What feminist movements need to sustain resistance

Feminist movements worldwide are resisting growing repression, shrinking funding, and attacks on women’s rights. This report reveals what grassroots organisations need to sustain resistance and why donors and INGOs must radically rethink partnership and power. 

Executive summary

What feminist movements need to sustain resistance explores how women’s rights organisations and feminist movements are resisting growing political repression, shrinking civic space, and severe funding cuts across 65 countries.

The research found that feminist groups are increasingly targeted through restrictive laws, surveillance, harassment, and barriers to funding, while less than 1% of international development funding reaches feminist movements directly. Grassroots and marginalised groups face the greatest challenges, often forced to choose between formal registration and safety.

Despite this, feminist organisations continue to lead innovative, community-based work that connects gender justice with issues such as climate change, labour rights, migration, Indigenous rights, disability justice, and protection from violence. There is no one-size-fits-all model for feminist organising, and local groups are best placed to define their own priorities and strategies.

The report calls on donors and INGOs to provide flexible, long-term funding, build partnerships based on trust and reciprocity, protect civic space, and support grassroots feminist leadership.