Senthorun S. Raj

LGBT survivors tell of 'barbaric' NHS electric shock therapy More than 250 people were subjected to painful electric shocks in NHS hospitals, the BBC discovers.

“More than 250 people were subjected to painful electric shocks, designed to change their sexual preferences and gender identity, in NHS hospitals between 1965 and 1973…”

And in 2025, conversion practices remain legal in the UK and the government is abusing trans youth by denying them healthcare.

Sandie Peggie: Tribunal rules that employers do not have to exclude trans people | Good Law Project One of the first cases that follows the Supreme Court’s decision on the definition of sex under the Equality Act has found that the court didn’t decide which changing room a trans person should use.

“The tribunal found that it was not inherently unlawful for a trans woman to be given permission to use a female changing room at work: a number of factors needed to be weighed in the balance.”

It’s an encouraging decision but trans folk should not have to bear the burden of cis people’s anxieties.

British media is focussed on cultivating public anxieties and hostilities about trans folk and rendering their bodies and rights debatable. These emotions shape politics and organisations. We must disrupt these narratives and remind people that the law does not have to be what transphobes say it is.

This case is an important reminder that gendered spaces can be trans inclusive, and it’s not automatic discrimination because a cis person has to share a gendered space with a trans person. There is much more to do but it’s helpful to have legal glimmers to work with to resist the rabid transphobia.

Decision in the Sandie Peggie case.

She was not directly or indirectly discriminated against, her claim of victimisation fails entirely, her claim of harassment fails largely and her claim against Beth Upton fails entirely. www.judiciary.uk/judgments/sa...

Rights groups warn against UK plans to weaken torture protections in ECHR Exclusive: Ministers face pushback over potential changes to asylum seekers’ rights before Council of Europe meeting

A reminder: if you’re more outraged that a court can declare that a government policy is cruel, inhuman or degrading to people (such as people who seek asylum) than you are at a government’s ability to abuse human beings, then you need to reset your moral compass. Immediately.

Rules on single-sex spaces pose risk to trans people’s mental health, UK charities say Fifteen organisations sign letter expressing deep concern over EHRC guidance being considered by ministers

“Mental health services should be places of refuge, not risk, and equality protections must strengthen, not erode, the conditions that enable people to feel safe and supported.”

It’s good to see more organisations speak out against politics that degrade trans people’s safety, health, and wellbeing.

AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself Students use AI to write papers, professors use AI to grade them, degrees become meaningless, and tech companies make fortunes. Welcome to the death of higher education.

“Calculators expanded reasoning; the printing press spread knowledge. ChatGPT, by contrast, doesn’t extend cognition—it automates it, turning thinking itself into a service. Rather than democratizing learning, it privatizes the act of thinking under corporate control.”

AI corrupts our learning.

‘True activism has to cost you something’: Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan on politics, paparazzi and parasocial fandom The diminutive Derry Girls star isn’t afraid to speak her mind, even if it costs her fans and followers

“I can’t throw away my moral conscience. True activism, it should cost you something.”

A thoughtful interview with Nicola Coughlan on acting and activism.

If “culturally normal” means denying women control over their bodies, censoring gay relationships, refusing to acknowledge trans and non-binary people exist, insisting that only men should be in positions of political power, then I’m very glad to be culturally abnormal. Just saying.

Screenshot of article link.

“Trans people have always been here and they will always be here. It's the job of cisgender people and the rest of the community to protect and fight for their rights.”

Great to see roller derby crews in Manchester show their solidarity with trans and non-binary folk. 🏳️‍⚧️

www.itv.com/news/granada...

Trump wants to recreate a white America that never existed | Rebecca Solnit The persecution of brown people and mass deportations will not create the white country of far-right fantasy

“There is no more dramatic sign of the rejection of Trumpism than the thousands upon thousands organizing, showing up, risking bodily safety, arrest and felony charges to defend their neighbors. City after city has risen up to defend its own.”

We find justice with communities resisting fascism.

AI chatbots can sway voters better than political advertisements A conversation with a chatbot can shift people's political views—but the most persuasive models also spread the most misinformation.

“The chatbots swayed opinions by citing facts and evidence, but they were not always accurate—in fact, the researchers found, the most persuasive models said the most untrue things.”

AI spreads lies and misinformation that threaten democracy. We must do more to disrupt these fascistic technologies.

Queer Judgments Published in Australian Feminist Law Journal (Ahead of Print, 2025)

Very excited to share the publication of Aishwarya Birla’s review of ‘Queer Judgments’ (Ferreira, Moscati & Raj)! 📚 A fantastic piece to kick off our book review publications. Submit/enquire at aflj.bookreviews@outlook.com

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Humanity on trial: the case of search-and-rescue volunteer Seán Binder On 4 December 2025, Seán Binder will stand trial in Greece, for his work as a volunteer rescuer helping people at risk of drowning at sea.

“Seán had traveled to Lesvos as a volunteer, joining a local search-and-rescue NGO to patrol the coastline for small boats in distress and provide first aid to those crossing from Turkey to Greece.”

Solidarity with Seán Binder and others who risk their freedom to save people from drowning at sea.

The Labour Party is literally in government right now. They have a clear majority and could legislate to ensure trans folks are treated according to their gender, and ensure equality law does not fix people to their sex assigned at birth. They actively choose not to — it’s institutional transphobia.

Why Palestine Matters So Much to Queer People Palestinian identity can “upend the whole world order, if done right, if spun right, if we activate it enough. And I think queerness is a very similar kind of identity.”

“Solidarity with Palestine reflects the very realities that queerness is not just about sexuality or identity but about dismantling oppressive structures globally, and that is a common understanding within queer liberation and Palestine liberation movement.”

Palestine matters to queer folk.

🇵🇸🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

LGBT survivors tell of 'barbaric' NHS electric shock therapy More than 250 people were subjected to painful electric shocks in NHS hospitals, the BBC discovers.

“More than 250 people were subjected to painful electric shocks, designed to change their sexual preferences and gender identity, in NHS hospitals between 1965 and 1973…”

And in 2025, conversion practices remain legal in the UK and the government is abusing trans youth by denying them healthcare.

Home Office admits facial recognition tech issue with black and Asian subjects Calls for review after technology found to return more false positives for ‘some demographic groups’ on certain settings

“Ministers are facing calls for stronger safeguards on facial recognition technology after the Home Office admitted that it is more likely to incorrectly identify black and Asian people than their white counterparts on some settings.”

Facial recognition technologies are racist by design.

Screenshot of highlighted text which reads: “Transgender persons endeavour to live in their acquired gender to enable how they present to others accord with how they perceive themselves. To this end they endeavour to use the toilet facilities which accord with their gender identity. A toilet access policy of permitting access based upon asserted gender rather than sex was an appropriate means to achieve the aim of an inclusive workplace environment.”

“Transgender persons endeavour to live in their acquired gender to enable how they present to others accord with how they perceive themselves.”

Nice to see the Employment Tribunal in Scotland affirm people using toilets that align with their gender.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69303e...

Anti-Trans Activist Kirralie Smith Ordered To Pay Almost $100k & Issue Public Apology Following Vilification Ruling - Star Observer Anti-trans activist Kirralie Smith has been ordered to pay $95,000 and issue a public apology after vilifying two trans women.

“Anti-trans activist and Binary Australia spokesperson Kirralie Smith has been ordered to pay $95,000 in fines and issue a public apology after she was found to have vilified two trans women earlier this year.”

Look, it’s possible to hold transphobes accountable for abusing trans people.

Screenshot reads: “I dance as a political statement, because disabled bodies are inherently political, but I mostly dance for all the same reasons anyone else does: because it heals my spirit and fills me with joy.” Stella Young, on dancing and disabled bodies.

“I dance as a political statement, because disabled bodies are inherently political, but I mostly dance for all the same reasons anyone else does: because it heals my spirit and fills me with joy.”

It’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities. So keep dancing.

www.abc.net.au/rampup/artic...

It’s painfully perverse that some people will call pro-trans feminists “handmaidens” when it’s the “sex = biology” logic that authoritarian governments around the world are pursuing to attack women. “Gender ideology” is a term used to undermine gender non-conformity, abortion, feminism, queers, etc.

Man in red coat takes a selfie with his book, The Emotions of LGBT Rights and Reforms: Repairing Law.

Lovely to be back in a sunny London to give a talk on my new book.

Women’s Institute will no longer accept trans women as members from April Exclusive: CEO says decision taken with ‘utmost regret and sadness’ after supreme court ruling on definition of a woman

“The Women’s Institute will no longer accept transgender women as members…”

This is another painful example of how trans women are being blocked from participating in social and public life. It’s a violation of trans people’s dignity. We must demand more of our institutions and defend trans lives.

Trans girls banned from joining Girlguiding Girls’ adventure charity says it made decision after seeking legal advice in wake of supreme court ruling on gender

“Girlguiding had been facing legal action from a parent over its policy allowing transgender girls to join as members and trans women to volunteer in roles reserved for women…”

This is a heartbreaking and dehumanising decision. We must keep challenging the erasure of trans people from public life.

Victoria could become first Australian state to ban unnecessary surgery on intersex children Exclusive: Legislation would prohibit deferrable, irreversible procedures until child can give informed consent, bringing state in line with ACT

“Victoria will become the first Australian state to ban unnecessary surgeries on intersex children, with legislation to be introduced to parliament to ensure procedures are deferred until patients are old enough to consent to them.”

This is very encouraging news. We need to protect bodily autonomy.

Trump Gutted AIDS Health Care at the Worst Possible Time By the first World AIDS Day of his second term, Trump gutted LGBTQ+ employment globally and put humanity at greater risk of AIDS.

“Without the infrastructure of monitoring, documentation, and care, HIV is transmitting unchecked in the dark… On World AIDS Day, it’s clear whose lives, employment, and health have been most affected by Trump’s budget cuts.”

This piece is a painful reminder that political funding cuts kill people.

Given the fascistic attacks on trans people, migrants, women, disabled folks etc, talking about “free speech” in abstract terms without confronting our political reality just enables bigotry to thrive. Bad faith actors use “free speech” to bully marginalised people. We must refuse this intimidation.