Cross-Movement Collaboration, Trust Building, and Shrinking Civil Space

Lily: It is sad because in our advocacy and external focus we end up by default almost replicating the same structures internally, which is essentially counter to the entire point, but it seems to be what humans excel in!

What do you think is needed to counter that shrinking space?

Julia: Sometimes people are clumsy and do not have the right language or knowledge to address trans people, for example – they come across as transphobic – might even be transphobic – often out of ignorance or not knowing. And of course, it should not be the burden of trans people to educate the world – in the same way that it must not be the task of people of color to educate the world about racism. At the same time, we need to be brave enough to let people learn. Right now, we don’t give people or organizations time or grace to go through that process of failing and learning, of making mistakes and not getting it right all the time and then correcting. And yes, processes like that can be excruciatingly slow and painful as they retraumatize us who have grown up with the experience of discrimination and exclusion. Unfortunately, I do not think anyone is coming to do that for us…

Working together if one is perfectly aligned is easy, but if we only talk to and work with people who already agree with us, we’re not actually moving anything forward. We need to be braver than that – but I admit that’s deeply difficult.

Lily: Yes, it’s like the phrase “hurt people, hurt people” because those of us with historically marginalized identities have been through trauma, which is exactly what thrust us into activism in the first place. Meanwhile those in the dominant majority often move their harmful ideas forward with gusto, without this deep internalized trauma holding them back given they’re used to having their voices and priorities heard and reflected in wider society.

What is your vision for the future of feminist engagement?

Julia: I’d love to see a more spacious movement. One that allows for mistakes, for growth, for nuance. A movement that leads with courage, not just correctness, a movement that is restorative, not punitive in approach. And one where we stop duplicating work - let’s write fewer reports and build more relationships. If we want to expand the space we operate in, we must do it together. That means trust. That means showing up for one another, even when it’s hard.

We need more informal spaces as well. Not everything can happen in a side event at the UN – an extremely restrictive and highly formalized space. Trust doesn’t build in panels. It builds when we allow ourselves to be human with each other.

Lily: Yes! I always say we need to spend less on conferences and more on healing our movements. We need something like a lab for healing - like couple’s therapy for organizations - to rebuild trust, understand past fractures, and find ways to move forward together. With time, intention, and shared goals, we can repair bonds and collaborate more effectively.

Julia: Yes – we need the conferences and the panels and the side events, at the same time, there is a need for informal space. Trust is elusive and difficult to build even amongst people who agree with a lot of common things within social movements, and sometimes I’m puzzled by just how difficult it is to just let go and have faith in others. For me, that’s what trust comes down to: it’s all about having faith that others, whom we have no control over, do the right thing eventually; that’s what trust is about.

Lily: Thank you, Julia. Your insights, honesty, and vision are incredibly powerful. It’s been wonderful to have this conversation with you today.

Julia: Thank you. It’s been a pleasure.

As Julia and Lily reflect, the future of feminist and LGBTQIA+ movements depends not just on shared goals, but on the care and courage we bring to the spaces we occupy - formal and informal alike. Building trust, embracing nuance, and allowing room for mistakes are not signs of weakness, but of resilience. 

In a world where civic space is shrinking and backlash is relentless, our collective power grows when we show up for one another, listen across differences, and invest in relationships. Feminist solidarity, at its most transformative, is both restorative and forward-looking: it demands that we nurture our movements from within even as we challenge injustice beyond. The path ahead is neither linear nor easy, but with trust, intentional collaboration, and courage, a more spacious, inclusive, and thriving feminist future is not just possible, it is waiting to be built.