CIDOB Opinion 743 highlights the growing threat posed by the global anti-gender movement, which has been established since the late 1990s and particularly from the 2000s. This movement seeks to undermine basic rights and freedoms of women and sexual minorities worldwide, using religion-based conservative actors, right-wing, and extreme-right parties, as well as organized sectors of civil society.
The movement's agenda began to take shape in response to international agreements on sexual and reproductive rights in 1994, specifically from the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development. The Catholic Church and other religious institutions, right-wing parties, think tanks, and organized civil society groups are key players in this movement.
It uses a concept called "gender ideology" to oppose a set of ideas promoted by feminism, arguing that these concepts go against nature and traditional family values. The anti-gender movement extends its influence into political agendas and public discourse across countries, both Northern and Southern. It promotes the negation of gender-based violence, ignoring systematic oppression of women and minorities.
The movement's strategies include spreading fear and hate speech, which exacerbates violence against women and other social groups such as LGBTQ+ people, migrants, ethnic, and religious minorities. It also seeks to challenge international legal frameworks, like the 2011 Istanbul Convention aimed at eliminating gender-based violence.
This global movement has diverse actors with varied ideological positions but shares the common sentiment of threatening gender and feminism in society. This has led to the need to prioritize certain rights over others. The movement operates not only through ideologies and narratives but also through practical strategies aimed at modifying laws and policies worldwide.
Examples include the US Supreme Court's June ruling, which returned the power to legislate abortion to individual states, overturning the Roe vs. Wade precedent. In Latin America, significant setbacks in sexual and reproductive rights have occurred, including Honduras banning emergency contraception, Nicaragua's total ban on abortion, and Colombia's campaign against sexual education and "gender indoctrination."
In Spain, the party VOX has supported campaigns against gender ideology, advocating for parental control over sex education in schools and demanding the repeal of the Organic Law 1/2004 against gender-based violence, arguing that gender-based violence does not exist. VOX has also accused the Spanish government of not complying with the Istanbul Convention, supposedly discriminating against victims of domestic violence based on their gender.
The document emphasizes the importance of identifying the actors and strategies behind the anti-gender movement to defend fundamental rights and freedoms that have been hard-won. It calls for a return to feminist agendas and an internal dialogue among different factions. The diversity of feminism and its integration with other struggles, such as anti-racism, will be essential for advancing towards more free and just societies.
