“Dig our heels in”: Sida’s civil society partners and the backlash against sexual and gender-related rights

Recent years have seen an increase in the number and organisational and financial strength of actors working to revoke the protection of sexual and gender-related rights. Activists, scholars, and practitioners alike have sounded the alarm about the efforts currently being made to dismantle respect for issues such as sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), gender equality, abortion, family planning and LGBTQI+2 rights.
The question is how the backlash against SRHR and gender equality affects Sida’s civil society partners, and how they overcome the challenges that the rise of the anti-rights movement presents.
This working paper tries to respond to these questions through five interviews with three of Sida’s CSO partners.