The COVID-19 support scheme for self-employed people, introduced by Rishi Sunak in April 2020, penalises women who have taken maternity leave, essentially counting this time as being the equivalent of taking a holiday. In this video we hear from one such mother, Jen, as well as the NGO who is taking the government to court for discriminating against women.

This video is part of our series The Unlawful State: Stories from a Pandemic where we lift up the voices of those whose lives are being disproportionately affected by the coronavirus crisis and hear stories of how civil society are responding. Click here for more.

This post was originally published on Radio Free.