About RFSU
RFSU was founded in 1933 and is a pioneering Swedish organisation working in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). RFSU is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation without party-political, trade union or religious affiliation. RFSU’s vision is a world in which everyone is free to make decisions about their own bodies and sexuality. Our aim is to spread a knowledge-based and open view of sexuality and relationships issues to overcome prejudices, bridge knowledge gaps and improve sexual health and wellbeing. We run projects and programmes to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights — both in Sweden and internationally.
Background to the report
(A full Concept Note will be made available to the selected candidate.)
Anti-gender campaigns are presently fueling a pushback against sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), gender equality, anti-racist work and broader struggles for social justice in many places across the world. At the same time, these developments have contributed to sparking a revitalisation of feminist movements in some contexts. Activists located in the global south and young women have been key to the emergence of rejuvenated, intersectional feminist movements, which are broad-based, trans-inclusive, and bring together diverse groups of social justice activists.
In parallel with this, we are also witnessing growing activism exhaustion, where movements in some contexts go back to defending the basics, focus on local issues and become less visible in the face of authoritarian rule, shrinking civic space and anti-gender politics.
In order to contribute to an understanding of these trends, RFSU is co-producing a report with a selection of its international partner organisations and allies. The report aims to document experiences of intersectional feminist solidarity and coalition-building for sexual and reproductive justice in contexts of anti-gender mobilisations and politics. The report will analyse how shrinking civic space and a pushback against gender, SRHR and human rights more broadly impacts on the ways in which activism is organised and manifest in current times. This includes exploring both successful and highly visible intersectional feminist mobilisations, and activist responses in high-risk environments, with significant pressure and exhaustion, where the trend has rather been a withdrawal from outward facing work.