Jack Wetherill

The High Court has ruled that the PATHWAYS puberty blockers trial can go ahead, after a judge threw out a challenge from campaigners. The challenge came from a number of groups or individuals, including the Bayswater Support Group which give “support for parents of children IDing as trans”. They asked that the trial be blocked, arguing it was unlawful. However the High Court has ruled it can go ahead after a two-day hearing. In a statement, the PATHWAYS Trial research team said: “We welcome the Court’s decision. The safety and welfare of young people will remain our highest priority in carrying out this research.  “PATHWAYS Trial is […]

Michael Hendricks, the Canadian gay rights advocate whose legacy spans HIV/AIDS-era remembrance and a landmark marriage equality fight in Quebec, has died aged 84. Hendricks died via medical assistance on 18 July after living with a degenerative lung disease, and is survived by his husband, René Leboeuf, as reported by Fugues. During the HIV and AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s, the couple fought for LGBTQ+ rights and worked with other activists and the City of Montreal to create a permanent memorial to the people of Quebec who had died of AIDS. Their efforts resulted in Parc de l’Espoir, built […]

The LGBTQ+ stories you don’t want to miss, delivered to your inbox daily. On 22 June, Starmer announced he would be resigning as leader of the Labour party but would remain as prime minister until a replacement is found this summer. It soon became clear that it was a one-horse-race, with Burnham, who re-entered Parliament weeks before Starmer’s resignation when he won the Makerfield by-election, set to take over. Burnham, who was the Mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 until earlier this year, previously held a number of other positions in government, including as Secretary of State for Health under […]

A hate crime inquiry has heard that international students from countries which criminalise homosexuality have been targeted on gay dating apps before being assaulted and threatened with being outed. Police in Victoria, Australia have identified 95 attacks on gay or bisexual men since June 2024. Chad Hughes, Thorne Harbour Health’s chief executive said 42 arrests have been made in relation to the attacks. However, Hughes said he believes the “true number” is much higher, with victims reluctant to come forward over mistrust of the police. Jenna Tuke, from Switchboard Victoria, said some victims were scared they could be outed to family members in their home countries, […]

A Russian court has jailed the owner and two employees of an LGBT nightclub in Orenburg after convicting them of organising and participating in the activities of an “extremist organisation”. Authorities claim it is the first prosecution under the country’s ban on the so-called “LGBT movement”. Vyacheslav Khasanov, 37, the owner of the Pose club, was sentenced to seven years in jail and ordered to pay a fine of 1 million roubles (£9,745/$12,902), as per The Independent. Two other staff members who were arrested were also convicted. Club manager Diana Kamilyanova, 30, was sentenced to six years and three months, and art director Alexander Klimov, […]

Malta is no longer Europe’s LGBTQ+ rights hot spot, after Spain has won the title in ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map for 2026. In ILGA-Europe’s 18th annual Rainbow Map, 49 countries in Europe were ranked on laws and policies which affect the LGBTI community. Spain’s move to the top spot comes after the country introduced new legal protections, a new independent equal treatment and non-discrimination authority, and a fully functioning depathologisation of trans identities in healthcare, among other achievements. Sadly, positive moves with legal policies do not mirror the lived experience of those in the LGBTI community. In Spain, assaults on LGBTI people have risen from […]

A woman in Russia has been sentenced to 18 months of forced labour for “illegal production and distribution of pornographic materials”, after she admitted to writing gay fan-fiction about K-Pop group Stray Kids. Alexandra Kuzyk, a 36-year-old photographer and stylist, published fan-fiction depicting same-sex romance, which a mother subsequently found on her daughter’s device, according to KP-Yekaterinburg. The case was launched in 2025, with prosecutors initially seeking a four-year prison sentence, as people in Russia continue to live under the country’s extreme laws. Kuzyk admitted that she had written the fan-fiction. She told the court that it was a longtime hobby. She was sentenced to 18 months […]