Democracy Starts With Your Body: What SECS Romania Teaches Us About Resilience

2024: a year of turmoil and a wake-up call 

By the end of 2024, many Romanians felt they had lived a decade in a year. “Last year we should have had four elections, but we ended up with a bonus one because we cancelled the first round of the presidential election in November 2024,” Brumariu explains.  The election season began in spring with simultaneous local and European Parliament polls, moved on to national parliamentary elections, and was set to conclude with a two-round presidential race.  

The real shock came during the presidential race. A previously obscure, far-right nationalist candidate skyrocketed from obscurity to front-runner status, riding a wave of anger and viral social media propaganda. “Our big surprise… was actually in the presidential election,” Brumariu says. A candidate “not on our radar at all” suddenly shot to prominence; “everything went backwards – it was madness”. In the first-round vote, this outsider tapped into a well of public discontent and misinformation, leaving progressive and pro-EU forces reeling. When allegations emerged that a Kremlin-backed influence campaign on TikTok and Telegram and unreported campaign payments had boosted the populist’s support, Romania’s Constitutional Court took the extraordinary step of annulling the election results. 

For Brumariu and his civil society colleagues, the near miss was sobering. “We needed some time to understand what happened… for the first time we really understood the idea of living in a bubble,” he admits. They realised that the liberal, pro-rights camp had been speaking mostly to itself, missing how deeply the far-right’s messaging had penetrated other parts of society. This wake-up call would catalyse an unprecedented civil society mobilisation to safeguard the country’s democratic future. 

Notably, Romania’s turbulence is not an isolated case. Across Europe, democratic values and sexual and reproductive rights are being tested by similar waves of illiberal populism. The lessons from Romania resonate for all democracies grappling with anti-rights threats: defending human rights and democratic norms must go hand in hand. 

Uniting civil society and changing the narrative 

Facing this democratic crisis, Romanian civil society sprang into action. SRHR activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and other NGOs formed a united front to defend a freesociety. “We tried to change our communication… Since we had the elections in April, from January till May we tried to prepare a different strategy,” says Brumariu, describing how SECS and its partners anticipated the battles ahead. They dusted off and revitalised a broad coalition first formed in 2018 (during a previous pushback against anti-rights initiatives) and trained together on crisis communication. “We revived that coalition from 2018 and did a training on how to communicate in crisis scenarios…” he notes. The coalition brought together a broad cross-section of civil society, over 100 organisations focused on everything from education, media, anti-corruption, and human rights. The message was clear: only collective action could stand against this threat. 

Brumariu’s team also revolutionised their digital outreach, crucial in a campaign where much of the fight played out on Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. “We had a boom in our communication with great results.  For example, our presence on Instagram has improved dramatically — our reach there has more than doubled over the past year and a half, far surpassing our performance on Facebook.,” he reports with pride. By pivoting to the platforms where younger audiences and undecided voters were scrolling, SECS broke out of its bubble and engaged new demographics with factual, compelling content. In doing so, they helped shift the narrative: rather than ceding social media to fear-mongering, they flooded it with messages about inclusion, equality, and hope. 

Crucially, the coalition armed journalists and influencers with the tools to present the full picture on rights and democracy. “We held trainings, prepared legal arguments… equipped journalists with materials that would help them,” says Brumariu. By proactively sharing accurate information and human stories, they sought to enable more big-picture coverage in the media, moving beyond talking points to understand the stakes for Romanians, including its marginalised populations. This support for balanced reporting was part of a broader strategy to inoculate the public against disinformation. And it was necessary, because throughout 2024 politicians themselves were largely mute on contentious issues like rights for minorities. “It was very uncertain, and politicians didn’t want to talk too much before the elections… They wanted to see who’s in and who’s out,” Brumariu recalls. In other words, many candidates were hesitant to take public stances on sensitive rights issues until it was clear whether they would win office or not, preferring silence to risk. In that silence, civil society filled the void. SECS and its allies became the outspoken champions of democratic values, emphasising that women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and minority rights are not fringe agendas. 

"You can't have democracy without rights for everyone."

“We kept our messaging broader – about democracy, how LGBT rights are part of democracy, how you can’t have democracy without rights for everyone,” Brumariu explains of their communications approach during the political campaign. They rose to the overarching principle that democracy either protects everyone’s rights, or it fails everyone. In practice, this meant making it abundantly clear to citizens that an attack on one group is a threat to all. “Today it’s LGBT, tomorrow it’s the Roma community… remember what happened in the Second World War,” Brumariu reminded people of the eugenic policy that led to the deportation of 25,000 Roma people. By invoking the collective memory of where state-sponsored discrimination can lead, the coalition appealed to a sense of shared safety and responsibility: protecting marginalised groups means protecting the country from repeating its darkest chapters. 

Mobilising a movement: from fear to participation 

With far-right agitators mobilising their base through anger and falsehoods, Romanian civil society knew that victory lay in engaging the ‘movable middle’ – the large segment of the population not firmly entrenched at either political extreme. “It was the first time I truly understood what the ‘movable middle’ looks like… How do you actually do it? There’s no simple recipe,” Brumariu admits. Reaching ordinary people who felt disillusioned or apathetic was a daunting challenge with no set handbook. But SECS and its partners intuitively grasped one key tactic: meet people where they are, and focus on values and fears they can relate to. 

Rather than instruct people on how to vote, the coalition zeroed in on encouraging voter turnout and informed choice. Brumariu and others travelled across the country and flooded online spaces with a simple plea: use your vote to defend democracy and basic human dignity. “We started preparing for the new elections… and the whole civil society of Romania did that,” he says, describing a nation-wide grassroots push ahead of the rescheduled presidential race. Activists from various sectors (health, education, human rights, youth groups) coordinated efforts to get out the vote, this in contrast to the frontrunner candidates, who embraced televised, social media-based campaigns rather than soliciting votes on the ground. Civic awakening cut across urban and rural divides. In villages and towns, conversations sparked by civil society volunteers helped counter the fatalism that “nothing will change”. 

The result was a dramatic surge in citizen participation. “It was a victory for civil society – a victory powered by fear – because people clearly saw that the alternative could lead to violence,” notes Brumariu. The spectre of a far-right leader threatening minorities, curtailing freedoms and cozying up to Moscow instilled a productive fear; a motivating one rather than a paralysing one. Romanians from all walks of life realised they had to take a stand before it was too late. Brumariu rallied his network with a straightforward call to action: “We said: if each one of us convinces one person to vote, we’re going to win.” And person by person, dialogue by dialogue, it worked. “It seems like we did… We ended up with 11.5 million votes, which is the largest number since the fall of Communism,” he says. In the eventual redo of the presidential election, voter turnout hit historic highs, and the extremist surge was halted by a broad pro-democracy coalition of voters. 

This campaign to mobilise voters was markedly non-partisan and values-driven. SECS and fellow NGOs were careful not to endorse candidates, focusing instead on the importance of protecting fundamental rights and civic peace. By doing so, they maintained the trust of communities that might otherwise be skeptical of NGOs. “Being present is important for building trust. And when you’re trusted, it’s easier for your point of view to be considered,” Brumariu observes. Indeed, through their community presence – from local meetings to school workshops – SRHR activists built credibility as champions of the common good, not any political party. This trust was pivotal in persuading undecided citizens to vote with their conscience and with hope for a safer society. 

Battling disinformation and championing truth 

A major front in this battle for democracy was the fight against disinformation. The far-right candidate’s rise had been fuelled by an online onslaught of fake news, conspiracy theories, and hateful propaganda. SECS quickly understood that to protect SRHR and democratic values, they also had to protect the information space. Brumariu describes the formidable nature of the task – many Romanians were encountering sophisticated misinformation, for the first time supported by platforms like TikTok and artificial intelligence (AI). Preying on prejudice and fear of change, LGBTQ+ groups were a central target, a contributing factor to the recent designation of Romania as the worst place for LBGTQ+ people in the EU by ILGA-Europe. 

To respond, SECS and its partners became creative educators. They held workshops and created shareable content to immunise citizens against fake news. “Even teachers in our trainings were shocked by how hard it is to spot fake images online,” Brumariu recalls, highlighting that digital literacy needed a boost across all age groups. In training sessions, they ran eye-opening exercises using AI-generated deepfake images and headlines, showing firsthand “how dangerous propaganda and AI-generated misinformation can be”. By shedding light on these new threats to community leaders, journalists, and educators, the coalition created a ripple effect. Participants went on to teach others how to critically evaluate what they see on social media. This collective effort to fact-check and spread truth was essential in blunting the impact of the far-right’s half-truths and hate. It also reinforced the broader point that a healthy democracy relies on an informed public, so defending truth is part of defending rights. 

Throughout the campaign, SECS worked hand-in-hand with a broad spectrum of civil society to counter lies and promote a positive vision. “We didn’t work in isolation. We had a media strategy, constant monitoring… and we shared this with other NGOs,” says Brumariu. A multi-pronged approach required leveraging different areas of expertise: for example, fact-checking groups debunked rumours in real time and legal experts clarified what was at stake for the rule of law. SECS even brought nine other NGOs into their communications training, uniting diverse organisations, from youth clubs to minority rights groups, around a common messaging framework. This collective approach not only amplified their reach, but also demonstrated a powerful truth in action: democracy is defended by the many, not the few. In a time of crisis, Romanian civil society showed that solidarity and shared values can break through thickets of propaganda. 

Defending the defenders of democracy 

Now, as Romania moves forward, SECS and its allies are determined to keep the momentum. “We’re still going to work under this project until the end of 2025 to empower civil society – mostly by reviving the Respect platform and the anti-discrimination platform,” Brumariu notes. They are rejuvenating nationwide coalitions on respect and anti-discrimination, ensuring the infrastructure is in place for rapid response whenever rights are threatened. The situation is ever-evolving, and Brumariu is well-aware of the dangers of being lulled into complacency. “We’re developing a volunteer network to act as a watchdog… We don’t want to be surprised like that again,” he emphasises. Volunteers trained in spotting early warning signs, whether a surge of online hate or a sudden policy proposal curbing freedoms, will help ensure that never again will an anti-rights wave catch the country’s rights defenders off-guard. 

Yet, Brumariu is candid that sustaining this work requires support. “It’s hard to have big future plans when you don’t have stable funding,” he says grimly. Short-term project funding and piecemeal grants, while keeping the lights on, often fail to provide the stability needed for long-term strategy. “Being an NGO,” he adds, “is more a way of life than a job… Hopefully we’ll at least be able to keep our core team together.” The dedication of SRHR activists is palpable. They do this work out of passion and principle, even when the future is uncertain. But passion alone cannot pay salaries or cover the costs of nationwide campaigns. That is why support from larger structures, especially the European Union and international donors, is critical to shore up these defenders of democracy. 

As the dust settles, the events in Romania remind us that democracy is never guaranteed, it must be defended. And the defenders are often those you might not expect at first glance. Civil society actors like SECS are not just health service providers; they are guardians of civic space and rights in their societies. They meet people’s intimate needs in clinics and classrooms, but they also stand up in public squares and online forums to ensure safety, dignity and freedom for all. “We are optimistic that we will survive,” says Brumariu, reflecting on the trials of the past year, “and we’ll try to seize opportunities out of everything that’s happened.” That optimism, paired with concrete action, is the lifeblood of democracy. 

A call to Europe: fund courage, fund democracy 

Romania’s civil society has shown what is possible with courage, solidarity and a values-driven approach. But they cannot do it alone. The struggle to protect democracy and human rights is a shared responsibility, and it requires support from those in power. EU policymakers and donors must step up. The European Union cannot afford to let its democracies backslide from within. Organisations on the ground need flexible funding, consistent political support, and space to operate. This means investing in long-term core funding for groups like SECS that allow them to act swiftly and plan ahead, rather than tying them up in red tape or project-by-project uncertainty. It means publicly standing behind human rights defenders when they face smears or legal harassment, reaffirming that civil society is a pillar of democracy. And it means ensuring laws and policies protect the civic space; the ability of people to organise, speak out, and advocate safely. 

Civil society organisations are vital for healthy democracies. They bridge the gap between institutions and people, amplify the voices of marginalised communities, and ensure decision-makers remain accountable. Gender equality and SRHR-focused organisations in particular are uniquely placed to foster safer, fairer societies by addressing structural discrimination, a lack of bodily autonomy or access to care, and ensuring that everyone, regardless of gender, sexuality or background, can live free from harm and with dignity. 

The Romanian experience has underlined this point: supporting SRHR is not an add-on to democracy, but a cornerstone. When people can make free decisions about their bodies and lives, they are empowered to participate fully in society. Conversely, when authoritarian forces attack reproductive rights or minority rights, they chip away at the very foundations of democratic equality and pluralism. Care and service delivery has become a democratic priority as much as a health one. Now is the time for the European community to recognise that resistance, courage and hope of activists like Gabriel Brumariu and his team, and to back them to the hilt. Democracy starts with your body, and defending one defends the other. Flexible, long-term support remains critical. SRHR is at the heart of inclusive, resilient, rights-based democracy. As SECS has shown, civil society can be a bulwark against regression. But across the region, its survival hangs in the balance, and action is urgently needed to tip the scale. 

Words by Maira De Tollenaere, IPPF EN

Interview by Maira De Tollenaere and Gabriela Molina, IPPF EN with Gabriel Brumariu, SECS