Between 2019 and 2023, over $1.1 billion in funding went to more than 276 organisations for anti-gender activism in Europe. This marks a significant increase from $700 million found in the preceding decade indicating a movement that is ‘getting stronger and wealthier,’ with new types of organisations emerging and coordinating to form a well-funded anti-rights movement. This session at Philea Forum 2025 was a stark warning about its growing influence and the urgent need for a coordinated response from funders and media organisations.

The Escalating Threat of the Anti-Rights Movement

With billions fuelling the anti-rights movement, Neil Datta, of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, outlined the five key dimensions of this movement: religious, civil society, politics, knowledge production (think tanks), media, and geopolitics. He noted a critical shift where far-right populist parties have taken the lead in anti-gender campaigns, fostering transnational political platforms. Crucially, the movement has also invested heavily in media and communications, with $273 million allocated to such activities. These anti-gender actors have developed their own media platforms and exhibit a ‘social media dominance,’ outperforming traditional think tanks and Far-right populist politicians have also been particularly adept at social media.

A key insight from Datta’s research was the importance of looking ‘beyond the contestation’ to understand the ‘alternative services’ offered by anti-gender groups, such as crisis pregnancy centres. He warned that while progressive spaces may be shrinking, anti-rights actors are concurrently ‘growing their space independently’. Datta again underscored the movement’s pioneering use of social media and their understanding of a ‘political realignment,’ successfully targeting and radicalising young men through online communities and podcasts. He concluded with a blunt warning that Europe is ‘one or two elections away from a possible accident’. 

The Media Landscape: Challenges and Responses

Panellists highlighted how the anti-rights discourse is permeating mainstream narratives and affecting media freedom. Fiona Montagud of Calala Women’s Fund observed how political parties and figures in Spain and Central America are openly defending anti-rights discourse to consolidate power, targeting LGBTQI communities, migrants, and feminists as threats to national identity. This normalises discrimination and validates violence, increasing polarisation.

Read the full article about countering the anti-rights movement by Zibran Choudhury at Alliance Magazine.