Civil society resistance to anti-rights mobilisation

Advocates must use history, evidence, and multilateral leverage to protect sexual and reproductive health from attempts to erode rights, write Terry McGovern and colleagues Anti-rights forces—whether religious-conservative, nationalist, or far right—are increasingly gaining political power by challenging the multilateral system and the international human rights framework that safeguard gender equality, sexual and reproductive health, and LGBTQ+ rights. These political actors and alliances reject and distort settled international norms to obstruct inclusive development efforts, with disastrous effects on health outcomes. These trends erode the quality of patient care, restrict access to essential services, and hinder the implementation of evidence based care. Progressive civil societies are devising creative transnational and multilateral strategies to resist these forces. This paper, part of a collection of articles on the impacts of shifts in the multilateral system on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), spotlights jurisdiction specific examples of how anti-rights actors are targeting this arena and how SRHR advocates and progressive civil society can respond. The multilateral dimensions of this work are examined in depth elsewhere in the collection. 1 This landscape is complex. Anti-rights actors range from religious communities acting on religious beliefs to well funded transnational political networks (box 1). SRHR advocates also do not speak with one voice: civil society encompasses organisations with differing priorities, resources, and relationships to the communities they serve. Funding for such work is at an all-time low and is an ongoing problem. 1 Acknowledging this complexity is a precondition for strategies that are durable and context sensitive. Box 1 ### Terminology For the purposes of this article:RETURN TO TEXT