The cause is our life: activist burnout and the long durée of abortion rights

Struggles for abortion rights are long and arduous journeys with movements often experiencing more setbacks than wins. This paper examines findings from a project on movement building in Malta, a country with some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe and a movement which has been gaining increased momentum since 2018. 26 in depth interviews and a workshop with activists exposed that since a minor legal amendment in 2023 (which has done little to improve abortion access) activists have been experiencing increased burnout and frustration with some stepping back from organising. This paper considers burnout from the perspective of the lifecycle of movements arguing that minor incremental changes can be used as a tool by the state to halt abortion rights movements as they grow increasingly frustrated by the slow progress of change. However, burnout (if recognised and tackled) can be a useful moment for movements to recalibrate and strategize.