Isolationcast #2: Gina Martin on ways to help and coping with overwhelm

It's the second Sunday Salon isolation special. This week, as we all adjust to life under lockdown, I’m talking to Gina Martin, author of Be The Change: A Toolkit for the Activist in You. You probably know Gina because of her amazing campaign against upskirting. In June 2017, a man took a photo up her skirt at a music festival. The police told her that this was not a sexual offence; the man would not be charged. Instead of accepting this, however, Gina launched a campaign to make upskirting a crime. Eighteen months later, she had succeeded. In her book, she recounts how she found the courage (and stamina) to do this - and offers readers a guide to campaigning in their own societies. I thought she’d be a great person to speak to now about how we can make positive changes even in these difficult circumstances, and how we can get involved in fundraising and local initiatives. But we also discussed why it’s totally understandable and normal to sometimes be unproductive, to feel helpless or down - as well as how she has been handling the upheaval, health concerns and loss of work caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Her advice was really solid and reassuring. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Twitter: @aliceazania / @ginamartinuk Instagram: @aliceazania / @ginamartin Buy the book here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/be-the-change/gina-martin/9780751577884 Edited by Chelsey Moore

Om Podcasten

The Sunday Salon is a podcast celebrating brilliant books and the women who write them, hosted by journalist Alice-Azania Jarvis. Each week she chats to an inspiring female author about her work, her career, how she writes, what she reads and everything in between. This is not some academic textual analysis – it’s about finding the stories behind the stories. Tune in each Sunday to hear from guests including Isabel Allende, Jessie Burton, Holly Bourne, Diana Evans, Elizabeth Day, Nimco Ali and Sophie Kinsella. Edited by Chelsey Moore.