FEDERA’s 2025 Annual Report is now available in English, offering an overview of a year marked by intensive advocacy, service provision, education, partnerships, and movement-building for sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The report tells the story of FEDERA’s work throughout 2025 — from defending access to legal abortion and supporting people navigating the healthcare system, to working with medical professionals, developing educational initiatives, providing counselling and support, and strengthening the FEDERA Health Center.

It also follows FEDERA’s growing engagement beyond Poland, including its work in European and global SRHR spaces. As part of this international dimension, the report features a dedicated section on the ASTRA Network, whose Secretariat is hosted by FEDERA, and highlights how regional solidarity, advocacy, and knowledge-sharing shaped the network’s work in 2025.

ASTRA Network: Regional Solidarity in Defence of SRHR

In 2025, the ASTRA Network worked in a region marked by mounting pressure on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Across Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, feminist organisations faced a difficult landscape: democratic backsliding, shrinking civic space, growing anti-gender mobilisation, attacks on abortion access, and chronic underfunding of movements defending women’s rights and bodily autonomy.

Against this backdrop, ASTRA’s role became more important than ever. Hosted by FEDERA, the ASTRA Network Secretariat continued to coordinate the only regional network focused exclusively on SRHR in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, ensuring that the experiences, needs, and expertise of the region were heard in European and global debates.

Throughout the year, the network combined rapid response, regional solidarity, policy advocacy, and knowledge production. Its work showed the strength of collective action in a context where rights are increasingly contested.

Responding to threats across the region

ASTRA’s advocacy in 2025 was shaped by urgent developments affecting women, activists, and civil society organisations across the region.

At the beginning of the year, the network drew attention to the situation of women in Kazakhstan, where domestic violence, systemic discrimination, and inadequate legal protection continue to intersect. ASTRA also responded to repression against civil society in Serbia, joining European partners in raising awareness about the persecution of activists.

One of the most visible solidarity actions of the year concerned Moldova, where access to telemedicine for medical abortion came under threat. ASTRA issued an appeal calling for the restoration of this essential service. The statement gathered support from more than 500 activists, experts, and organisations, demonstrating the network’s ability to mobilise quickly and widely in defence of reproductive rights.

ASTRA also stood in solidarity with women’s rights defenders in Latvia, where proposals to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention raised serious concerns about legal protection against violence. The network issued a joint statement calling for the protection of women’s rights and civic space.

Across the region, ASTRA continued to speak out against restrictions on civic space in Hungary, including the ban on Budapest Pride, anti-choice mobilisation in Poland, and threats to women’s rights in other countries.

At the global level, ASTRA published the analysis “Trump’s Second Term: A Global Crisis for Reproductive Rights”, examining how U.S. policies may strengthen anti-gender backlash in Europe and beyond.

Bringing the region’s voice to European and global spaces

In 2025, ASTRA remained actively engaged in European policy processes. The network submitted recommendations to consultations on the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2026–2030, advocating for stronger inclusion of sexual and reproductive health and rights.

ASTRA also contributed to civil society efforts to keep the EU Equal Treatment Directive on the political agenda. Following pressure from organisations, including ASTRA, the European Commission withdrew plans to abandon the directive.

A strategic advocacy visit to Brussels, organised in cooperation with the European Women’s Lobby, helped strengthen relationships with key partners, including the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual & Reproductive Rights and the IPPF European Network.

ASTRA was also present at major international forums. The network took part in the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York and the International Conference on Family Planning 2025 in Bogotá. At ICFP, ASTRA’s expert panel was featured as a spotlight session, creating space to discuss the impact of anti-gender movements and authoritarian politics on SRHR in Central and Eastern Europe.

Producing knowledge for advocacy and movement-building

Knowledge production remained central to ASTRA’s work. In 2025, the network continued to document trends, expose inequalities, and provide evidence for advocacy.

ASTRA promoted the Dalan Fund report “Where Is the Money for Movements?”, which highlighted the underfunding of feminist movements in Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central and North Asia. The network also initiated cooperation with the Dalan Fund through the communication campaign “A Choice That Matters”, focused on funding for SRHR movements in the region.

ASTRA also partnered in the European Abortion Policies Atlas 2025, contributing a data set developed in collaboration with member organisations. The network published analyses on abortion law and inequalities in access to services and issued four regional SRHR newsletters, helping circulate evidence, updates, and perspectives from across the region.

Growing and strengthening the network

The year also brought important developments within the network itself. In 2025, ASTRA welcomed four new member organisations:

• Tajik Family Planning Association, Tajikistan;
• Women’s Issues Information Centre, Lithuania;
• National Council for Gender Equality, North Macedonia
• Doctors for Choice Malta as an affiliated member.

ASTRA also joined the SexSense Network, strengthening its international cooperation on comprehensive, evidence-based sexuality education.

Internally, the network continued to invest in its governance and strategy. Erika Schmidt joined the Advisory Board, and the Board began work on a new network strategy, planned for completion in the first quarter of 2026.

In June, the ASTRA Network Annual Meeting took place in Kraków. The meeting brought members together to discuss the erosion of civic space, anti-gender movements, and future priorities for the network. During the gathering, interviews with member organisations were recorded as the basis for a documentary film released in 2026.

At the same time, ASTRA began developing new advocacy and research strategies in cooperation with member organisations.

Looking ahead

For ASTRA, 2025 was a year of responding to crisis while building long-term strength. The network defended rights under pressure, amplified regional perspectives in international spaces, supported members, and invested in the tools needed for future advocacy.

In a context where sexual and reproductive rights are increasingly contested, ASTRA continued to show that regional solidarity is not only necessary — it is a source of power.