Globally, governments are pushing back against movements for gender equality and a variety of lived sexuality. This threatens sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), and ultimately puts public health at risk. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), journalists and public media play a crucial role in promoting SRHR by raising issues of perceived injustice in society. However, as a result of reactionary governments and discriminatory environments, the civic space for CSOs engagement is shrinking.
 
This World Health Assembly (WHA) public side event invites participants to share their experiences, stories and assessments of the “shrinking space”, and their strategies to recover the space needed for CSOs and their work in the field of SRHR.