Women's health is being targeted by authoritarian governments in Latin America

Over the past two decades, democratic backsliding and rising conservative forces have influenced rollbacks in women’s health policies in Latin America. Politicians have weaponised the “gender agenda” to justify authoritarian restructuring of the state. The subsequent erosion of women’s health policies undermines rights, deepens structural vulnerabilities, and helps normalise the redefinition of women’s societal roles according to exclusionary norms. Closer examination of broader regional trends is needed to better understand how changing political contexts are affecting women’s health policies and the strategies adopted in response to these shifts.

FERNANDEZ, Michelle; MAIA, BÁRBARA . Women's health is being targeted by authoritarian governments in Latin America. BMJ-British Medical Journal, v. 392, p. s381, 2026.