- Section
- Publication
- Work area
- Movement Building
- Published
- 1 November 2022



Opposition against gender+ equality policies and movements in Europe is on the rise. Broadly defined as “any activity in which a perspective opposing feminist politics and gender+ equality policy is articulated in a way that can be expected to influence or is actually influencing politics or policymaking at any stage” (Verloo, 2018: 6), it poses serious challenges not only to gender+ equality itself but to democracy more broadly.
The second conference of the "Dedemocratisation, Gender+ and the Politics of Exclusion in Europe" project, held in Seville from June 30th to July 1st, saw leading academics, activists, politicians and members of the civil society gather in Seville for an open debate on the current assault on democracy and human rights across European countries and how to engage with citizens to uphold democratic values.
Yren Rotela, Paraguayan trans activist and founder of Casa Diversa, reflects on religious conservatism in the South, state policies and how trans people of faith find affirmative spaces.NOTE: This article is available in Spanish only.
This summary report makes part of a broader mapping project commissioned by Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE). The project was focused on the United Kingdom (UK) as one of various global hotspots, where anti-gender movements have enjoyed increased efficacy in the past few years.
The fundamental aim of this project is twofold. First, to develop a comprehensive and thorough understanding of the intersection of gender and other inequality axes with de-democratisation processes taking place on a local, national, and regional level in the European Union, in order to devise common strategies against them. And second, to build alliances across various domains by forging a solid network of expert scholars, politicians and civil society organisations engaged with the matter, in order to put such strategies into practice.
As part of its work on anti-gender opposition, GATE convened trans activists from various parts of the world to enable knowledge and experience sharing to support national organizations in their advocacy efforts.
As part of its work on anti-gender opposition, GATE convened trans activists from various parts of the world to enable knowledge and experience sharing to support national organizations in their advocacy efforts.