The Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence is the international treaty adopted by the Council of Europe in 2014 aimed at preventing and combating gender-based violence. The Convention states that tolerating and not punishing acts of violence against women such as rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment, forced marriages or forced sterilization constitute human rights violations and forms of gender discrimination. In March 2019, 46 states signed this convention and 34 states (including Romania) ratified it.

It is the first international treaty that contains a definition of gender, i.e. a recognition of the social, cultural component, beyond the biological one, in the definition of man and woman. This approach to "gender" as a social construct is the main controversy that has created ideological tensions and led countries such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Ireland, the United Kingdom not to sign or ratify this document. In the same spirit of rejecting gender equality policies, in recent times "Gender Studies" have been banned in universities in Hungary or, in Romania, the Referendum for the Family has revealed many opponents of the women's movement, feminism and education for equal opportunities between women and men.

Why and where does this fear of gender come from — this resistance to gender equality policies (a phenomenon specialists call gender backlash) felt in many places today? It seems that all conservative groups (including those against same-sex marriage, sex education in schools, pro-choice abortion policies, or those against affirmative action in general) have found a scapegoat for all their anachronistic anxieties in the 21st century: gender (implicit gender ideology, gender equality). In countries with a long tradition and history of feminism, with waves of reforms and gender equality policies, some gender reluctance may be somewhat understood in the sense that some believe that gender equality has been achieved and is no longer a priority issue. But in many other countries just starting on their democratic path, with statistics confirming a high incidence of gender inequalities and discrimination, how can one explain the increased resistance to gender equality policies, especially when they are clearly beneficial to all, regardless of gender? Those involved in gender equality need to understand this gender-backlash to find the right discourses, tactics and policies that will lead to the desired results.


Author: Laura Grünberg, Professor Ph.D. University of Bucharest, Faculty of Sociology, founding member of AnaLyse Feminist Society AnA, expert on gender issues and children's literature author.

This article has been prepared and published as part of the thematic package by Terre des hommes Romania, within the regional project 'Building Relationships through Innovative Development of Gender-Based Violence Awareness in Europe - BRIDGE'.

The BRIDGE project is implemented under the lead of the Terre des hommes Regional Office for Europe together with partners from Belgium (Defense for Children International DCI-Belgium and FEDASIL), Greece (ARSIS), Malta (Kopin) and Romania (Tdh Romania), and has the general objective to strengthen the statutory response to GBV affecting children and young people on the move in EU countries.

 The BRIDGE project is supported by the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014–2020).

 The content of this article represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.

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