’s Susannah Gill.

For the last year Suzi Godson, the relationships columnist for The Times, has been conducting research into the male experience of marriage and family. In a special four week series for Woman’s Hour Suzi hears from men in their twenties through to their eighties beginning with young men's attitudes to commitment which highlight the profound impact of changing family structures and the consequences of absent fathers. Today she hears from 23 year old Liam who described himself as a “commitment-phobe” until he met a partner who he realised that he couldn’t imagine a future without.  

The Pumpkin Eater is the subject of our drama this week. The semi- autobiographical novel written by Penelope Mortimer and published in 1962 tells the story of a mother of numerous children who suffers a breakdown. After she discovers she is pregnant again her husband urges her to have a termination. Penelope herself had six children by four different men and at the time of writing she was married to the screenwriter and barrister John Mortimer. Rachel Cooke, Observer journalist and author of ‘Her Brilliant Career: Ten Extraordinary Women of the Fifties’ explains to Emma why ‘The Pumpkin Eater’ is such an important piece of work. 
The Pumpkin Eater is the fifteen minute drama from 1045 Mon-Fri and the novel has been re-issued by Penguin Classics