Backlash and Counter-Backlash: Safeguarding Access to Legal Abortion in Brazil

Cecília Sardenberg; Teresa Sacchet; Maíra Kubík Mano; Luire Campelo; Camila Daltro; Talita Melgaço Fernandes; Heloisa Bandeira

doi:10.19088/1968-2024.104

Cecília Sardenberg⁺⁻
Teresa Sacchet⁺⁻
Maíra Kubík Mano⁺⁻
Luire Campelo⁺⁻
Camila Daltro⁺⁻
Talita Melgaço Fernandes⁺⁻
Heloisa Bandeira⁺⁻

Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre a Mulher [Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies on Women], Federal University of Bahia

Bio

Cecília Sardenberg

Author Biography

Cecília Sardenberg is a Brazilian feminist with a PhD in Anthropology from Boston University, Boston, USA. She is a Professor of Anthropology and a researcher in the Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre a Mulher (NEIM) [Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies on Women] at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Brazil, acting, at present, as Editor of Revista Feminismos. She is a member of NEIM’s coordinating group in the Countering Backlash: Reclaiming Gender Justice programme.

Federal University of Bahia and University of São Paulo

Bio

Teresa Sacchet

Author Biography

Teresa Sacchet is a Professor on the Postgraduate Program in Interdisciplinary Studies on Women, Gender and Feminism, Federal University of Bahia (PPGNEIM-UFBA), Brazil and an Associate Researcher at the Institute of Advanced Studies, University of São Paulo, Brazil. She has a PhD in Government from the University of Essex, Colchester, UK. She specialises in topics related to feminism, democratic theories, political institutions, political parties, and public policies, with a focus on gender and racial issues.

Federal University of Bahia

Bio

Maíra Kubík Mano

Author Biography

Maíra Kubík Mano is a Professor of feminist theory at the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil. She holds a PhD from Campinas State University (UNICAMP) and is the author of Atuar como mulheres – um olhar sobre a política institucional [Acting as Women: A Look at Institutional Policy] (2020, Appris).

Universidade Federal da Bahia [Federal University of Bahia]

Bio

Luire Campelo

Author Biography

Luire Campelo is a master’s degree student on the Postgraduate Program in Interdisciplinary Studies on Women, Gender and Feminism (PPGNEIM-UFBA). She graduated in journalism from Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Brazil. Luire is currently part of the Countering Backlash: Reclaiming Gender Justice programme coordinated by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and carried out in Brazil by the Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre a Mulher (NEIM) [Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies on Women] at UFBA. She is interested in topics related to democracy, public policies, feminism, and social movements.

Federal University of Bahia

Bio

Camila Daltro

Author Biography

Camila Daltro is a master’s degree student on the Postgraduate Program in Interdisciplinary Studies on Women, Gender and Feminism, Federal University of Bahia (PPGNEIM-UFBA), Brazil. They graduated in psychology from Universidade do Estado da Bahia (UNEB). Camila is a researcher on the Countering Backlash: Reclaiming Gender Justice programme in Brazil. Their current research includes backlash and counter-backlash on gender issues in Brazil and gender non-conforming as a social monstrosity. Camila has three published book chapters on their research and experience in psychology. Their research interests include psychology, gender and sexualities, queer theory, and queer of colour.

Federal University of Bahia

Bio

Talita Melgaço Fernandes

Author Biography

Talita Melgaço Fernandes is a PhD candidate of the Postgraduate Program in Interdisciplinary Studies on Women, Gender and Feminism, Federal University of Bahia (PPGNEIM-UFBA), Brazil. She has an MA in Political Science from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). Talita is also a researcher at the Center for Studies and Research on Women, Gender, Health and Nursing (GEM) at UFBA and the Center for Studies and Research on Women (NEPEM) at UFMG.

Federal University of Bahia

Bio

Heloisa Bandeira

Author Biography

Heloisa Bandeira is a PhD student of the Postgraduate Program in Interdisciplinary Studies on Women, Gender and Feminism, Federal University of Bahia (PPGNEIM-UFBA), Brazil. She has an MA in Social Work from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) and graduated in social work from the State University of Ceará (UECE). Heloisa is a social worker at the Pernambuco Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology (IFPE), a researcher in the group Gender, Power and Public Policies of PPGNEIM-UFBA, and a researcher on the Countering Backlash: Reclaiming Gender Justice programme coordinated by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). She is interested in gender, sexuality, and politics.

Volume 55 Number 1

Published: March 5, 2024

https://doi.org/10.19088/1968-2024.104

This article addresses the backlash against reproductive rights during Jair Bolsonaro’s government, focusing on access to legal abortions. Although access to abortion is quite restricted in Brazil, under Bolsonaro it was further curtailed through institutionalised spaces of power. This was met by counter-backlash actions, with an intensification of feminist activism in an attempt to secure an agenda of hard-won reproductive rights. To address this struggle for reproductive rights and against restrictions, we focus our analysis on the high-profile media case of an 11-year‑old girl, pregnant after being raped.

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Online article

From Issue: Vol. 55 No. 1 (2024) | Understanding Gender Backlash: Southern Perspectives