Stefanie Blümel

Estonia's drag scene is booming. Meet the artists behind the movement creating spaces for queer joy, gender exploration, and splendour.

Latvia's Parliament voted to denounce the Istanbul Convention on violence against women. Explore the political manoeuvring, populist trends, and potential Russian interference behind this controversial decision.

In the wake of Donald Trump’s 2025 re-election and the global surge of right-wing politics, Billy Branca created Perspectives, a Queer zine. 

Researcher Otava Piha argues that if rape is about lack of consent, the law must say so—to better protect the rights of both victims and suspects.

A journey from anti-trans hostility in the US to safety, solidarity, and healing in Estonia’s queer and trans community.

Dr. Galit Wellner, a philosopher of technology, highlights how gender biases in AI exist and reveals which problems can arise from that.

Helle Hald is a Danish attorney who has fought for the right of rape victims to have a lawyer from the very beginning. This right is now guaranteed in Denmark.

Despite the fact that the Czech Republic has not ratified the Istanbul Convention and that, according to NGOs, government politicians are not particularly progressive on the issue of sexual violence, they have transitioned to a consent-based law.

Finland adopted the consent law in 2023. According to legal researcher Daniela Alaattinoğlu, one change was in the approach to evidence.

Every victim, irrespective of their gender, age and sexual orientation, needs protection. Arras expressed the opinion that Estonia needs to agree on defining unconsenting sex as rape.

This July, a colleague and I took on the initiative of drafting a public address to university management, expressing our deep concern about how they opted to react to recent sexual harassment and abuse of power committed by the director of the Viljandi Academy of Culture.

Ben Miller is a historian who has studied the racist history of the gay liberation movement, spanning from interwar Weimar Germany to 1970s San Francisco. In this interview, he discusses in more detail the Baltic German artist Elisàr von Kupffer, who was born in the Estonian territories.

On 8th of March (and always) we invite you to focus on intersectionality and think about how the plight of other marginalized groups affects us all.

Pakistani human rights activist Uzma Yakoob writes about the biggest victories and losses of the Pakistani trans community over the past decade.

When healthcare workers wear the white uniform, the white should symbolize healing, but it also represents potential barriers to healthcare.

Stefanie Blümel looks at how the city of Vienna has attempted to become more inclusive by applying gender mainstreaming in its urban planning processes.

In 2018, Iceland’s parliament passed an affirmative sexual consent law which states that sex without free and clearly communicated consent is rape.

Constanța Dohotaru about rampant Russian propaganda in Moldova, the situation of women, minorities and refugees, and urban planning, which is heavily biased towards the needs of men.

I felt that neither me nor my feelings mattered. It also affected how I got along with Harvey - I just wanted to do a good job and be a really good assistant.

The article, based on a personal story, clarifies the status of sex work and its facilitation in the Estonian legal system.

We are looking for memes and designed slogans that can be printed either as stickers or printed on clothing, by October 17, 2023.

American comics artist Kate Glasheen presented in Haapsalu, Estonia, their graphic novel Constellations about growing up transgender in Troy, NY.

Estonian Rainbow Heroes of Culture, Gulya Sultanova and Manny de Guerre, who ran the LGBTQ+ film festival Side by Side in Russia, compare working in an atmosphere of bomb threats, intimidation and self-censorship to working to promote human rights in Russia in Estonia, where they run Q-Space, LGBTQ+ cultural program mainly aimed at the Russian-speaking community.

The Baltic states are at very different points in terms of LGBT+ rights. Estonia lives in a bubble, says Jūratė Juškaitė from the Lithuanian Human Rights Centre.