ROSA (organisation)

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}

{{Infobox political party

| name = ROSA

| logo = ROSA International Socialist Feminist Movement logo.png

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| colorcode = FF0000

| leader =

| affiliation1_title = Affiliations

| affiliation1 = {{ubl|Socialist Party|International Socialist Alternative}}

| president =

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| general_secretary =

| first_secretary =

| secretary_general =

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| spokesperson =

| founder = Ruth Coppinger

| founded = {{start date|2013|03|03|df=y}}

| headquarters =

| ideology = {{ubl|Socialist feminism}}

| international =

| website = {{ubl|https://rosaireland.nationbuilder.com/}}

| country =

}}

ROSA, also known as ROSA International Socialist Feminist Movement, is a communist feminist organisation based in Ireland that was founded on International Women's Day, 8 March 2013.{{cite web |author=Ruth Coppinger |date=31 May 2023 |title=ROSA Socialist Feminist Movement Ireland & abortion rights victory 5 Year Anniversary |url=https://www.rosainternational.org/post/rosa-socialist-feminist-movement-ireland-abortion-rights-victory-5-year-anniversary |website= |location= |publisher= |access-date=13 May 2025 |quote=On International Women's Day, 8 March 2013, ROSA was formally established. Members of the Socialist Party who had been active in the abortion rights movement saw the need for an active, unapologetic, pro-choice organisation to campaign for Repeal.}}{{cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=ROSA |url=https://www.leftarchive.ie/organisation/5466/ |website=Irish Left Archive |location= |publisher= |access-date=13 May 2025}} It was established by members of the Trotskyist Socialist Party such as Ruth Coppinger with the aim of campaigning for reproductive rights, gender equality, and broader social and economic justice. The organisation is named in honour of Rosa Parks and Rosa Luxemburg, although it sometimes uses the backronym "Reproductive rights, against Oppression, Sexism and Austerity".

ROSA is a member of the International Socialist Alternative, an international association of Trotskyist parties and organisations.{{cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=ROSA |url=https://internationalsocialist.net/en/action/rosa |website=internationalsocialist.net |location= |publisher= |access-date=13 May 2025}} In 2018 the Socialist Party denied accusations that ROSA is a Trotskyist front designed to allow the Socialist party to control the feminist movement in Ireland.{{cite web |last= |first= |date=28 June 2018 |title=Defending ROSA & a combative Socialist Feminist approach |url=https://www.socialistparty.ie/2018/06/defending-rosa-combative-socialist-feminist-approach/?utm_source=chatgpt.com |website=socialistparty.ie |location= |publisher= |access-date=13 May 2025}}

File:Ruth Coppinger, Dec 2024 - (54193385676) (cropped).jpg, a member of Dáil Eireann.]]

ROSA gained attention in Ireland through direct action campaigns, such as the "abortion pill bus" tours and public demonstrations calling for the repeal of the Eighth Amendment, which restricted access to abortion in Ireland.{{cite news |last=Hennessy |first=Michelle |date=28 October 2018 |title=Pro-choice activists (and one TD) swallow abortion pills in Dublin |url=https://www.thejournal.ie/abortion-pills-2-1750266-Oct2014/ |work=TheJournal.ie |location= |publisher= |access-date=13 May 2025}} ROSA played a role in the broader pro-choice movement leading up to the 2018 referendum that legalised abortion. ROSA has also campaigned in Northern Ireland, where in May 2018, they staged a direct action outside Laganside Courts in Belfast. During the protest, three ROSA activists publicly took abortion pills in defiance of Northern Ireland's strict abortion laws. The event was held to draw attention to the lack of abortion access in the region and to call for legislative reform.{{cite news |last=Ferguson |first=Amanda |date=31 May 2018 |title=DUP says it will not be ‘bullied’ into changing abortion stance |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/dup-says-it-will-not-be-bullied-into-changing-abortion-stance-1.3515508 |work=Irish Times |location= |publisher= |access-date=13 May 2025}}

Beyond reproductive rights, ROSA has campaigned on issues including gender-based violence,{{cite news |last=Young |first=David |date=8 January 2023 |title=Demonstration against gender violence held in Dublin |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/dublin/demonstration-against-gender-violence-held-in-dublin/42270407.html |work=Irish Independent |location= |publisher= |access-date=13 May 2025}} workplace inequality, LGBT rights,{{cite news |last= |first= |date=14 February 2025 |title=Here's What Happened Today: Valentine's Day |url=https://www.thejournal.ie/heres-what-happened-today-valentines-day-6623530-Feb2025/ |work=TheJournal.ie |location= |publisher= |access-date=13 May 2025}} and housing. In June 2024, ROSA protested in support of Natasha O'Brien and her case against a Defence Forces soldier who assaulted her. ROSA criticised what it described as a misogynistic judicial system after her attacker received a suspended sentence. The group organised a demonstration outside Limerick Courthouse during Judge Tom O'Donnell's final court sitting before retirement, and joined wider protests taking place across multiple Irish cities.{{cite news |last=Sassone |first=Erika |date=25 June 2025 |title=Limerick and Galway continue to protest in support of Natasha O’Brien this week |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/galway/news/limerick-and-galway-continue-to-protest-in-support-of-natasha-obrien-this-week/a564513044.html |work=Irish Independent |location= |publisher= |access-date=13 May 2025}}

In late November 2024, ROSA organised a protest in Dublin to express solidarity with Nikita Hand, who had recently won a civil case against MMA fighter Conor McGregor.{{cite magazine |last=Plynton |first=Niya |date=25 November 2024 |title='Believe Survivors' march in support of Nikita Hand to take place in Dublin this evening |url=https://www.hotpress.com/opinion/believe-survivors-march-in-support-of-nikita-hand-to-take-place-in-dublin-this-evening-23060382 |magazine=Hot Press |location= |publisher= |access-date=13 May 2025}} The demonstration, which coincided with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, aimed to highlight systemic issues in how gender-based violence is addressed in Ireland and to support survivors of sexual assault. Participants marched through the city, chanting slogans and carrying banners denouncing victim blaming and calling for justice.{{cite news |last=Sherlock |first=Cillian |date= 25 November 2024 |title=‘This really hits home, it's like a kick in the guts’ – hundreds march in solidarity with ‘incredibly brave’ Nikita Hand |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/this-really-hits-home-its-like-a-kick-in-the-guts-hundreds-march-in-solidarity-with-incredibly-brave-nikita-hand/a192358028.html |work=Irish Independent |location= |publisher= |access-date=13 May 2025}}