With the global strengthening of the far-right and anti-gender movements, we have been witnessing alarming coordinated attacks on women’s rights,
This is especially the case in the U.S., where states are practically or literally banning abortion.
However, there are other positive examples testifying to the trend going in the opposite direction—a trend that ranged from outright ban to majority acceptance of abortion as a women’s right.
A great example is Ireland. How has the public managed to make this shift in three decades?
Irish activists Alibha Smyth and Tara Flynn recently spoke about the experience to Brave New Words:
Let’s take a look at what it looked like thirty years ago. The Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution banned abortion in 1983. Women were taught that the embryo was a human being and that protected sex is virtually a sin. This situation led women to go to the UK to have abortions secretly and acquire contraceptives illegally online.
In 2016, the Irish government summoned the so-called civic assembly, consisting of 99 members from different social groups, for the purpose of reviewing existing abortion measures. And brave activists advocating for women and reproductive rights gathered around the slogan, Together for Yes!
The result of the referendum is known. In 2018, over two-thirds of voters repealed the amendment.
How is this success explained?
Interviewees began the answer with one simple sentence that actually drives home the essence: We listened to the target group.
Activists went out among the people, asked them what they thought, if they had any knowledge of it. They communicated, debated, and talked.
And, based on the dialogue conveyed, they realised that they did not want harsh messages. In the thirty years that the amendment existed, there was no room to articulate or debate such issues.
This is why activists have decided to frame the issue of abortion so that it is seen in the light of everyday life and the regular problems that the average Irish woman faces.
It was rational conversation, no lecturing, no imposition.
Activists also estimated that the abortion campaign would be striking and rounded if there were a personal stamp.
And there was the courageous Tara Flynn, who spoke publicly about her experience of illegal abortion in Britain. Because she is already a popular face and a prominent TV and radio presenter, she talked about her experience in a humorous and personal manner, without condemnation, presenting that reproductive rights do not exist because of the whim, but that they are an urgent need for all women.
An interesting lesson, but also an essential incentive for all the activists around the world, thinking that attitudes seemingly remain carved in stone, and things are hard to change
On the contrary, Ireland shows that attitudes can change upside-down!
In a community dominated by deeply entrenched religious doctrines, change came with a message entailing dialogue and discussion in a non-intrusive fashion.
It seems simple, but experience shows that openly confronting an opinion with a contrary opinion is a very demanding job!
But, after all, in the case of Ireland, we can conclude that it has produced remarkable results.
