Ruth Fletcher

UK mother separated from children for years has ‘draconian’ order overturned Flawed evidence by psychologist Melanie Gill was used to remove children from woman in 2019

www.theguardian.com/law/2026/feb... by @hansummers.bsky.social also now reported in @theguardian.com Will other cases be reviewed?

Have we seen the last of unregulated psychologists in the family courts? My report on McFarlane's landmark judgment, Re Y. He says his ruling is not just about one person (Melanie Gill) but a whole system that failed to protect the children in this case. tinyurl.com/mvpbjjfs

Just Nick Robinson casually asking a guest on BBC Today if protests against the war 'should be allowed to go ahead' or 'ought to be banned in this country'.

CFPs open for the Gender & Sexuality PGR Conference 12 June 2026, Queen's University Belfast, ‘CRITICAL ENOUGH? Orientations of Authority and Resistance’ … delighted to be the keynote speaker. Abstracts due by 15 April 2026

CFPs open for the Gender & Sexuality PGR Conference
12 June 2026, Queen's University Belfast, ‘CRITICAL ENOUGH?
Orientations of Authority and Resistance’ … delighted to be the keynote speaker. Abstracts due by 15 April 2026

Really necessary set of essay about this moment:

www.jadaliyya.com/Details/47192

"This matter is not simply regarded as a sectoral problem confined to higher education as it may threaten Scotland's economic future, innovation capacity, and regional stability."

Why hasn't UUK produced a report like this for all of #UKHE? Their strategic ignorance is destructive.

Green Party NI social media graphic with pink and blue gradient background featuring Belfast skyline silhouette. White text headline reads ‘NI EXECUTIVE BETRAYS LGBTQ+ PEOPLE AGAIN’ and ‘NO EVIDENCE, NO COMPASSION, NO EXCUSES’. Center shows tilted News Letter article screenshot with headline ‘Exclusive: Mike Nesbitt pauses Northern Ireland’s involvement in controversial UK puberty blocker trial’ and photo of two politicians. Green Party NI logo at bottom with imprint details.

Families in Northern Ireland with gender-questioning children are being let down. The suspension of NI’s participation in the UK-wide Pathway clinical trial leaves 45 young people in limbo at our single youth gender service, with no clear path forward.

1/6

Poland experts release clinical guidance on trans youth healthcare. They define the Cass Review as of "low scientific value and credibility".

journals.viamedica.pl/endokrynolog...

Donate to Causeway Pride 2026, organized by Causeway Pride Causeway Pride is entering its 4th year and in a time when LGBTQIA+ rights are under renewed a… Causeway Pride needs your support for Causeway Pride 2026

www.gofundme.com/f/causeway-p...
I'm on the committee of this rural pride. We run on the smallest of budgets and desperately need sound equipment, especially as
@hleehurley.com @alicemydaughter.bsky.social
are our keynote speakers. If you can't donate PLEASE share 🙏 ❤️🏳️‍⚧️❤️ thanks.

Today’s military strikes on Iran — carried out by the United States and Israel — mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression. Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war.

Gorton and Denton by-election result:

GRN: 40.7% (+27.5)
REF: 28.7% (+14.7)
LAB: 25.4% (-25.3)
CON: 1.9% (-6.0)
LDEM: 1.8% (-2.1)

Green GAIN from Labour.

Grateful to @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social for pointing out the *financial system* is the problem. Horrified at the evasive response by the minister; Bennett didn't query the fees, she queried the entire instability and reliability on chasing funding.

♥️ the @qmucu.bsky.social shout-out #UKHE

Pour tous les collègues en France qui regardent encore le système britanniques des frais d'inscriptions à la hausse avec des étoiles dans les yeux (si si, on vous voit), une page d'utilité publique de @qmucu.bsky.social qui recense les licenciements, restructurations et fermertures en cours 💔

Oxford Street pedestrianisation plan gets final official approval City Hall hopes to stop traffic from using the street by September.

Delighted to announce that following the consultation, I'm giving the green light to make Oxford Street traffic-free.

WE WON!

Left-wing MEPs push Commission to finance abortions in the EU Signed by 105 MEPs, the letter to Ursula von der Leyen calls for a European fund to ensure effective access to reproductive healthcare, a move one million European citizens have requested. #EuropeNews

105 members of the European Parliament sent a letter to the Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen, putting pressure on her to support the European Citizens’ Initiative “My Voice, My Choice”. It could improve access to safe abortion in Europe by funding travel from countries with less access.

'What happened to you was wrong': Taoiseach issues State apology to institutional abuse survivors Four survivors who were seated in the Dáil gallery received a round of applause before the apology was issued.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has formally apologised to survivors of abuse in industrial and reformatory schools.

"I apologise on behalf of the State for the abuse and neglect that you suffered. What happened to you was wrong, shocking and should never have happened," he told the Dáil. jrnl.ie/6967251

This is what you get when you make education about metrics rather than learning & thinking.

#OtD 25 Feb 1986 the US-backed, anti-communist dictator of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, was toppled and forced to flee the country by mass protests in the "people power revolution" stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9735...

Pressure mounts on Commission as 170 groups back EU abortion initiative | Euractiv Commission faces 2 March deadline on ‘My Voice, My Choice’ initiative

Proud to have led this joint effort calling on @ec.europa.eu to act on the #MyVoiceMyChoice European Citizens’ Initiative to ensure safe & accessible abortion across the EU. The Commission has the legal competence, democratic mandate and responsibility to act.

The real fertility crisis UNFPA State of World Population 2025

In Europe, demographic decline is increasingly invoked to justify rolling back abortion entitlements. A new report from @unfpa.org warns that simplistic or coercive responses to falling birth rates are ineffective and risk violating human rights. Real solutions centre reproductive agency.

Open letter from leading legal experts to the European Commission in support of My Voice, My Choice - Center for Reproductive Rights

reproductiverights.org/news/open-le...

Proud to be a signatory to this @reprorights.org letter from legal experts in support of a practical funding mechanism for cross-border abortion care in the European Union

Dear @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu,

This is urgent.

In 2024, I did the My Voice, My Choice hand gesture cuz I believe the EU can be what the US refuses to be: a leader for both women's rights & democracy.

What's happened since is incredible. But what might happen this week is devastating.

Rights acitivists urge full decriminalisation of abortion KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 16 Shradha Adhikari, who is a nurse with Sunaulo Parivar Nepal clinic in Kathmandu that provides reproductive health services, including safe abortion, feels pride for having an op...

Advocates in Nepal say the government needs to take immediate steps to decriminalize abortion in all cases. They want the abortion law amended to remove all barriers to accessing abortion - including gestational limits - and the repeal of abortion clauses from the penal code.

Facing the Limits In Free Gifts, Alyssa Battistoni explores capitalism’s persistent failure to value the natural world. Yet the lesson of this exploration is much broader: that capitalism imposes fundamental limits on…

Today, Amna Akbar continues our series on @alybatt.bsky.social's *Free Gifts,* reflecting on what her account of capitalism tells us about the state and law as terrains of struggle.

A woman can be killed in a Polish hospital right now! Listen to what Antonina Lewandowska from Polish Federa foundation has to say!

Anti-Gender Mobilizations in the Post-Yugoslav Space This open access book advances knowledge of anti-gender mobilizations and offers helpful insights for academics, researchers, and policymakers alike.

Download it today 4 free: Anti-Gender Mobilizations in the Post-Yugoslav Space. Hidden Connection, ed. by Roman Kuhar & Adriana Zaharijevic!

Bragging rights: endorsements by Judith Butler, @ericfassin.bsky.social, Ruth Wodak & @kslootmaeckers.bsky.social :)

link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

Women's Grassroots Activism - Toolkit 100+ Launch (IWD 2026) Launch of the 100+ Toolkit for Women's Grassroots Activism. A 2026 IWD Event hosted by London South Bank University.

Booking now open for #IWD2026 event to launch #Activism100+Toolkit, a co-produced resource created by the @ukri.org #AHRC funded network #womensgrassrootsactivsm.
🗓️ 10 March 2026
⏰ 5.30pm -7pm (online)
@whaireland.bsky.social @womenshistnet.bsky.social

‘My Voice, My Choice’ fears Commission rejection of abortion initiative | Euractiv The organisation has launched a last-minute email campaign to sway the Commission

There are fears that the European Commission could, this week, reject the initiative aimed at guaranteeing access to safe abortion across the EU. The ‘My Voice, My Choice’ campaign is mounting a last-ditch lobbying effort.