IWDA

@iwda.bsky.social

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IWDA is a leading Australian organisation dedicated to advancing the rights of women, girls, and gender diverse people across Asia and the Pacific.

From declaration to action

The conference resulted in:

✓ Madrid Joint Political Declaration adopted
✓ Feminist Foreign Policy Accountability Initiative launched
✓ Civil society called for funded, intersectional and rights-based action

Now, governments must move from words to meaningful action.

Backlash is growing. So must leadership.
As attacks on human rights, gender equality and democracy grow around the world, Spain brought governments and civil society together to discuss the future of feminist foreign policy.

If care, wellbeing and resilience matter, they must be visible in the systems that guide public decisions.

"What we measure reflects what we value."

IWDA is closing our office on 6 July for #NAIDOCWeek

Many of these tactics were first tested and perfected in the US – now a prime example of exactly how much harm anti-rights groups can cause when their ideology is allowed to shape laws, policies and culture. And a mix of ultra-conservative US and EU-based groups have spent decades building networks across Europe, Africa and our region to translate these tactics into local contexts and push anti-rights agendas globally.

Included in the tile are images of a news article from The Guardian (2026) that reads: 'A shadowy overseas group is trying to influence Australian abortion policy. Who are CitizenGo and what do they want? CitizenGo is hitching its wagon to Joanna Howe’s crusade, and the former Nationals MP George Christensen is on board.'

These anti-abortion bills borrow tactics right out of the global anti-rights playbook: Mount legislative attacks based on mis- and dis-information to incrementally impose restrictions on established rights (i.e bills that slowly make abortion care harder to access) and, eventually, secure their complete rollback. In defending these bills, anti-abortion groups use emotive and misleading anti-rights language to spread shame, stigma and fear and inflame existing tensions as a way to shift people’s views away from equal rights policies.

Included in the tile are images of news headlines that read: 'Image of ‘twin babies’ used by anti-abortion activist appears to show sugar gliders: Joanna Howe says the image was sent to her by a woman ashamed of her abortion, and used it to support ‘rally for Emma and Ruth’ in favour of NSW bill' (The Guardian 2026); 'A dubious report on medical abortion was cited in NSW Parliament. Where did it come from?' (ABC News 2026); 'Obstetricians and gynaecologists say anti sex-selective abortions bill ‘predicated on misinformation’ and ‘underlying aim is to restrict access to abortion’' (The Guardian 2026).

Attacks like these are happening across Australia – and they are organised, connected and well-funded. In South Australia, two bills were introduced in the past two years to impose restrictions on abortion care. While these bills were defeated, yet another is expected to be introduced soon. And two more are currently sitting before the New South Wales and Western Australian parliaments. In the case of New South Wales, the bill would also introduce a clause requiring a review of this reform every three years – essentially guaranteeing a regular opportunity for anti-abortion politicians to mount further attacks on abortion care access in the state.

While the 2022 bill and others like it have so far been defeated in Australia, they still have an impact. Right now, these bills offer anti-abortion politicians and influencers a platform for their anti-rights messages. They allow them to turn the dial up on public discourse and create a more contentious, heightened and emotionally charged conversation designed to chip away at public support for bodily autonomy. And even if it seems far away, legislative change is still the goal – you only have to look to the US to see what happens when tactics like these succeed.

2023 marked a huge milestone for Australia. For the first time, abortion care was fully decriminalised across all eight states and territories. Through bills designed to modernise abortion law, abortion access across the country was finally treated as a normal part of healthcare.

Now is the time for a powerful demonstration of solidarity. Take action today by: signing Trans Justice Project’s statement of solidarity and making your support for a real plan for trans healthcare known. Logos: International Women's Development Agency & Trans Justice Project.

But here’s the thing, human rights are universal and inalienable, and we know that the relationship between sex and gender is a lot more complex than trans-exclusionary groups want to admit. And by arguing that the oppression women face is determined only by sex, anti-trans groups are: forcing all of us into restrictive boxes based purely on biology; sowing harmful divisions between trans- and cis-gender women; upholding a patriarchal system that makes all of us less safe.

What effect is this having?
1. When supposed allies of gender equality align themselves with the anti-rights movement, they offer it a strange kind of credibility. By promoting sex-based rights, TERFs have made it possible for people looking to strip back reproductive rights, oppose legislation addressing sexual violence, or promote outdated ideas about a woman’s role in society to claim that they are ‘for women’s rights’ because they support denying trans rights.

The anti-rights playbook in action. You’ve probably seen this language used by trans-exclusionary radical feminists – or TERFs – who argue that only biology can determine who is a woman. Trans-exclusionary groups in the UK used this idea to push a series of legal challenges last year to win the ability to exclude trans women from women-only spaces, events and opportunities. Funded by prominent anti-trans billionaires like JK Rowling, this led to a Supreme Court ruling that enforced ‘biological sex’ as the only definition of sex for the purpose of protections against discrimination – effectively excluding trans women from the same legal protections as other women.

What is this really all about? Anti-rights groups across the globe have zeroed in on trans rights as part of a strategic and coordinated attack. For them, trans rights have become a convenient wedge issue to help them gain ground with the general public and take advantage of rifts between groups you would otherwise assume are aligned. And they’re using the idea of a ‘radical gender ideology’ to push this.

'Gender Ideology' and attacks on trans rights. Understanding the anti-rights movement. Logos: International Women's Development Agency & Trans Justice Project.

Gender justice is under attack right now, but the long game is a much bigger dismantling of rights, legal protections, and even democracy. From misinformation that undermines trust in institutions, to stirring up divisions and setting people against each other – anti-rights tactics are really all about consolidating power for the few, as part of a broader attack on democratic systems that uphold rights for the many. And at the centre of it all are real people who now face even more violence and discrimination because of this.

What we do know is that this money is having a very real impact. Last year, over a thousand new bills were introduced globally targeting trans, non-binary and intersex people’s human rights. In Australia, access to life-changing healthcare was stripped away from trans young people in Queensland as a result of a targeted anti-trans campaign last year. Meanwhile, politicians and campaigners in South Australia are trying to roll back reproductive rights.

Where's the money coming from?

While feminist movements, women’s rights and LGBTQIA+ organisations are facing funding cuts, anti-rights groups are tapping into large, flexible and often obscure pools of money. A lot of this money is coming from Europe and the U.S. For example, 11 U.S. based organisations directed over $1 billion globally to fund anti-rights groups over a decade. Big Tech is also in on it. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation (whose funders include the founders and CEOs of Netflix, Meta, Google and WhatsApp) sent at least $3.6 million to seven internationally-active U.S. anti-rights groups between 2014 to 2023.

How are they pushing their agenda?

Anti-rights groups are using a well-tested playbook to mobilise support for their harmful policies and ideas.

What do they want?

While they have overlapping goals and agenda, anti-rights groups aren’t necessarily pushing a single set of policies or demands. What they do share is a common language and set of strategies to chip away at equality from different angles. They’re flexible and opportunistic when it comes to building alliances. And they’ve created a broad tent under which all kinds of people and organisations have come together to attack basic rights and freedoms. Gender is a common focus, but many anti-rights tactics are also used to undermine First Nations justice or attack the rights of migrants and people seeking asylum.