Belarus

Under Alexander Lukashenko’s regime, ‘anti-gender’ repression is tightly bound to authoritarian governance. A draft law seeks to ban the ‘propaganda of non-normative sexualities and gender identities,’ and recent amendments to the Criminal Code redefine pornography to include depictions of homosexuality and transgender identity. This makes any public representation of queer life potentially criminal (see: Belarus report).

Switzerland

While legislative rollback has been slower, ‘anti-gender’ rhetoric shapes local governance and public debate. Activists report that inclusive education projects are quietly defunded and diversity workshops cancelled after online harassment campaigns. This gradual normalisation creates a chilling effect without formal legal change.

In Switzerland, these dynamics particularly affect communities whose rights are less visible in public debate — such as intersex people. The struggle for intersex bodily autonomy has been ongoing for decades, yet remains politically marginal, making the impact of ‘anti-gender’ rhetoric especially heavy. Swiss institutions have been slow to implement human-rights recommendations (including those from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child) urging a ban on non-consensual ‘normalising’ surgeries. When political hostility increases, these already fragile reform efforts stall.

This context is essential for understanding the discouragement expressed by activists like Urs Vanessa, who explained (Switzerland Report, p.12):

The prolonged struggle against pervasive hostility is frustrating, with progress often feeling slow and insignificant.

They expressed their feeling of discouragement when learning about parliament’s decision last winter to turn down a bill to better protect intersex kids from unconsented operations.

And if you’re active in the community and fight for rights, it’s an enormously long battle against windmills. Enormously frustrating. With very, very, very, very small steps forward.

This testimony illustrates two key dynamics of ‘anti-gender’ mobilisations in Switzerland:

• Silencing by delay. Instead of explicit bans or aggressive rhetoric, political institutions often rely on procedural delays, endless consultations, or claims that ‘more research is needed.’ This administrative inertia functions as a quieter form of ‘anti-gender’ resistance.
• Marginalisation through invisibility. Intersex rights are often omitted from mainstream equality discussions. When ‘anti-gender’ mobilisations rise, these omissions deepen, pushing intersex issues even further outside the political agenda.

Together, these factors show that Switzerland’s ‘anti-gender’ dynamic is less about headline-grabbing restrictions and more about structural stalling, quiet defunding, and the erosion of political will — mechanisms that can be just as harmful as explicit legislative attacks.