Building narrative power: how we counter the anti-rights movement

The global anti-rights movement is growing, and it is creating division, reinforcing harmful norms and narrowing the space in which everyone’s rights can be protected.

This rise is not accidental. Anti‑rights actors are increasingly well funded, coordinated and skilled in the use of divisive tactics and misinformation. For girls and young women around the world, this means persistent attempts to limit their agency and autonomy – restricting access to education, economic opportunities, healthcare and participation in social and political life.

While these groups often target issues of gender and sexuality, their influence affects the wider progressive landscape. And as they grow stronger, support for inclusive and equitable policies tend to decline.

We must build back power

As we developed our next campaign at Plan International UK, it became evident that the wider progressive sector is facing growing challenges in shaping public conversations.

The deep cuts to the UK aid budget, justified through the lens of rising defence priorities, passed with little public pushback. At the same time, trans rights have been reduced to divisive talking points, and concerns for women and girls’ safety have been co‑opted to justify hostility toward migrants and refugees. These trends reflect a broader cultural shift – one in which anti‑rights narratives are reshaping perceptions of what is politically possible.

We may win individual policy battles, but these victories are fragile. Dominant narratives shape how problems are understood, what solutions are considered possible and how different groups are treated. Without cultural change, advocacy alone cannot hold the line.

It is worth quoting Brett Davidson here: “While we might win occasional policy battles, these wins are constantly under attack and in danger of being reversed. We win some battles, but we are losing the war. One of the reasons for this is that we are often working against powerful narratives that are embedded in the overarching culture…They shape the way in which problems and priorities are identified; they limit the types of solutions that are viewed as acceptable and possible, and determine how certain types of people are categorized and treated.”

To create durable change, we can’t rely just on our usual approach and existing tactics. We need to build the cultural conditions that make progress possible. We must strengthen our narrative power.

Reaching beyond those who already agree

The strength of the anti-rights movement is bolstered by a digital landscape that prioritises outrage over accuracy – rewarding and amplifying content that sparks anger. To better understand this challenge, we partnered with digital mobilisation agency Forward Action, who have been studying the tactics of the radical right and mobilising the sector to build an effective counterforce. 

Together, we began with a simple theory of change: if we can define and promote narratives that counter those of the anti-rights movement, we can start shaping cultural attitudes. We can make fairness and equality for girls feel like common sense. From here, it may be possible to shift the Overton Window to allow for new political realities which create the foundation required for advocacy work to have a greater impact.

We can’t do this alone, but we can make a deliberate start in developing narratives that challenge the anti-rights movement.

That means engaging beyond our existing supporter base. If we only speak to people who already agree with us, we leave millions across the UK – people who are grappling with the cost-of-living crisis, unaffordable housing, energy insecurity and an increasingly unstable world – to seek answers from groups that distort these issues for their own benefit. Our priority must be connecting with the many people whose views on gender equality are not firmly set and who are open to new perspectives.

Emotion over facts

Anti‑rights narratives don’t succeed because they are accurate. They succeed because they tap into emotional and identity-based needs – offering belonging, certainty and recognition. This is clear in spaces like the manosphere, where personal anxieties are turned into moral outrage and provide a simple story that feels empowering.

To counter this, we developed four strategic pillars for our narrative work:

1. Emotional resonance: We must compete on emotion, not just information. Our narratives should reflect themes of belonging, pride and moral clarity.
2. Cultural participation: We need to show up in everyday spaces, using language and humour that fit naturally within online culture and community conversations.
3. Credible messengers: Trusted creators, partners and community voices should deliver these narratives – not institutions.
4. Integration with advocacy: Narrative change alone is not enough. It must connect with advocacy goals so that cultural momentum can translate into political wins.

Narrative power is not built with a single message or campaign moment. It requires sustained effort and presence. Anti‑rights narratives thrive because they operate in decentralised networks of creators, influencers and everyday people who constantly share and adapt their messages.

To compete, we must adopt a similar approach – spreading our narratives through many voices and many issues. And we must do this collectively. No single organisation or issue can shift the cultural landscape alone. To counter the dominance of anti‑rights narratives, the progressive sector must work at scale, build new alliances and seed narratives that offer a hopeful, compelling alternative. If we want a fairer future, we must reclaim the information environment that shapes our politics and culture.

Common-sense values and everyday decency

Our initial narrative testing has shown the ability to connect with our target audiences and shift conversations around gender and girls’ rights into more positive spaces through simple, relatable language.

What stands out most is that, while these narratives tap into ideas around gender equality, they are grounded in shared values – fairness, responsibility and everyday decency. These are beliefs that hold communities together and resonate far beyond the girls’ rights space, providing an opportunity to develop these across a broader range of issues and messengers.

We are now exploring how best to develop and scale these narratives, bringing them into daily conversation and creating repeated exposure. We want to collaborate with others, especially organisations outside the girls’ rights sector that are also thinking about narrative power and cultural change.

If you’re interested in hearing more about this work or want to discuss it further, get in touch with Christopher Harlock, Campaigns Lead at Plan International UK ([email protected]) and Berry Cochrane, CEO of Forward Action ([email protected]). We’d love to hear from you.