The Jean-Jaurès Foundation and Equipop have published an analysis of the backlash against women's rights and made recommendations for France to pursue a truly feminist foreign policy. This report reviews the situation in twelve countries and proposes three essential recommendations to counter the backlash.
In June 2022, the term "backlash" was used by the French media to describe what was at stake in the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn abortion rights. The term "backlash"—first theorized by American journalist Susan Faludi—is commonly used to describe the violent reaction of conservative and masculinist movements whenever women's rights make new advances. "Backlash" also refers to the strategy deployed by conservatives and the tools they use to threaten, attack, and flout these rights. Countries such as France, which advocate "feminist diplomacy" or "feminist foreign policy," have a particular role to play in countering anti-rights attacks. They can also encourage countries that are more silent, indecisive, or less proactive on these issues. With this report, the authors hope to provoke a political awakening in the face of anti-rights forces. More broadly, it is a call to action to advance feminist principles, structured in three stages.
Deciphering anti-rights movements to better combat them
By analyzing the strategy of conservative movements that violate women's rights, the report provides a comprehensive overview of anti-rights movements. The term "anti-rights" encompasses a multitude of state and non-state actors from political, economic, and religious circles, who are referred to by various names: conservative, anti-gender, anti-women, fundamentalist movements, etc. This section highlights this group by analyzing its components, its influence on the political scene, and the tools at its disposal to roll back the rights of women and LGBTQIA+ people.
Country case studies: illustrations of regressions at work internationally
Through various examples from countries such as Afghanistan, Brazil, South Korea, the United States, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, Senegal, Sweden, Tunisia, and Turkey, the report provides a non-exhaustive overview of the regression of women's rights around the world. Although these setbacks occur in very different situations and contexts, they are all part of the same “backlash” dynamic.
Recommendations for France's foreign policy
The report makes a series of recommendations to policymakers in France:
- Increase funding for feminist associations and movements;
- Defend and protect feminist activists and networks;
- Make feminist struggles a priority diplomatic issue in Europe and around the world.
