FIERCE Policy Toolkit
Executive Summary
Across the globe, the rights of women, LGBTQIA+ people, and minorities are under severe attack. In Europe, the 2024 elections marked a turning point, with conservative and far-right forces gaining power. This consolidation of anti-gender actors and discourse not only hinders progress towards gender equality but also undermines the rule of law and democratic governance. In this context, the FIERCE project – Feminist Movements Revitalising Democracy in Europe, emerges as a transnational collaboration to document, understand, and counter anti-gender mobilisations, while strengthening feminist organisations.
FIERCE research shows that anti-gender coalitions – diverse yet coordinated – are driving an ideological and political offensive: hijacking human-rights language, aligning with populist parties, exploiting social media for disinformation and hate, and infiltrating institutions. These strategies fuel real setbacks: attacks on abortion rights, equality in education, LGBTQIA+ and racialised communities, and the normalisation of sexist and sexual violence.
The FIERCE Policy Toolkit, available below, translates these research findings into an accessible format for policymakers and European institutions. It combines key theoretical concepts (backlash, intersectional feminisms) with recent data, turning academic insights into practical tools. It also offers clear terminology, comparative analysis, and measures that representatives, administrations, and partners can put into practice right away. The FIERCE Policy Toolkit comprises:
Defining key concepts (anti-gender movements, backlash, European legal framework), analysing the impact of rising reactionary forces and setting out priority recommendations, formulated by the FIERCE Transnational Network of feminist organizations.
Synthesising the research’s key results. The first factsheet, “Gender Equality under Attack” highlights how anti-gender actors have become normalized and explores their repertoires (such as the appropriation of rights-based language, religious-nationalist rhetoric, strategic victimhood) and their transnational networks. The second factsheet, “Feminist Movements in Europe” demonstrates how feminist movements are reimagining themselves as a democratic force – resilient to attacks and capable of proposing inclusive alternatives.
These Policy Factsheets present the concrete examples and facts established by the FIERCE research.
From the FIERCE research, emerge clear and prioritised recommendations.
OUR RECCOMENDATIONS
Sustainably support feminist movements in their struggle for equality and democracy through secure, structural funding, political visibility and transnational cooperation spaces.
Better identify, monitor and counter anti-gender movements by mapping them and eliminating funding to organisations and projects incompatible with EU values; sanctioning hate speech and fundamental-rights violations; and enhancing the safety of targeted individuals and collectives.
Safeguard democracy against digital threats by requiring platforms to comply with European Union values, combating disinformation, gender-based violence online, and sexist and racist biases in artificial intelligence technologies and social media algorithms; promoting the use of tools and systems that promote algorithmic justice.
Consolidate and implement EU legal gains by ensuring the effective enforcement of existing equality, SRHR (sexual and reproductive health and rights) and violence-prevention legislation, and by embedding reproductive rights and gender equality at the heart of EU treaties.
The FIERCE Policy Toolkit urges European and national institutions to act without delay. Defending feminist movements is not only about protecting rights and freedoms, but also about making a vital investment in the revitalisation of European democracy — making it fairer, more inclusive, and more resilient in the face of growing threats.
POLICY FACTSHEET “Gender Equality Under Attack: The Normalisation of Anti-Gender Movements in Europe”
POLICY FACTSHEET “Feminist Movements in Europe: A Democratic Force Against the Backlash”