Around the same time as the world marked International Women's Day, a report was released showing how EU funds have gone to 270 actors working against gender equality and the rights of LGBTQI people and women. Lack of knowledge about the anti-gender movement is a threat, say the report's authors and Centre Party MEP Abir al-Sahlani.
Approximately SEK 1,7 billion in European and state funds have gone to the project in recent years. so-called anti-genderthe movement. It beats the report”The Next Wave” from the European Parliament Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF) firmly.
The report maps 270 actors in Europe who all have something in common: they oppose gender equality, women's rights, the right to abortion, sexual and reproductive rights, the rights of LGBTQ+ people, and research on sex and gender.
Member of the European Parliament Abir al-Sahlani (C) sits in the European Parliament Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) and is involved in issues such as abortion, consent legislation and violence against women. She has read the report.
– When including countries like the US and Russia, the number of billions is significantly higher, writes Abir al-Sahlani i an opinion article in Aftonbladet and refers to how actors outside Europe also finance the European anti-gender movement.
The anti-gender movement includes religious groups, lobby groups, political parties, civil society organizations, think tanks and alternative media. The fact that knowledge about these actors is lacking is in itself a major threat, writes al-Sahlani.
– My point is that the money we spend on supporting gender equality should not be less than the money invested in undermining it, writes Al-Sahlani.
She believes that the EU must strengthen the forces working against the anti-gender movement.
Among the organisations that have received EU funding to raise awareness about sexual and reproductive rights are: World Youth Alliance (WYA). It is an organization that works globally to abolish abortion and has a history of spreading misinformation about abortions. Funding was withdrawn after a review of the media platform open Democracy.
But the movement is not limited to Europe.
AThe anti-gender movement has, for example, noticeable impact on the education system withoutfor North America and Western EuropeThis according to oThe ALIGN organization, a global platform for individuals and researchers working for a more equal worldd.
Above all, it is about limiting who gets to go to school, what students learn and to influence rules and the teaching environment. The aim is often to limit girls' schooling and to discourage sex education and the inclusion of LGBTQI people.
FöThe authors of the report The Next Wave points out that the anti-gender movement is a well-organized movement and a political force that combines religious beliefs, political strategies and international networks to question and counteract progress in gender equality and sexual rights.
Limiting the movement's progress requires, on the one hand, to make visible networkn, and efforts to strengthen human rights and gender equality at all levels, they write.
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