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Jess Gifkins

@jessgifkins.bsky.social
1.5K followers 1.1K following 78 posts

Senior Lecturer in International Relations at UTS, research on the United Nations and the prevention of atrocity crimes. Monograph 'Inside the UN Security Council' with OUP 2023. 🏳️‍🌈

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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
Sounds like a great event! 👇🏻
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QueerAF @wearequeeraf.com · 02/10/2025
This Saturday after painstaking research and FOIs by @clairestranstalks.bsky.social with @whatthetrans.com, we'll publish 'The Gender Clinic Files' in our newsletter: A new investigative series exposing deep structural issues with UK Transgender healthcare Sign up 👉 www.wearequeeraf.com/subscribe/
Picture of documents with NHS branding, with title: The Gender Clinic Files and text that reads: A new investigative series that exposes deep structural issues with the UK’s approach to Transgender healthcare in the QueerAF newsletter with What The Trans!? every Saturday this month. QueerAF and What The Trans logos all on a blue background showing a blurred out medical setting.
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
New article out by Stephen McLoughlin, @profbode.bsky.social and me 🎉 On the practice of early warning of mass atrocities by practitioners in the UN Secretariat and has important findings on the limitations of current early warning practices. This project was funded by the The British Academy.
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Important statement from the Lemkin Institute on the position and status of the EHRC in the UK 👇🏻
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Will Tullett @willtullett.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
So basically Vallance has announced there won't be new announcements/work on REF for 3 months, implying that there will potentially be big changes announced in 3 months time, but the deadline for the REF is going to remain the same?! How er... helpful. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/patrick...
timeshighereducation.com
Patrick Vallance hits pause on Research Excellence Framework
Science minister announces review of controversial changes to research environment assessment
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Dr Blair Williams @blairwilliams26.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
Thanks! 😁 You can read the full 10,000 word open access article here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Bloody Howard! Gender, Leadership, and the Decline of the Liberal Party of Australia as the “Party for Women”
Women played a key role in the founding of the Liberal Party of Australia (LPA) in 1944 and in providing its branch structure. The newly established LPA also sought to encourage women to join the par....
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
Really interesting article on the history of engagement with women and gender norms in the Liberal Party. Thanks @blairwilliams26.bsky.social for your research!
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Alison Phipps አሊሰን @alisonphipps.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Well worth a read. Much to ponder as Babel builds its skyscraper and hubris rules www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
newyorker.com
Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?
Maybe not as we’ve known them. But, in the ruins of the old curriculum, something vital is stirring.
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Martha Albertson Fineman @mlafineman.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
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Natacha @natacha.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
THREAD: 1. In May I published my peer-reviewed research into the effects of the Starmer-Streeting puberty-blocker ban. TLDR; lots of children have already been harmed. TW; this is a hard read. There is a term for adult men who deliberately harm children…
tandfonline.com
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
The annual global gender survey is live for anyone who’s gender doesn’t fit into the binary 👇🏻 You can share the below post for extra reach 😊
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Izzy Jayasinghe @ijayas.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
Can’t feel prouder of people in this city on one of the worst weather days so far this year.
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Ruth Pearce @notrightruth.bsky.social · 02/08/2025
Endorsement: WRITING BADLY Writing Badly is a new, print-only, journal of letters on the subject of feminism and transmisogyny. It is written and edited by and for trans women. "By turns profound and infuriating, beautiful and devastating, this collection has it all."
Photo of Writing Badly Issue 1. The cover image is greyscale and features an abstract image of several fish.Photo of printed page. Text reads: Further praise for Writing Badly issue 1. Throw away your phone and read this instead. From cookery to consciousness-raising, from deep theory to casual misandry, from practical advice to impractical advice, the essays and letters of Writing Badly will help you build new worlds. Imagine deep conversation with the cleverest women you know. Imagine organising with the coolest women you know. Imagine arguing with the most annoying women you know. Imagine being in community with women who will always have your back. By turns profound and infuriating, beautiful and devastating, this collection has it all. Best, Ruth Pearce. Author, Understanding Trans Health (2018) and others.
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Matthew Hodson @matthewhodson.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
Good news! St. Lucia has struck down colonial-era laws that criminalised homosexuality. While much of the world is edging backwards on LGBTQ rights and acceptance, St. Lucia becomes the 5th Eastern Caribbean country to decriminalise same-sex relations in the last few years.
advocate.com
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court strikes down St. Lucia laws criminalizing gay sex
The laws against “gross indecency” and “buggery” are unconstitutional, the court ruled.
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Gender Census @gendercensus.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
The 12th annual international Gender Census 2025 is now open until at least 30th August 2025! survey.gendercensus.com It's for anyone whose gender (or lack thereof) isn't described by the M/F binary. It's short and easy, and results are useful in academia, business and self-advocacy.
Title: Gender Census 2025.

Text: If you can't easily put yourself into just one of these two boxes, you are invited to take part.

Illustration: Two boxes, each with photos of relevant dictionary pages.
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Dr. Sandra Duffy Golden @sandraduffy.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
One like, one law and/or gender opinion.
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Matt McDonald @mattuq.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Amen theconversation.com/top-australi...
theconversation.com
Top Australian writers urge Albanese to abolish Job-Ready Graduates, calling their humanities degrees life changing
Tim Winton, Helen Garner and Peter Garrett are just a few of the high-profile signatories to an open letter against Job-Ready Graduates – and for the humanities.
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
Alex de Waal, an expert on the politics of famine, discussing the dire situation in Gaza.
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
Absolutely devastating 👇🏻
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency. "Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die" Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:
Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die
July 21, 2025

AFP has been working with 1 writer, 3 photographers and 6 videographers, all freelance, in the Gaza Strip since its staff journalists left in 2024.

Along with a few others, they are now the only ones left to report what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years.

We refuse to watch them die.

One of them, Bashar, has been working with AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then freelance photographer, and since 2024, as lead photographer. On July 19th he managed to post a message on Facebook: “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore.”

Bashar, 30, works & lives in the same conditions as all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another under Israeli bombings. For > a year he’s lived in utter destitution, working at extreme risk to his life. Hygiene is a major issue for him, with recurring bouts of severe intestinal illness.

Since Feb, Bashar’s been living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City with his mother, 4 brothers & sisters and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any furnishings, except a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that one of his brothers had “fallen, due to hunger.”

Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, it’s no longer enough to buy food, or they have to pay completely exorbitant prices. The banking system has collapsed, and those who exchange money via online bank accounts charge a commission of up to 40%.

AFP no longer has the ability to provide them with a vehicle and there is not enough fuel to allow these journalists to travel for their reporting. Driving a car means becoming a target for Israeli airstrikes. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart. (alt txt continued in next post)
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Senthorun S. Raj @senthorun.bsky.social · 20/07/2025
“LGBTQI+ rights are inseparable from the broader fight against authoritarianism… if you are able, show up for every mass mobilization. Keep queer joy, humor, and defiance alive in your activism long after the parades end.” We should learn from, and keep building, social movements to resist fascism.
autostraddle.com
What Queer Americans Can Learn From Hungary
We believe Hungary represents the kind of country Trump and his allies want.
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Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
Before the pandemic hit, 70% of Republicans said that science has had a mostly positive effect on society. Four years later, fewer than half (47%) said so. 🧪 www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/11…
Chart shows Republicans turn less positive about science’s impact on society
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Prof Ben Britton @bmatb.expmicromech.com · 17/07/2025
Ah hello Section 28, my old friend*... *Not my friend, these ideas are toxic (if we are being polite) - and harmful/will result in deaths (if we are being accurate).
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Sarah Taber @sarahtaber.bsky.social · 13/07/2025
Ex-farm worker here. We need to talk about this whole "But a living wage for farm workers would spike the cost of food!" thing. Not true AT ALL. Y'all don't understand how fast experienced farm workers are. The average tomato picker pulls 650lbs per hour. At $20/hr, that's $0.03/lb for labor.
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Senthorun S. Raj @senthorun.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
“Adults and young people will no longer have to be examined by a medical professional, require surgery or have to prove to anyone else that we are who we say we are.” In good news, NSW now allows people to legally transition gender without medical evidence. No one should have to prove their gender.
cityhub.com.au
New NSW Birth Certificate Reforms Come Into Effect From Today
A slate of new reforms come into effect from today, including new birth certificate laws and markers for trans and gender diverse people.
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Senthorun S. Raj @senthorun.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
“In the case of trans and intersex people, genocide is often perpetrated by making it impossible for individuals to exist as their true selves… No denial or omission in law can erase the concrete reality that trans and intersex people have always and will always exist.” We must refuse such erasure.
lemkininstitute.com
Red Flag Alert on Anti-Trans and Intersex Rights in the UK | Lemkin Institute
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Anil Dash @anildash.com · 01/07/2025
This @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social video is absolutely INCREDIBLE. The numbers he cites, the strategy and results they produced — it’s the future. When have you heard *any* campaign talk about this, ever? (Video split in 2 to fit in Bluesky’s limits)
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Helen Berents @hmberents.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
New article 🥳! Richard Fosu and I have a new piece in @jisb.bsky.social! Open access! We examine UN docs on #YPS to reveal how ideas of youth are constituted by institutional actors. We pay close attn to discursive contestation over the norm of youth inclusion within YPS. doi.org/10.1080/1750...
doi.org
Constituting ‘Youth’: Conditionality and Compliance in UN Discourses on Youth, Peace and Security
The Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda acknowledges youth as positive contributors to peace and security in contrast to dominant negative stereotypes of youth. This article examines constructio...
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Between These Spooky Lines - 👻 🌈 ⚽ 🏈 🏀⚾🏒 @footballlibrettist.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
Pride was banned in Hungary. This was the response. The fascists never learn. ¡No pasarán! ❤️ 🌈
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Natacha @natacha.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Get your cis friends to read this. It reveals how the anti-trans hate groups are really part of a web of extremist right-wing hate groups…
yorkshirebylines.co.uk
Behind the ruling: how ‘Sex Matters’ is shaping UK policy on trans rights
The UK Supreme Court ruling redefined ‘sex’ – but for trans people, it’s the start of something far more sweeping and exclusionary
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Robert Ralston @robertralston.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
From POLSIS colleagues Nick Wheeler and David Dunn on the US attack on Iran theconversation.com/us-attack-on...
theconversation.com
US attack on Iran lacks legal justification and could lead to more nuclear proliferation
After being attacked by both Israel and the US, Iran is likely to feel that it has no option to redouble its efforts to develop its own nuclear deterrent.
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Senthorun S. Raj @senthorun.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
“I deserved to make those decisions for myself, and I needed support to help me do that… Everybody deserves autonomy, and everyone deserves community. I hope I get to see that in my lifetime.” Some intersex people need gender affirming care. The political erosion of bodily autonomy affects us all.
teenvogue.com
6 Intersex People on Why Gender-Affirming Care Bans Are Bad for Everyone
“My life and welfare depends on gender-affirming care.”
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Senthorun S. Raj @senthorun.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
For those who need a reminder: the term “gender ideology” was coined by conservative religious and political groups to condemn abortion, same-sex relationships, trans existence, sex education, etc. Authoritarian regimes embrace it. We will only defeat these politics by refusing anti-gender rhetoric.
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Evan Urquhart @evanurquhart.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
When I heard the mom of a trans girl say the night her daughter came out to her was the first time she'd ever seen her child happy, I knew it was a story I needed to share. These are the stories the public isn't hearing. An honor to get to report on 3 family's journeys for @teenvogue.com.
teenvogue.com
Why These Trans Teens and Their Families Risked Everything to Get Gender-Affirming Care
It’s as simple as love.
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Great article by Nicholas Kristof on how to use Gene Sharp’s nonviolent protest methods as tools of resistance against authoritarian regimes. Full list of 198 method here: commonslibrary.org/198-methods-...
commonslibrary.org
198 Methods of Nonviolent Action by Gene Sharp
The Commons is an online library for the change makers of the world and for those interested in social change, activism, organising, advocacy and justice.
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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
I don’t know. I love this Joseph Fasano poem and have it pinned on my office door but I don’t know what to actually do about any of this.
FOR A STUDENT WHO USED AI TO WRITE A PAPER
Now I let it fall back in the grasses.
I hear you. I know this life is hard now.
I know your days are precious on this earth.
But what are you trying to be free of?
The living? The miraculous task of it?
Love is for the ones who love the work.
-Joseph Fasano
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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
I think this is such a major driver of AI use in university assessments. And also just a real… disconnection between why we think students are here (to learn about history!) and why students think they are here (to get good grades, to get a job)
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War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Want to write for War on the Rocks? warontherocks.com/su...
warontherocks.com
War on the Rocks - Submissions
Want to write for War on the Rocks? Start here.
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
What does it takes to reform the United Nations? 🤔 📚 I reflected on the perennial debates around UN reform for the recent forum on my @oxunipress.bsky.social book 'Inside the UN Security Council' published by @globalr2p.bsky.social. Here are my thoughts 👇
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
This thread is the best of Bluesky 😻
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Senthorun S. Raj @senthorun.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
My book is published! It’s a critical take on how emotions shape conflicts about LGBT rights and repair in equality law, gender recognition, bans on conversion practices, and sex education in schools. You can download it free via @edinburghup.bsky.social: edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-emo...
Author wearing a rainbow dyed t-shirt takes a photo of them showing off their book, The Emotions of LGBT Rights and Reforms: Repairing Law.
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
A ray of light for our timelines 👇🏻
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
We’ve reached that point in the year where our current hometown and former hometown have the same daily temperature range, despite one being almost winter and the other being almost summer 🙃
Screenshot of weather app showing the same min and max temperatures for Sydney and Sheffield.
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
A picturesque photo from my parent’s backyard this morning, except that all that water isn’t usually there! They’re flooded in but the flood water is slowly starting to recede 😅
A group of palm trees and other shrubbery standing in water.
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Very happy to share the forum organized by the @globalr2p.bsky.social journal on my @oxfordunipress.bsky.social book 'Inside the UN Security Council'. Thanks to the reviewers and to Cecilia Jacob, Shannon Zimmerman, and Lucas de Belmont for making this forum a reality! 🌟 The forum comprises:
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Jess Gifkins @jessgifkins.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
I’m looking forward to presenting @whereisdean.bsky.social and my project on Queering the Responsibility to Protect at the University of Wollongong tomorrow, organised by Eda Gunaydin and @philorchard.bsky.social 😊
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