Senthorun S. Raj

A human rights expert just confirmed the truth about being trans in Britain It’s about time someone with authority and actual expertise made it clear.

“Everyday activities like going to a public bathroom or going swimming with your friends has suddenly become an area riddled with anxiety, uncertainty and risk.”

@uglastefania.bsky.social reminds us how the British government is making public spaces hostile to trans and gender non-conforming folks.

NSW premier says court ruling striking out anti-protest laws 'disappointing' Critics said the police powers, implemented in February after alleged antisemitic attacks, were unconstitutional and too broad.

“Sweeping anti-protest police powers have been declared invalid after they were rushed through a state parliament despite concerns from faith leaders and legal experts.”

Some welcome news! Governments around the world are trying to end protests and we must defend our ability to challenge injustice.

A human rights expert just confirmed the truth about being trans in Britain It’s about time someone with authority and actual expertise made it clear.

“Everyday activities like going to a public bathroom or going swimming with your friends has suddenly become an area riddled with anxiety, uncertainty and risk.”

@uglastefania.bsky.social reminds us how the British government is making public spaces hostile to trans and gender non-conforming folks.

Trans people at risk of exclusion from many UK public spaces, rights expert says European Council commissioner voices concerns after April’s supreme court ruling on legal definition of a woman

“Beyond privacy concerns, being forced to disclose sex assigned at birth may also significantly increase people’s vulnerability to harassment, abuse and even violence…”

The British government has pursued the erosion of trans rights. Letting people use spaces that align to their identity is basic.

Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, activist since Stonewall, has died The LGBTQ+ community — and particularly the transgender community — has lost an iconic activist.

“She affirmed that our lives hold meaning and that we stand on the shoulders of giants like her, whose courageous love and relentless fight assured our right to live with dignity.”

RIP, Miss Major.

Image reads "Breaking, ceasefire agreed. The UK government must ensure the deal respects the human rights of the Palestinian people."

After two years of a livestreamed genocide and unimaginable loss, agreement on the first phase of a ceasefire deal that allows some humanitarian aid into Gaza and releases the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners is overdue.

However, this cannot be another brief pause in the violence.

Today is “Coming Out Day.” At a time of intensifying homo/transphobia, being visible as a queer or trans person is personally risky and political resistance. But no one is entitled to your identity or visibility. You do not have to justify your existence to others. Just keep living unapologetically.

Man takes selfie in front of a poster of them in drag.

At a time when queer existence in universities is treated as an “ideology,” I’m proud to be on display at work being unapologetically gay.

When you first heard me speak against this genocide, you heard my words as betrayal. But they were meant as love | Sarah Schwartz Not speaking would go against everything I was taught to honour: the righteous among the nations – those who refused to be bystanders to injustice

“I now build within a new Jewish community – one which sees Judaism as diaspora and solidarity, not unquestioning support for a state. One that resists the conscription of our symbols into violence…”

Jewish solidarity with Palestinians is powerful. Many speak out against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Women on a march hold up sign which says, “A day without lesbians is like a day without sunshine.”

Happy International Lesbian Day! ☀️

The Emotions of LGBT Rights and Reforms: Repairing Law | King's College London This Queer@King’s event celebrates Dr Senthorun Raj’s new monograph, The Emotions of LGBT Rights and Reforms: Repairing Law (Edinburgh University Press, 2025), and invites responses from esteemed femi...

Thrilled to share I’ll be launching my new book in London next month. I’ll be joined by fab feminist and queer legal scholars who’ll share their thoughts on it. The launch takes place 6.30pm Tuesday 11th November in King’s College London. There will be drinks and chats. Register and come along!

🍹📖🌈

Council of Europe Adopts Landmark Intersex Rights Recommendation The Council of Europe adopts a landmark Recommendation on Equal Rights for Intersex Persons, setting a new gold standard for intersex human rights across Europe.

“As the first comprehensive international human rights instrument dedicated to the protection of persons with variations of sex characteristics, the Recommendation marks a historic and much-needed milestone.”

This is a very encouraging move in Europe to better protect intersex people.

Australian report says UK’s Cass review should not guide transgender healthcare QNews LGBTIQA+ News

“Good medicine is guided by the values of the patient, not those of a clinician, politician or commentator.”

Australian researchers have clearly rejected the institutionalised transphobia of the Cass Review. Trans folks should not be ignored in political or medical decisions about their healthcare.

Conor Gearty · Unwelcome Remnant: Erasing the Human Rights Act The Supreme Court is quietly editing the Human Rights Act out of existence. In cases where human rights cannot be...

“The current members of the Supreme Court, ten men and two women, all of them white, seem to regard the Human Rights Act as an unwelcome remnant of a past era.”

Prof Conor Gearty’s final essay in @lrb.co.uk is a painfully clear analysis of how the UK Supreme Court is depressing human rights norms.

💖

Hand holds up the book, “No Is Not A Lonely Utterance: The Art and Activism of Complaining.”

“To assemble, to say no, to do no, throws so much open … doing what we can, when we can, however we can, in the wear and tear, for as long as it takes.”

Just read @saranahmed.bsky.social’s energising new book on complaining as a collective task of feminist and queer world (un)building. Get a copy!

Police to get broader powers to crack down on repeated protests Officers will be able to tell organisers to move demonstrations if protests have caused

“Police forces will be granted powers to put conditions on repeat protests…”

It’s scary that the British government is making it harder for people to protest. You can’t end one form of racism by encouraging another. The safety of minoritised groups will not be achieved by giving police more powers.

Wish I could ask the same!

Some people in Scotland will never get gender clinic appointment on 224-year waitlist Revealed waiting times of all GICs in UK: Most Trans+ people in the UK will wait more than a third of their adult life to get an appointment, and some will never receive care

“This new data confirms what we already knew: there is a trans+ healthcare crisis in the UK. But the actual numbers are stark. The system of NHS gender clinics, which is failing to give people an appointment in their entire lifetime, is limiting the number of people who can transition.”

Appalling.

💕

A reminder: you cannot stop bigotry with more bigotry. Solidarity is key to ending all forms of institutionalised racism.

Screenshot of article. Link here: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=circy-annual-report-2024-25.pdf&site=387

Screenshot of article. Link here: https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=circy-annual-report-2024-25.pdf&site=387

The Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth (CIRCY) at the University of Sussex showcased chapters from our Queer Judgments edited collection that relate to children. These include matters relating to gender affirming healthcare, adoption, reproduction, parental status and consent.

We are heartbroken to emerge from Yom Kippur into news of the attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester. No one should face violence for attending synagogue services and our hearts are with the victims and their families at this terrible time. For many in our community, this news may only just be reaching you after a day spent in prayer, reflection, and fasting. To be confronted with such awfulness in this moment is particularly painful: please know that you are not alone.

In moments like this, it is vital that our communities - Jewish and non-Jewish alike hold one another close. Our safety and liberation depend on solidarity between all those who are marginalised and targeted, and we must not allow those who seek to divide us to succeed. Every person deserves to live, gather, and worship in safety and dignity. We condemn this act of violence unequivocally, and restate our commitment to building a world where this kind of horror is no longer possible.

Our hearts are with the victims and their families at this terrible time.

Manchester synagogue attack: What we know so far Three people have died including the suspect in a car and stabbing attack on the holiest day in the Jewish religious calendar.

Horrified by the deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur 💔 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Academic selfie: dinner in the Gay Village with Kay and @senthorun.bsky.social edition

Hand holds up a crocheted rainbow flower bouquet.

The Queer Judgments Project is about queer friendship & creativity. Recently, one of our contributors, Dr Joy Twemlow, crocheted this queer flower bouquet which she gifted to one of the editors, Dr Sen Raj. This bouquet represents the beauty, innovation, kinship & flourishing of queer communities. 💐

Screenshot of article link.

Feminist Legal Studies is pleased to offer open access to our 2025 prize-winning article by Leon Laidlaw. This powerful article examines how colonial gender norms underpin prison systems, harming trans, Indigenous, and cis women.

You can read it for free here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

A reminder: no one should have to “earn” the right to live and move freely. Human rights do not depend on how much (or little!) someone contributes to the country.

Hand holds up a colourful crocheted flower bouquet.

My fabulous new friend and colleague crocheted me a queer flower bouquet. 💐🌈

Man takes selfie in office while holding up a university guide on Equalities Law.

At a time when political resentments and despair shape caricatures of diversity and inclusion, it feels so refreshing to be back teaching Equalities Law to a group of thoughtful and critically engaged students.