Violence against women and girls remains a global human rights violation, with the UN reporting that almost 1 in 3 women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence. Along with the ever-growing forces catalysing backlash against gender justice worldwide, understanding the reasons, strategies and evidence of what – and who – is behind these acts of violence is crucial how we can counter this backlash.
This Countering Backlash event on the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women discusses this. We were joined by gender practitioners, academics, and activists from Bangladesh, Brazil, Lebanon, and Uganda. The event spoke to how violence against gender activists manifests, how gender backlash actors undermine state efforts to address violence, how feminists are countering this backlash to ensure gender-based violence (GBV) is addressed, and more.
The moderated event is based on the insights drawn from Countering Backlash research in these countries on feminist voice and mobilisations against backlash – and marks the launch of the country paper series that is synthesising findings on how to counter backlash.
Speakers
- Nay El Rahi, Activist and Researcher, Arab Institute for Women, Lebanese American University
- Josephine Ahikire, Professor, Makerere University and Centre for Basic Research
- Maheen Sultan, Senior Fellow of Practice, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD)
- Cecilia Sardenberg, Professor, Nucleus of Interdisciplinary Women’s Studies of the Federal University of Bahia (NEIM)
Discussant
- Professor Naomi Hossain, Department of Development Studies, SOAS
Chair
- Sohela Nazneen, Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies
