The Rule of Law Crisis Was Always Gendered: The Anti-Gender Playbook in Europe

The rule of law crisis in Europe seen as a gendered phenomenon – The rule of law as a concept is itself gendered – The gendered dimension of democratic backsliding in Central and Eastern Europe is a central, not peripheral feature – Responses to authoritarian populist attacks on the rule of law should also address its gendered elements – Opposition to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence – The rise of a war against so-called ‘gender ideology’ – Increasingly restrictive reproductive rights regimes – The retrenchment of the ‘traditional’ family and traditional gender roles – EU response weak and ambivalent – European Court of Human Rights’ gender equality case law a work in progress