A/HRC/40/60 IV. Background and environment 23. In recent years, there have been significant gains for gender equality in intergovernmental spaces. However, greater resistance to the work of women human rights defenders has also emerged, at multiple levels and in many spaces. 24. These forms of resistance are linked to wider political developments, such as the rise of populism, fundamentalism and violent extremism. There has been a worrying rise in misogynistic, sexist and homophobic speech by prominent political leaders in recent years, normalizing violence against women and gender non-conforming persons. Women human rights defenders stress that they have been facing increased repression, violence and impunity despite formal State commitments to respect, protect and fulfil their legal human rights obligations without discrimination. In some cases, State actors have engaged in direct attacks against women defenders and their families, including through defamation campaigns, judicial harassment and criminalization. An increasing number of States in the global North and South have been restricting civil society space, imposing legal and administrative requirements that curtail the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, association and assembly. 25. A significant issue for women defenders is the reduction of funding for women’s rights in recent years. In a study by a subsidiary body of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, it was found that in 2014, only 0.5 per cent ($192 million) of aid for gender equality went to women’s rights organizations in the North and South, compared to 1.2 per cent in 2011. 5 Ninety-two per cent of the funding for gender equality went to international NGOs or NGOs in the donor country, and only 8 per cent to NGOs in developing countries. 26. Restrictive donor policies have also had a distinct impact on women defenders. For example, the policy of the United States of America entitled “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance” (known as the global gag rule), which was introduced in 2017, requires NGOs receiving funding from the United States to certify that they do not engage in certain abortion-related activities, including counselling, referrals and advocacy on access to safe services. The policy has had an adverse impact on women defenders working on sexual and reproductive rights, HIV, sexual orientation and gender identity rights and sex workers’ rights. It has reduced access to services for marginalized women, threatened the integration of health services and created division in civil society around the world. 6 27. Efforts to question, subvert or co-opt international human rights law and weaken multilateral cooperation have also been made. There have been attempts to instil fear and sow discord between and within rights-based movements. There has also been renewed emphasis on “traditional values” and a resurgence of conservative narratives suggesting that the role of women should be limited to the private sphere, family and procreation. These trends subvert efforts to ensure that women in diverse circumstances enjoy substantive equality and the freedom to voice their opinions and participate meaningfully in processes that have an impact on their lives. V. Contexts and root causes of violations 28. The reasons behind the targeting of women defenders are multifaceted and complex and depend on the specific contexts that they act in. Women defenders are often perceived as challenging traditional notions of family and gender roles in society, a perception that can generate hostility from State actors and from the public, the media and other non-State actors. They can be stigmatized and ostracized by community leaders, faith-based groups, 5 6 6 OECD DAC Network on Gender Equality (GENDERNET), “Donor support to southern women’s rights organizations” (November 2016). International Women’s Health Coalition, Reality Check: Year One Impact of Trump’s Global Gag Rule (2018).