Jack Wetherill

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Russia sentences nightclub owner and staff to jail under ‘LGBT movement’ ban

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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, […]

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Best and worst countries to be LGBTQ+ in Europe in 2026 revealed

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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 […]

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Over 25% of LGBTQ+ people feel excluded or underrepresented by Pride Month

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Pride Month is just days away, but new research suggests a large number of LGBTQ+ people feel underrepresented or even excluded from the annual celebrations. Every year, queer visibility is increased in June as Pride parades, parties and festivals take place, with rainbows and sequins filling the streets. However for some, it isn’t enough. Research from dating app Taimi has found that a growing number of LGBTQ+ people feel a disconnect with Pride as it currently exists – whether that’s the weekend-long festivals, brands launching rainbow logos but doing little else for the community, or sponsored floats during parades. Of the 1,100 LGBTQ+ […]

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Trans students made to use outdoor porta-potties as new bill signed in South Carolina

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Trans students may be forced to use outdoor porta-potties if no single-occupancy toilets are available (Image: Getty Images) South Carolina governor Henry McMaster has signed House Bill 4756, a “privacy” law that allows schools to treat outdoor porta-potties as an acceptable single-occupancy toilet option for trans students if no indoor single-user bathroom is available. The Campaign for Southern Equality warned in an Instagram post that the measure could make going to the toilet “difficult and even dangerous” for trans and non-binary young people. The bill, titled the South Carolina Student Physical Privacy Act, requires multi-person bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing facilities […]

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Russian woman sentenced to forced labour for writing gay K-Pop fan-fiction

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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 […]

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New York Times defends coverage after mum of trans teen demands accountability

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A.G. Sulzberger was challenged at The New York Times’ annual shareholders meeting after a parent of a transgender teenager asked what responsibility the paper holds when its reporting is cited to justify laws and policies targeting trans people, and what it is doing to be accountable. The parent told the meeting: “This reporting is deeply concerning to me as the mom of a trans teen,” before asking: “What steps are you taking to be accountable to concerns of the trans community, readers, and shareholders?” Sulzberger defended the paper’s journalism, describing the reporting as “incredibly rigorously reported and edited” and saying […]

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Senegal’s new anti-LGBTQ+ law used for first conviction as man jailed for six years

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A court in Senegal has handed down the first conviction after the country’s newly toughened anti-LGBTQ+ law criminalising same-sex acts, sentencing a 24-year-old man to six years in prison and a $3,300 fine. The case is an early sign of how quickly the harsher penalties are being enforced. On 10 April, the man was convicted in Pikine-Guédiawaye, a suburb of Dakar, for “acts against nature and public indecency”, and sentenced to six years in prison. He was arrested earlier this month. Human Rights Watch researcher Larissa Kojoué said the law has created a climate of “constant fear” for LGBTQ+ people in Senegal. Speaking […]

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Girlguiding sets September deadline for trans girls to leave after ban

Transgender girls must leave the Guides by September 6, Girlguiding has said. The deadline comes after the December 2025 decision to stop allowing trans youngsters from joining groups as part of its updated inclusion policies. In the fallout of the Supreme Court’s judgement that the 2010 Equality Act’s definition of a woman refers to “biological sex” only, Girlguiding announced late last year that “with a heavy heart” trans girls and young women would no longer be able to join groups. Now, with the September 6 deadline, affected members have “time to plan, prepare, access support, and decide when – between now and September – they feel […]

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New US immigration rule could see trans people’s visas revoked for ‘misrepresentation’

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Trans immigrants in the US could find themselves barred due to a new rule coming into play on April 10. The rule would mean immigration officers could revoke the visas of those with green cards or who are applying if they do not share their “biological sex at birth”. According to an update to the Federal Register, the amendments to the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, is an attempt to “improve the integrity of, and combat fraud in, the program”. When the new rule comes into force, applicants will be made to provide passport documentation and upload a scan of the biographic […]

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