This paper examines how backlash against gender justice has become a coordinated, transnational effort that uses gender as a lever for civic repression, institutional capture and the rollback of women's and LGBTQIA+ rights. Situating this backlash within contemporary democratic decline, it argues that opposition to gender justice is not peripheral to democratic erosion but one of its key drivers.

Drawing on a UNRISD-FES expert group meeting and recent research, the paper shows how anti-gender actors have shifted from reactive mobilisation to proactive agenda-setting across political parties, state institutions, religious networks, digital ecosystems and multilateral arenas. It concludes with concrete entry points for governments, multilateral actors and civil society seeking to respond.