Patrick Kelleher

In July 2022, Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi sparked fears of a return to Section 28 when he promised to “protect” children from “radical activists”. The former education secretary, currently serving as equalities minister in Liz Truss’ cabinet, made his comments while launching a failed leadership bid to become PM. For LGBTQ+ people, alarm bells rang. Zahawi’s suggestion that children are being subjected to “damaging and inappropriate nonsense” sounded a lot like Margaret Thatcher’s infamous 1987 speech in which she said kids were being taught they had an “inalienable right” to be gay. Section 28, which came into effect in 1988, banned the […]

The Taliban is using monkeypox as an “excuse” to harass and detain LGBTQ+ people in Afghanistan. Two gay men who live in Kabul told PinkNews that the Taliban’s persecution of LGBTQ+ people has been ramping up ever since monkeypox started being detected in Europe. While not sexually transmitted, public health officials believe monkeypox is being transmitted in these networks through close contact during sex – though experts have also suggested the statistics may be skewed towards queen men because they are more conscious of their sexual health. Right now, Afghanistan has not officially recorded any cases of monkeypox – but that hasn’t stopped the […]

Franz is struggling to comprehend how it’s been 100 days since Russia invaded Ukraine, kicking off a war that has dragged on for months. “You know, I didn’t even realise it’s been 100 days already,” Franz, who is just 18 years old, tells PinkNews. “It doesn’t feel quite right that it’s already summer. Some part of me still expects to see snow outside the window each morning, as if it was all just February that never ended.” Right now, Franz is in Slovakia, where he’s studying at university. He spends his days wondering where time is going – why the days seem to be […]

An LGBT+ charity in Russia that has provided support to the community for more than a decade has been formally dissolved by the courts. Charitable Foundation Sphere was formally dissolved by Kuibyshev District Court judge Tatiana Kuzovkina on Thursday (21 April) after the Russian ministry for justice argued that they were carrying out “political activities”. The ministry claimed one of CF Sphere’s goals is to change Russian legislation, which is not a permissible charitable goal under federal law. A representative for the ministry claimed that Sphere “carried out political activities using foreign property, which does not correspond to the statutory goals”. The […]

The Royal British Legion (RBL) has won praise after it apologised for historic discrimination against the LGBT+ community and war veterans. The RBL is a national organisation that works to make sure the contribution of the armed forces is not forgotten – however, it has faced criticism in the past for its approach to LGBT+ veterans. The charity once described LGBT+ wreaths at a First World War memorial in London as “disgusting” and “an insult to the war dead”, according to activist Peter Tatchell. The organisation has been accused of ordering that LGBT+ wreaths be removed and destroyed in the past. The RBL has finally […]

Most people will never understand just how traumatic it is to flee your home country to search for safety. It’s a terrifying prospect, and it’s one that the people of Ukraine are dealing with right now as Russia’s cruel, unjust war wages on. More than 4.4 million people have fled Ukraine in the six weeks since the attack began. For LGBT+ people fleeing war and violence, there are specific issues they have to face. On top of leaving their homes behind, some will have to contend with homophobia, biphobia or transphobia along the way. That’s why they need specific, targeted supports. Micro […]

With Ukraine defending itself from Russia’s brutal war of aggression, the country’s LGBT+ activists have found themselves playing a new role. War is an equaliser, Kyiv Pride director Lenny Ensom tells PinkNews. “The bomb doesn’t ask you what is your identity, the bomb just falls,” he explains. He hasn’t been able to get much sleep since the invasion started, as the sound of shelling is never far away. On Tuesday night (15 March), a building in his district was hit. “It’s like Russian roulette. They just hit and you don’t know where the bomb will land.” As director of Kyiv Pride, he’s dedicated much of his […]

Putin’s war in Ukraine is part of a mission to turn back the clock to the Soviet era – a prospect that terrifies LGBT+ Russians. Maria, an LGBT+ activist in Russia whose name has been changed to protect her identity, says queer people have been fleeing her country since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine – which many agree is all part of a terrifying quest to bring Russia back to its former dominance. That vision, she says, does not include LGBT+ people. When Maria speaks to PinkNews over Zoom, she’s quick to describe Russia’s actions in Ukraine as a war. That […]

LGBT+ activist Andriy Maymulakhin can hear gunfire in his home, which is located in a village just 50 kilometres from Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Life since Russia invaded has been tense for Andriy, who serves as head of LGBT+ rights organisation the Nash Mir Centre, based in Kyiv. He’s separated from his boyfriend of 10 years, who is in western Ukraine. Two of his friends and one of their elderly parents are sheltering at his home. Shortly after Russia launched its invasion, Nash Mir’s offices were raided and its employees assaulted. Those who attacked them were, surprisingly, Ukrainian – the raid points to just how […]