Lesson 3.1: Institutional and Everyday Impacts of ‘Anti-Gender’ Politics

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This lesson traces how ‘anti-gender’ mobilisations move from rhetoric to structure. It examines how governments, media actors, and local institutions translate ideological hostility into concrete actions: restrictive laws, censorship, defunding, surveillance of civil society, policing of public spaces, and subtle forms of bureaucratic exclusion. You will see how these mechanisms interact, forming an infrastructure of discrimination that affects everyday life.

3. Attacks on civil society and knowledge

3.1. Attacks on civil society and knowledge - more examples

France  flag of france

Intersectional journalists and public intellectuals face targeted online and media harassment. A key example is Rokhaya Diallo, who has been subjected to sustained defamatory and racist attacks, as documented by the Coalition for Women in Journalism (2024).

These attacks reflect the broader pattern identified in the RESIST report: discourses of ‘Islamo-gauchisme’ and ‘woke ideology’ are used to delegitimise intersectional knowledge and shrink democratic debate. By framing such voices as threats to republican universalism, ‘anti-gender’ actors in France succeed in pushing scholars, journalists, and activists into defensive positions. Through this, they succeed in shrinking democratic debate and reinforcing the very epistemic inequalities the RESIST report identifies.

flag of germany  Germany

In Germany, equality trainers and public educators frequently face harassment and institutional neglect. Contracts were sometimes withdrawn after complaints from parents or local politicians, and universities often lacked procedures to protect staff from coordinated attacks. As one educator put it: “On a construction site we would all be wearing helmets”, but in their job, there is a lack of protection (Germany Report, p. 13).

Participants described a wide range of pressures: parliamentary inquiries targeting their projects, hostile media and online campaigns, disruption of events, and occasional threats to organisational premises. The AfD has repeatedly used parliamentary questions to scrutinise publicly funded initiatives addressing LGBTIQ+ issues or anti-feminism, creating a chilling effect that forces educators to conceal activities they would otherwise conduct openly. Educators also reported organised online harassment: GERINT08 described a ‘shitstorm’ after using the term ‘patriarchy’ in a press release, while Lena, who runs a youth-focused online project on gender and sexual diversity, was falsely accused by large anti-feminist accounts of performing medical interventions on trans children.

Disruptions of workshops by anti-feminist actors were described as common, often involving denial of trans existence or harassment of participants. Some educators responded by limiting social media announcements or attending events discreetly. Solidarity among colleagues and community partners, however, provided important emotional and practical support.

Gender-studies scholars similarly reported targeted attacks that limited their academic outreach and undermined democratic culture.

They faced litigation threats, online harassment, and media campaigns portraying their research as ‘unscientific’, with hostility coming from both outside and within academia. Public advocacy made scholars particularly vulnerable. 

Luise, for example, was targeted by right-wing media after co-authoring an open letter about a university event; the threats escalated to the point of police involvement, leaving her feeling helpless early in her career. 

Many academics subsequently reduced their public engagement despite seeing it as vital to counter anti-feminist and anti-queer narratives.

Universities largely lacked formal policies to protect staff from these attacks. Participants stressed the need for institutional awareness, equity and anti-discrimination policies, and clear protocols to safeguard academic freedom. Some institutions did demonstrate solidarity – for instance, by inviting targeted scholars to give high-profile lectures – but participants noted that consistent protective measures are essential to ensure that scholarship and civic education on gender and sexual diversity cannot be weaponised against those advancing equality.
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