Brazil is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for women and LGBTQ+ people: we have some of the highest rates of femicide and trans murders globally. Abortion is severely restricted, legal only in cases of rape, risk to the mother’s life, or fetal anencephaly – and even these legal abortions are becoming harder to access because the national congress has become increasingly conservative and anti-abortion networks are stronger than ever. Journalism itself is a risky profession in Brazil, especially for women. Between 2021 and 2023, 40.8% of the attacks on journalists were gender-based. Most were reputational attacks – using appearance, sexuality, and sexist stereotypes to discredit women – but there were also cases of physical violence and censorship.
My reporting journey as an investigative journalist led me to explore the connection between gender-based violence and the growing influence of the evangelical church in Brazilian politics. In 2018, I published a book investigating the rise of ultra-conservative evangelicalism and its deep entanglement with state power. Evangelical churches are now the fastest-growing religious group in Brazil and are heavily represented in the National Congress. Their political project – especially under Bolsonaro – centers on dismantling women’s, reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights.
Bolsonaro’s 2018 election was a watershed moment. He was the first presidential candidate to receive full support from all the major evangelical megachurches. His campaign focused on combating so-called “gender ideology” and “Marxist indoctrination” in schools. His rhetoric was anti-feminist, anti-LGBTQ+, and aligned with the global far right, especially in the United States. During his presidency, figures like Angela Gandra, from the Ministry of Women, Family, and Human Rights – an Opus Dei-affiliated Catholic – traveled the world building ties with international far-right networks.
Antifeminism in the global far-right
Since moving to Berlin, I’ve continued my investigations, now with a more global focus. I’ve spent the past three years attending and infiltrating far-right conferences in places like Hungary, Brussels, Poland, Prague, New York, and Brazil. These events bring together prime ministers, ministers, MPs, and church leaders from across the world. They coordinate strategies to influence public policy, map progressive movements, and promote the persecution of feminists, activists, and educators.
What has become alarmingly clear is this: gender is central to their agenda. From abortion bans to attacks on trans rights, their discourse frames the “traditional family” as under siege by feminists, LGBTQ+ people, and the left. Every topic – economy, migration, education – is reframed through the lens of protecting this biased vision of family, sexuality, and gender roles. Their goal isn’t just ideological – it’s about control over bodies, autonomy, and power.
They also exploit the fact that the left, and many progressive institutions, often sideline gender and reproductive rights. These topics remain taboo, treated as matters of personal morality rather than serious public health and human rights concerns. The far right fills that vacuum by weaponizing moral panic, using gender to mobilize minds and hearts and justify authoritarian measures.
One of the most concerning aspects of these movements is their long-term strategy. They’re investing heavily in youth education and political training. I attended a three-day libertarian youth conference in Prague, sponsored by groups offering scholarships, activism funding, and ideological mentorship to young people. These efforts are coordinated by transnational organizations like the Political Network for Values, which explicitly aim to shape the next generation of far-right leaders.
Big tech platforms also play a critical role in spreading misogynistic and anti-LGBTQ+ content, particularly among young men. Many adolescents engage with far-right politics through online forums, “incel” communities, and influencer culture. We’re seeing a troubling rise in misogynistic rhetoric and radicalization among youth.
Gender is not a negotiable sideshow
And yet, gender is still too often dismissed by mainstream politics as a distraction or “culture war” sideshow. Even progressive parties treat it as negotiable. But we cannot afford to see reproductive and gender rights as secondary. When laws restricting abortion or LGBTQ+ protections are passed, we’re told it’s just a smokescreen – but for the far right, these are core battlegrounds. They understand that this is how to move hearts, fuel outrage, and gain power.
At a far-right summit in Madrid, I heard leaders – including young parliamentarians like Portugal’s Rita Matias – declare: “A man is a man and can never be a woman. A family is a man, a woman, and their children. Abortion is the murder of a baby in the womb.” These are not fringe views in those circles. They are mainstream, deeply organized, and gaining influence.
We cannot separate the struggle for gender justice from the struggle against authoritarianism, racism, environmental destruction, or economic exploitation. These are all interconnected. The far right knows this – and it’s time we did too.
Andrea Dip is a Brazilian investigative journalist who has been working with a focus on gender and human rights since 2001.
This report was first published in the ReGA (Research against Global Authoritarianism) Newsletter # 8.
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