‘Ideological Colonising’: The Influence of Anti-Gender Movements on Domestic and International Human Rights Law

In 2016, Pope Francis referred to the teaching of gender identity in schools as ‘ideological colonising’. The Pontiff’s remarks echoed a broader anti-‘gender ideology’ movement which has become prominent in many jurisdictions in the past decade, particularly in the Catholicism-influenced regions of Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America. Forming an unlikely but powerful coalition, actors from both nominally liberal and actively conservative sides have begun to effect changes in law and policy – be it Bulgaria’s revocation of the Istanbul Convention, the United Kingdom government’s adherence to its outdated Gender Recognition Act 2004, or Hungary’s repeal of gender recognition legislation. Anti-gender identity campaigners have also begun to be seen at the highest levels of international human rights law. This chapter examines some of the arguments around anti-‘gender ideology’ movements in law and politics. Are there real concerns that these movements will lead to regression in the progress that has been made toward securing gender-related human rights across the globe? What can a queer and decolonial reading of the law do to counteract these social currents? At this crucial time, this chapter is an urgent examination of an ongoing crisis of rights in domestic and international law.