Something was missing — or rather, someone. Many someones.
We knew this would be the case. New York has never been an accessible city for most activists who need to travel. But this year, the barriers felt almost insurmountable. Shrinking civic space. Defunding across movements. Travel bans. Visa restrictions tied to social media activity. Administrative attacks targeting trans* travellers. A hostile political climate. New and ongoing wars disrupting major travel routes and making flights more expensive and unpredictable.
Taken separately, each of these developments creates obstacles. Taken together, they create a reality in which fewer and fewer of our people can make it to New York, especially those from the Global South, trans activists, and those already facing heightened scrutiny because of their political work.
It is difficult not to notice the cumulative effect. The people most likely to challenge power, raise uncomfortable questions, and bring contradictions into the room are increasingly prevented from entering it.
And we need those contradictory voices. Because while many activists struggled to make it to New York, predictably, the opposition was there in force, particularly in reproductive rights spaces. As polished as ever. Courteous. Friendly. Immaculably presented.
This year's CSW felt a little like a gentrified neighbourhood. The events were still well attended. Most rooms were full. The programme carried on. But the absence was felt elsewhere. It was in the in-between moments. At the mixers. At the protests. On the streets. In the community spaces that never materialised. In the conversations that didn’t happen because the people who should have been having them were not there.
Of course, some people can still travel. There are local voices that can still rise in these spaces. Important work is still being done. Relationships can still be built. Advocacy continues.
But it is not the same.
I wonder whether, in the years ahead, more and more movements will begin to divest from CSW altogether - not out of lack of interest, but because participation is becoming increasingly inaccessible. Let’s see what the CSW revitalization brings.
Still, there were moments of joy. A handful of community spaces managed to create exactly what so many of us had travelled across the world looking for: connection, relief, and a reminder of why we do this work in the first place. Some mixers were pure magic. They brought joy precisely when we needed it most.
But one thing is for sure: Third Avenue didn’t feel the same without you, my dears.
Full rooms are no substitute for the people who should have been in them.
By Aïda Yancy from Holding the Line
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