Self-care note: This wrap-up includes discussion of abortion, anti-LGBTQIA+ policies and behaviours, gender based violence, and more. If you find this distressing or triggering, remember to take it at your own pace. You may prefer to read small sections, wait until you feel ready to read it all, or choose not to read it at all.
1. Google criticised for giving free ads to UK anti-abortion groups 🔍
A Sunday National investigation has found that Google has been giving free advertising to crisis-pregnancy helplines run by anti-abortion groups, targeting people searching for abortion care across Scotland and the wider UK.
The ads were provided through Google Ad Grants, a programme that gives registered charities up to £7,000/month in free search advertising. Several groups with explicit anti-abortion agendas, including Pregnancy Crisis Helpline, Life, and Right to Life UK, used the scheme to promote ads that appeared to offer neutral support but instead redirected users to organisations linked to Christian Concern and other groups with a history of spreading abortion misinformation.
The groups involved have previously been cited in a Brook 2014 report for sharing misleading claims, including false links between abortion and breast cancer, suicide risk, and mental health issues.
Scottish Greens MSP Gillian Mackay called the ads “completely inappropriate” and urged Google to remove them immediately, warning that the ads mislead vulnerable people seeking legitimate healthcare. Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon, convener of Holyrood’s women’s health group, echoed concerns about coercion and lack of transparency.
Google said it requires organisations advertising around abortion to be certified and to disclose whether they provide abortion services, but campaigners say the system has failed: the ads appeared near the top of search results for months.
Pregnancy Crisis Helpline defended its work, saying 16% of callers report experiencing coercion and that it simply offers a “safe place to talk”. Right to Life UK said it uses the same advertising programme as any other charity.
The revelations come as Scotland debates abortion decriminalisation and as anti-abortion groups scale up digital tactics across the UK.
Source: The National
2. Women’s health to be taught in schools, Welsh Government announces 🩺
The Welsh Government has announced that secondary school pupils will have access to new educational materials on common women’s health from December.
Developed in collaboration with school nurses and students across Wales, the materials will cover four key areas: menstrual health, endometriosis, pelvic health, and menopause.
Aimed at reducing stigma and raising awareness, the resources were created with input from young people to ensure students receive the information they want and need on these topics.
Source: North Wales Chronicle
3. Women’s Institute and Girlguiding ban trans women ⛔
Both Girlguiding and the Women’s Institute have announced that they will not accept trans girls and women as members of their organisations, after seeking legal advice.
On Tuesday, the youth organisation Girlguiding said that trans girls would no longer be able to join, as a result of April’s Supreme Court ruling on sex and gender. According to The Times, the organisation had been facing legal action from a parent over its policy allowing transgender girls to join and trans women to volunteer.
The following day, The Guardian reported that the Women’s Institute had decided it would no longer accept transgender women as members from April next year. The organisation also said it would launch new “sisterhood groups” open to all.
Helen Belcher, Chair of TransActual said: “If these changes must be forced on organisations, then it’s clear this is the result of a handful of extremists imposing their views on groups which have been very happily trans inclusive for many years if not decades.”
Source: The Guardian
4. Ofcom launches investigation into social media companies over hate content 📱
Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, has launched an investigation into social media platforms to understand whether they are doing enough to identify and remove hate and terrorist content.
The regulator has not revealed which platform will be the first to be investigated. However, more than 30 MPs submitted complaints to Ofcom after the Center for Countering Digital Hate found posts on Elon Musk’s X celebrating the attack on Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester in October.
Ofcom said it had “immediately engaged” with the largest social media platforms to assess their compliance with the Online Safety Act, as well as with civil society organisations, which reported “significant volumes of extreme hatred online”, including antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate.
Ofcom is expected to publish the first review of a major social media platform by April 2026.
Source: PoliticsHome
Stay in the loop on sex & relationships
Want this kind of sex, health and rights roundup in your inbox every week? Our Weekly Wrap pulls together the key stories on pleasure, policy and protest – with context you won’t get from a scroll.
5. AI deepfakes spread health misinformation online, investigation reveals 💊
A new investigation published by Full Fact revealed that various social media accounts have been publishing videos with AI-generated deepfakes of real experts, doctors, and academics in order to spread unchecked health information and promote supplements.
Many of these videos show well-known and respected doctors and specialists sharing misinformation about menopause and recommending supplements from a US company, which is unclear whether it is involved in these actions.
One of the doctors who had been deepfaked reported the content to TikTok. After initially being told that no violations were found, they continued to report the videos. The platform later replied that the videos’ visibility would be restricted and they would not be recommended; however, the videos were not removed.
Speaking to The Guardian, Leo Benedictus, the fact-checker who conducted the investigation, said: “This is certainly a sinister and worrying new tactic.”
Source: Full Fact
6. Porn site fined £1m for failing age checks 💻
Ofcom has fined AVS Group Ltd, a company behind several adult sites, £1 million for failing to implement legally required age-assurance measures under the Online Safety Act. The regulator told the BBC it has never received a single response to months of emails sent since July, triggering an additional £50,000 penalty for non-cooperation.
The Act, phased in this year, requires porn platforms to use what Ofcom defines as “highly effective” age assurance to stop children from accessing explicit content. AVS has now been told it must comply within 72 hours or face £1,000 per day in additional fines.
Ofcom also disclosed that a major social media platform is currently undergoing “compliance remediation” with its enforcement team, hinting at possible formal action if improvements aren’t made.
Source: BBC News
7. Outcry in Italy over sex education bill targeting “gender ideology” 🎒
Italy’s far-right government has triggered widespread backlash after lawmakers approved a restrictive sex education bill that critics say undermines efforts to prevent violence against women and girls.
The proposal, backed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition, allows sex education in middle schools only with written parental consent, bans it outright in primary schools, and frames the subject as a potential vehicle for “gender ideology.” Opposition parties protested outside parliament, calling for comprehensive, mandatory RSE instead.
Government officials claimed the law would stop “political propaganda” in classrooms, with one under-secretary repeating a fascist slogan during his speech. Campaigners warned the bill will deepen stigma and limit young people’s access to evidence-based information, despite research showing RSE reduces gender-based violence.
Surveys show 90 per cent of students and nearly 80 per cent of parents support sex education in schools.
Source: The Guardian
8. Protections for LGBTQIA+ individuals in US prison may be withdrawn 🌈
According to a new memo, the US Department of Justice may eliminate rules protecting LGBTQIA+ people from sexual harassment in prison.
The memo, issued on Tuesday, states that prisons and jails will no longer be held responsible if they violate the rules aimed at offering protections to LGBTQIA+ individuals.
It refers to the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), the federal law intended to prevent sexual assault and rape in prisons, which includes specific protections for LGBTQIA+ people in all correctional facilities.
The memo states that facilities “shall not be held to subsections of the PREA Standards that may conflict with” the anti-trans executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January.
Source: Prism
Help keep this wrap free for everyone
Pillow Talk Scotland is small, independent and community-funded. Putting together this weekly wrap, our journalism and our events takes time, care and money – and we don’t take cash from advertisers.
If you value having clear, shame-free storytelling on sex and relationships, please consider supporting us.
→ Make a one-off donation
→ Become a monthly supporter and help us make room for pleasure across Scotland
Main image: European Union
