Collective reflections from the 56th OAS General Assembly

Latin America and the Caribbean are experiencing a period of regression in the rights of women, girls, adolescents and young people. An organised conservative reaction, commonly referred to as a backlash, is working to halt progress on, undermine or reverse the achievements of feminist movements through regressive legal reforms, the weakening of equality institutions, the defunding of public policies, the closure of institutions and participatory spaces, and campaigns aimed at discrediting women’s and feminist agendas. This is a transnational offensive that, in our region, finds fertile ground in structural inequality, institutional fragility and high levels of gender-based violence.

It was against this backdrop that the 56th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) took place, bringing together state delegations, inter-American mechanisms and civil society organisations in Panama from 22 to 24 June 2026.

Equality Now participated alongside a broad network of regional allies. The conversations held during those days, marked by numerous events and strategic political discussions, revolved around an idea that we have been advancing for some time: there can be no full democracy without guaranteeing the right of women and young people to participate in public life free from violence.

Gender-based digital violence and its silencing effect on democracy

In every space in which we participated, technology-facilitated gender-based violence emerged as a cross-cutting issue shaping the discussions.

In 2025, the region took an important step forward with the adoption of the Inter-American Model Law to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence against Women, promoted by the Follow-up Mechanism on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (MESECVI). The model law provides direction and a shared roadmap, but it remains essential to continue creating spaces for discussion. The conversation does not end with the adoption of a legal framework: it began before and must continue afterwards.

This is taking place in a context where, as noted above, anti-rights actors are gaining ground, and the violent rhetoric of some leaders contributes to the normalisation of these practices. When women and young people are attacked, silenced or pushed out of the public sphere, democracy itself is weakened. One shared conviction became clear throughout the Assembly: the response cannot rely solely on the adoption of laws. What is needed is real protection, prevention, timely access to justice, adequate funding and comprehensive reparations.

Building this shared understanding was a central part of the work carried out by the  Civil Society Belem do Pará Coalition during these days in Panama. Several areas of consensus emerged. Laws and policies must provide protection without enabling censorship, mass surveillance or disproportionate restrictions on freedom of expression. They must adopt an intersectional approach, recognising that digital violence disproportionately affects Indigenous women, Afro-descendant women, LGBTQI+ people, women with disabilities and women living with HIV. They must go beyond criminal responses, prioritising prevention, comprehensive reparations and support for survivors. They must also require transparency and accountability from digital platforms, which play a central role in determining whether violence is amplified or remains unpunished.

Young people at the centre

If democracy is built collectively, young people must be part of that process. Young people are political actors in the present, capable of influencing public affairs, mobilising communities, monitoring institutions and creating new public narratives. Yet they face specific barriers to participation, including adultism, territorial inequalities and socio-economic exclusion, all of which are compounded by discrimination and political and digital violence.

For this reason, one of our key priorities has been (and continues to be) to create space for and strengthen young leadership in a sustained way. This means engaging young people not as occasional testimonies, but as protagonists in analysis and policy development; building intergenerational bridges that enable learning in both directions; and supporting those who are beginning to raise their voices so that they can remain active in public life without paying the price of violence.

Promoting the meaningful participation of young leaders is one way of safeguarding the future of democracy in the region. The Coalition for the Human Rights of Adolescents and Young People in the Americas, co-coordinated by Equality Now and the Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network, works precisely to ensure that the voices, experiences and priorities of young people occupy a genuine place within regional decision-making processes.

The strength of regional collaboration

No law alone can solve this problem, and in the face of an organised and global backlash, no organisation can advance on its own. The response must be equally coordinated and capable of operating across borders, connecting agendas and exchanging strategies. This means actively defending international human rights frameworks when they come under attack, producing rigorous evidence to challenge the false narratives on which the backlash relies, and investing in political communications that resonate with people in their own language.

This is the commitment underpinning spaces such as the Civil Society Belem do Pará Coalition and the Coalition for the Human Rights of Adolescents and Young People in the Americas: sustaining dialogue, identifying emerging threats and building shared priorities that no single organisation could define alone. Gender equality is both achieved and defended collectively.

From standards to action

Latin America and the Caribbean benefit from a strong inter-American framework: the Belém do Pará Convention, the model laws on political violence and digital violence, and regional standards on parity. In addition, this General Assembly marked a significant achievement: Canada ratified the Belém do Pará Convention and became a State Party to this key instrument for preventing, punishing and eradicating violence against women. The Convention now counts 33 States Parties, reaffirming its relevance across the hemisphere and demonstrating that, even in a context of setbacks, regional commitment to women’s rights can continue to grow.

At Equality Now, we will continue building alliances, generating evidence and promoting reforms so that the right to live free from violence, including in digital spaces, ceases to be an aspiration and becomes a reality for all women, adolescent girls and girls across the region.