Taking stock of the setbacks: The risk of regression

For all the incredible progress made, at current rates, it will still take nearly 300 years to close all gender gaps in legal protection and remove all discriminatory laws worldwide. It is an outlook made all the more challenging by a wave of regressive developments that threaten the rights of women and girls, and others, in many parts of the world.

In 2025, we saw a number of harmful moments and trends

• International law and multilateralism coming under increasing threat from a lack of funding and the negative actions of certain member states, including the US’s withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council and key international agreements and its defunding of critical UN agencies
• The dismantling of state institutions protecting women’s rights and the introduction of legal and financial restrictions that serve to shrink civil society space 
• Emboldened opposition to women’s and girls’ rights in relation to child marriage and FGM in The Gambia, Nepal and Sierra Leone
• A rise in anti-LGBTQ+ bills and legislation, including in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Georgia and the US
• The continued failure of media and tech companies to curb the spread of coordinated and algorithmic-driven misinformation, disinformation, and harmful narratives that propagate misogynistic attitudes and lead to violence against women and girls 
• A rise in the use of harmful gender stereotypes, including the weaponisation of ‘family values’ to promote restrictions on women’s and girls’ human rights
• New restrictions on abortion rights and access to information in Puerto Rico and across the United States

For the full picture, see our recent Words & Deeds updates:

• Global backlash against women’s and girls’ rights (September 2025)
• Progress and backlash: Accountability for the rights of women and girls (March 2026)

The erosion of international law and multilateralism and the importance of sustaining and strengthening movements

The setbacks we have seen are reflective of, and enabled by, a politically led devaluation in the rule of law, human rights protections, and the multilateral systems they depend on. A rise in conflict and isolationism, the closing down of civil society space, and dramatic reductions in funding are all serving to weaken international prevention and accountability mechanisms, reducing opportunities to challenge the discrimination and violations faced by women and girls.

This increases the pressure on, and importance of, the feminist and women’s rights activists who continue to organise at national, regional, and international levels to defend and build on their hard-won gains.

It is critical that such organisations and individuals are able to come together to form active and leaderful movements that unite a diversity of ideas, expertise, and voices in pursuit, and defence, of change. Because when women organise or engage in wider mass movements, those movements are more likely to succeed. Which is why a key goal of those who would seek to push back against progress is to undermine the ability of these movements, and the organisations they comprise, to convene and collaborate for change. Or even exist at all.

For decades, we have helped to strengthen movements for gender equality – nationally, regionally, and globally – sharing our expertise, connections, and reach, and investing heavily in convening and facilitating coalitions that foster collective learning, shared leadership, and positive power. It is vital that we not only continue, but where possible escalate, this effort to help ensure sustainable, leaderful movements capable of meeting the challenges of today and the crises of tomorrow.