Self-care note: This wrap-up includes discussion of women’s health, 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. Far-right groups using gaming platforms to recruit young people 🎮
Far-right groups are increasingly using online gaming spaces to recruit young people, often embedding misogynistic and anti-LGBT rhetoric into popular platforms, according to an investigation by The Ferret.
Experts warn extremists are embedding coded language and symbols into popular games such as Minecraft, Call of Duty and Roblox to avoid moderation. After initial contact in gaming chats, young users are often directed to private platforms like Discord or Telegram where content becomes more overtly racist and ideological.
The investigation follows a record number of terrorism prevention referrals in Scotland, with the highest proportion linked to far-right concerns. Researchers say while most young gamers are not at risk, inconsistent moderation and rising youth unemployment may create vulnerabilities that extremist groups exploit.
Source: The Ferret
2. First UK baby born after womb transplant from deceased donor 👶
A baby boy has become the first child in the UK to be born using a womb transplanted from a deceased donor.
Grace Bell, who was born without a functioning womb due to MRKH syndrome, received the transplant in 2024 as part of a clinical trial. After IVF treatment and embryo transfer, her son Hugo was born in December 2025.
Surgeons involved described the birth as a “ground-breaking moment” that could offer hope to those who cannot carry a pregnancy.
The procedure forms part of a UK research trial exploring whether womb transplants could become an approved treatment. More than 100 such transplants have taken place globally, resulting in over 70 births.
Source: BBC News
3. Maternal services have problems ‘at every stage’, new report finds 🤰
An interim report has found that England’s maternity units have problems “at every stage”, including racism, bullying behaviour and a lack of compassion towards families.
The report also found that harm to women and babies, as well as medical errors, were often covered up, with medical records being falsified and parents left with no clear answers.
Another issue that emerged from the report is that services are understaffed and are often located in outdated buildings.
Baroness Amos, who is leading the government-commissioned review, met more than 400 families and said in a statement that it was “clear from the meetings and conversations I have had with hundreds of women, families and staff members across the country, that maternity and neonatal services in England are failing too many women, babies, families and staff”.
Source: BBC News
4. Study suggests biological reason chronic pain is more common in women 🧬
Men’s immune systems may be better equipped to shut down pain signals, potentially helping explain why chronic pain is more common in women, new research suggests.
In a study published in Science Immunology, researchers found that certain monocytes — a type of white blood cell in the immune system — produce an anti-inflammatory protein called interleukin-10, which is crucial for pain resolution because it switches off pain signals from nerve cells.
The researchers found that IL-10+ monocytes are more abundant in male mice, as their production is driven by male sex hormones.
“The difference in pain between men and women has a biological basis. It’s not in your head, and you’re not soft. It’s in your immune system,” study leader Geoffroy Laumet of Michigan State University.
Source: Reuters
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5. Vasectomy on the rise in Poland ✂️
Although there are no official statistics, as most procedures are carried out privately, it is estimated that around 5,000 vasectomies are performed in Poland each year.
The procedure is considered a type of birth control which stops sperm being ejaculated from the penis during sex. It seems to be attracting a lot of interest among Polish couples, with advertisements available online and everywhere. At the same time, tubal ligation — a similar procedure for women — is prohibited in Poland.
Poland has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, with around 1.10-1.16 children per woman recorded in 2024.
Fifteen per cent of young people born between 1995 and 2006 have no children and say they do not intend to have any in the future.
Source: Euronews
6. EU opens social fund for abortion access 🩺
On Thursday, the European Commission confirmed the launch of an EU social fund that member states can use to provide access to safe and legal abortion for those living in countries where the right is limited.
The decision followed the campaign “My Voice, My Choice”, which collected more than 1.2 million signatures across all 27 European countries, calling for guaranteed safe and affordable access to abortion in the EU.
Activists described the EU’s decision as a “historic” step for women’s rights and European democracy.
Source: The Guardian
7. Trump wants to limit trans youth’s rights even further 🏛️
During the first State of the Union speech of his second term, the annual message delivered by the US President, Donald Trump spent several minutes focusing on trans youth and calling for further limits and restrictions on their rights.
Specifically, he appeared to call for a ban on schools that allow students to socially transition without parental consent.
Trump told the story of a student, Sage Blair, and her grandmother and adoptive mother, Michele, who were in the gallery. Michele accused the school of encouraging Sage to socially transition, while court documents reported that the teenager was experiencing gender dysphoria, as The New York Times reported.
In his speech, Trump said: “Surely we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will,” and added: “We must ban it and we must ban it immediately.”
Source: The New York Times
8. Kenya rolls out twice-yearly HIV prevention injection 💉
Kenya has become the first country in East Africa to launch lenacapavir, a six-month injectable drug that can prevent HIV with just two doses a year.
Clinical studies suggest the injection is up to 96% effective.
The rollout begins in 15 high-burden counties, with 21,000 starter doses available free at public health facilities. It will sit alongside existing prevention tools such as daily oral PrEP, condoms and voluntary medical male circumcision.
Health officials say the twice-yearly injection could address “pill fatigue” for those who struggle with daily medication. Kenya recorded 110,000 new HIV infections in 2013 — a figure that fell to 15,000 in 2024 — but 1.4 million people are still living with HIV nationwide.
Source: WHO
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