Confronting Extractivism & Corporate Power
Women human rights defenders (WHRDs) worldwide defend their lands, livelihoods and communities from extractive industries and corporate power. They stand against powerful economic and political interests driving land theft, displacement of communities, loss of livelihoods, and environmental degradation.
Why resist extractive industries?
Extractivism is an economic and political model of development that commodifies nature and prioritizes profit over human rights and the environment. Rooted in colonial history, it reinforces social and economic inequalities locally and globally. Often, Black, rural and Indigenous women are the most affected by extractivism, and are largely excluded from decision-making. Defying these patriarchal and neo-colonial forces, women rise in defense of rights, lands, people and nature.
Critical risks and gender-specific violence
WHRDs confronting extractive industries experience a range of risks, threats and violations, including criminalization, stigmatization, violence and intimidation. Their stories reveal a strong aspect of gendered and sexualized violence. Perpetrators include state and local authorities, corporations, police, military, paramilitary and private security forces, and at times their own communities.
Acting together
AWID and the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD-IC) are pleased to announce “Women Human Rights Defenders Confronting Extractivism and Corporate Power”; a cross-regional research project documenting the lived experiences of WHRDs from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
We encourage activists, members of social movements, organized civil society, donors and policy makers to read and use these products for advocacy, education and inspiration.
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"Women Human Rights Defenders confronting extractive industries: an overview of critical risks and Human Rights obligations" is a policy report with a gender perspective. It analyses forms of violations and types of perpetrators, quotes relevant human rights obligations and includes policy recommendations to states, corporations, civil society and donors.
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"Weaving resistance through action: Strategies of Women Human Rights Defenders confronting extractive industries" is a practical guide outlining creative and deliberate forms of action, successful tactics and inspiring stories of resistance.
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The video “Defending people and planet: Women confronting extractive industries” puts courageous WHRDs from Africa, Asia, and Latin America in the spotlight. They share their struggles for land and life, and speak to the risks and challenges they face in their activism.
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Challenging corporate power: Struggles for women’s rights, economic and gender justice is a research paper outlining the impacts of corporate power and offering insights into strategies of resistance.
Share your experience and questions!
◾️ How can these resources support your activism and advocacy?
◾️ What additional information or knowledge do you need to make the best use of these resources?
Thank you!
AWID acknowledges with gratitude the invaluable input of every Woman Human Rights Defender who participated in this project. This project was made possible thanks to your willingness to generously and openly share your experiences and learnings. Your courage, creativity and resilience is an inspiration for us all. Thank you!
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Provide AWID members, movement partners and funders with an updated, powerful, evidence-based, and action-oriented analysis of the resourcing realities of feminist movements and current state of the feminist funding ecosystem.
Identify and demonstrate opportunities to shift more and better funding for feminist organizing, expose false solutions and disrupt trends that make funding miss and/or move against gender justice and intersectional feminist agendas.
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Je vis une situation de violence au sein de l’une ou plusieurs relations interpersonnelles. Est-ce que l’AWID peut m’aider ?
L’AWID n’est pas une organisation de services de première ligne, ni de défense de la personne
Nous vous conseillons de demander conseil à un-e avocat-e, de communiquer avec un refuge pour femmes ou un centre d’accueil près de chez vous.
Les HotPeachPages, une ressource en ligne, contiennent des liens vers les refuges pour femmes dans le monde entier. L’AWID ne peut garantir l’exactitude ou la qualité de ces listes, mais elles peuvent constituer un bon point de départ si vous ne connaissez aucune organisation près de chez vous.
Snippet Love Letters Intro (EN)
Love Letters to Feminist Movements
As you may or may not know, AWID is celebrating its 40th Anniversary in 2022 - around the themes of “Gather, Seed, and Disrupt.” To honor this occasion we have invited AWID members, partners and staff to write their own “Love Letter to Feminist Movements”. Together, we have sparked a constellation of feminist movements. Stay close as we forge on the journey ahead and continue to Gather, Seed, and Disrupt.
A note about Our Collection Of Love Letters:
All of these letters are written by activists who are sharing their diverse experiences in feminist movements. Some of them may include difficult or challenging content about abuse, sexual violence, conflict, exclusion and other potential triggering or upsetting pieces. While these letters are filled with love, please take care of yourself when reading the letters.
Why should I consider responding to the survey?
There are many reasons why your response to the WITM survey matters. The survey offers the opportunity to share your lived experience of mobilizing funding to support your organizing; claim your power as an expert on how money moves and who it reaches; and contribute to collective and consistent advocacy to funders moving more and better funding. Over the last two decades, AWID’s WITM research has proven to be a key resource for activists and funders. We wholeheartedly invite you to join us in its third iteration to highlight the actual state of resourcing, challenge false solutions, and point out how funding must change for movements to thrive and meet the complex challenges of our times.
2007: CSO engagement rises with the creation of the WWG on FfD
The Women’s Working Group on Financing for Development (WWG on FfD), an alliance of women’s rights organizations and networks, was launched in October 2007 to advocate for the advancement of gender equality, women’s empowerment and human rights in the FfD related UN processes.
- The Third High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development, 23-25 October 2007 saw an upsurge in civil society participation. Aside from the six round table sessions, there were hearings for civil society and the business sector.
- AWID delivered a statement at the plenary on behalf of Civil Society calling for governments to give greater attention to the importance of women’s rights organizations as agents of development, and the need to promote new mechanisms for financing for women in developing and least developed countries. The statement urged governments to give greater support to gender architecture in the United Nations so that the system as a whole could make progress in terms of its commitment to gender equality, women’s empowerment and human rights, including the economic, social, cultural and environmental rights of all persons.
Snippet FEA Title Menu (ES)
Las Economías Feministas
QUE AMAMOS
ECONOMIAS DE CUIDADOSAGROECOLOGÍA Y SOBERANÍA ALIMENTARIACOOPERATIVISMO FEMINISTASINDICALISMO FEMINISTA
En nuestro caso, reorientamos dinero a nuestros socios beneficiarios y nos identificamos como fondo de mujeres/feminista, ¿deberíamos responder la encuesta?
No. Valoramos muchísimo su trabajo, pero no estamos buscando respuestas de fondos de mujeres/feministas por el momento. Alentamos a compartir la encuesta con sus socios beneficiarios y con sus redes feministas.
2013: el sexto Diálogo de Alto Nivel revisa el progreso de los ODM
- El Sexto Diálogo de Alto Nivel sobre la Financiación para el Desarrollo, que tuvo lugar el 7 y 8 de octubre de 2013, se centró en analizar los progresos hacia los ODM e identificar las brechas a ser abordadas en las conversaciones acerca del nuevo marco para el desarrollo.
- Durante la sesión, el Grupo de Trabajo sobre el desfase en el logro de los ODM presentó un informe en el que hizo referencia al fracaso en alcanzar el ODM 8 (Alianza mundial para el desarrollo) como un factor decisivo que explicaba los obstáculos para el logro de los demás ODM. Ese informe demostró que en el nuevo marco para el desarrollo post-2015 se debía prestar más atención a crear alianzas globales fuertes que garantizaran compromisos vinculantes.
Snippet FEA Occupation’s kitchen (FR)
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![]() Femmes et collaborateurs à la cuisine de l'Ocupação 9 de Julho |
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Natalia Estemirova
Puis-je accéder à l’enquête et répondre aux questions depuis mon téléphone?
Oui, l’enquête est accessible depuis les téléphones intelligents.
Mai 2015: les consultations sur la version préliminaire du document final ont lieu
Sessions de consultation complémentaires sur la version préliminaire du document final
- Le 7 mai, les co-facilitateurs ont publié la version révisée du document final de la troisième Conférence sur FdD (en anglais).
- Pour permettre d’améliorer le document final, des sessions complémentaires ad hoc portant sur cette version révisée du document final ont été organisées du 12 au 15 mai 2015, puis du 26 au 29 mai 2015, au siège de l’ONU à New York.
Snippet FEA NORTH CAUCA Left (EN)
NORTH CAUCA, COLOMBIA
Asociación de Mujeres Afrodescendientes del Norte del Cauca
WE DESERVE
MORE!
Parvin Paidar
Should I do any preparation to respond to the survey?
As the WITM survey is focused on resourcing realities for feminist organizations, most questions ask about your group’s funding between 2021–2023. You will need to have this information with you to fill out the survey (e.g., your annual budgets and key sources of funding).
What are some of the debates and conflict areas?
- Towards The Third International Conference On Financing For Development: Old Tensions And New Challenges, by Nicole Bidegain Ponte/DAWN (March 2015)
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‘A geopolitical Analysis of Financing for Development’ by Regions Refocus 2015 and Third World Network (TWN) with DAWN.
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The Zero Draft Language Map, by Regions Refocus
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‘Addis Ababa financing conference: Will the means undermine the goals?‘ by RightingFinance
Snippet FEA ASOM’s activists in encounters (ES)
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Activistas de ASOM en encuentros, desfiles y eventos









