Protection of the Family
The Issue
Over the past few years, a troubling new trend at the international human rights level is being observed, where discourses on ‘protecting the family’ are being employed to defend violations committed against family members, to bolster and justify impunity, and to restrict equal rights within and to family life.
The campaign to "Protect the Family" is driven by ultra-conservative efforts to impose "traditional" and patriarchal interpretations of the family, and to move rights out of the hands of family members and into the institution of ‘the family’.
“Protection of the Family” efforts stem from:
- rising traditionalism,
- rising cultural, social and religious conservatism and
- sentiment hostile to women’s human rights, sexual rights, child rights and the rights of persons with non-normative gender identities and sexual orientations.
Since 2014, a group of states have been operating as a bloc in human rights spaces under the name “Group of Friends of the Family”, and resolutions on “Protection of the Family” have been successfully passed every year since 2014.
This agenda has spread beyond the Human Rights Council. We have seen regressive language on “the family” being introduced at the Commission on the Status of Women, and attempts made to introduce it in negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Our Approach
AWID works with partners and allies to jointly resist “Protection of the Family” and other regressive agendas, and to uphold the universality of human rights.
In response to the increased influence of regressive actors in human rights spaces, AWID joined allies to form the Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs). OURs is a collaborative project that monitors, analyzes, and shares information on anti-rights initiatives like “Protection of the Family”.
Rights at Risk, the first OURs report, charts a map of the actors making up the global anti-rights lobby, identifies their key discourses and strategies, and the effect they are having on our human rights.
The report outlines “Protection of the Family” as an agenda that has fostered collaboration across a broad range of regressive actors at the UN. It describes it as: “a strategic framework that houses “multiple patriarchal and anti-rights positions, where the framework, in turn, aims to justify and institutionalize these positions.”

Related Content
Remembering: A Tribute to WHRDs no longer with us
AWID honors feminists and Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) who have died and whose contributions to the advancement of human rights are very much missed.
Celebrating Activists and WHRDs
AWID’s WHRD Tribute is a photo exhibition featuring feminist, women’s rights and social justice activists from around the world who are no longer with us.
The Tribute was first launched in 2012, at AWID’s 12th International Forum, in Turkey. It took shape with a physical exhibit of portraits and biographies of feminists and activists who passed away. The initiative was described by Forum participants as being a unique, moving and energizing way to commemorate our collective history.
At the 13th International Forum in Brazil, we honored activists and WHRDs with a mural unveiling ceremony in four languages, a dance performance and a Brazilian ritual.
In between the events, the Tribute lives as an online gallery that is updated every year as part of the 16 Days Campaign Against Gender Based Violence (25 November – 10 December).
Contributions from all over the world
Since 2012, through our annual Tribute to Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) no longer with us, over 400 feminists and WHRDs from 11 regions and 80 countries have been featured.
AWID would like to thank the families and organizations who shared their personal stories and contributed to this memorial. We join them in continuing the remarkable work of these women and forging efforts to ensure justice is achieved in cases that remain in impunity.
Visit the WHRD Tribute online exhibit
The violence and threaths against WHRDs persist
In addition to paying homage to these incredible activists, the Tribute particularly sheds light on the plight of WHRDs who have been assassinated or disappeared.
One third of those featured in the Tribute were activists who have been murdered or disappeared in suspicious circumstances. They were specifically targeted for who they were and the work they did to challenge:
- State power
- Heteronormativity
- Fundamentalisms
- Corporations
- Patriarchy
- Organized Crime
- Corruption
- Militarization…
Women like Agnes Torres, from Mexico, was killed because of her gender identity and sexual orientation; or Cheryl Ananayo, an environmental activist from the Philippines was assassinated as she struggled against a mining company; or Ruqia Hassan, a Syrian independent journalist and blogger killed for her criticism of ISIS. And so many others.
With the WHRD Tribute, we bring them all into our collective memory and carry their legacy of struggle as our torch in the feminists’ and women’s rights movements. We recognize that security, safety and self-care must be a priority in all our political agendas. And we call on to governments and international bodies to collectively address violence against feminists and WHRDs.
We believe this is a critical step to ensure the sustainability of our movements for gender equality, women’s rights, and justice for all.
Snippet FEA Meet the Solidarity Network (EN)
SOLIDARITY NETWORK
Meet the Solidarity Network, a health and service union mostly led by women. Emerging as a response to increasing precarity, severe underpayment and hostile work environments faced by workers in Georgia, Solidarity Network fights for dignified compensation and work places.
Its goal? To create a national worker’s democratic movement. To do so, it has been branching out, organizing and teaming up with other local and regional unions and slowly creating a network of unions and empowering women workers to become union leaders.
Its political approach is a holistic one. For Solidarity Network, labor rights issues are directly connected to broader national political and economic agendas and reforms. That’s why they are pushing for tax justice, women and LGBTQIA+ rights, and fighting against the dismantling of the Georgian welfare state.
The Solidarity Network is also part of Transnational Social Strike (TSS), a political platform and infrastructure inspired by migrant, women and essential worker organizing that works to build connections between labor movements across borders and nurture global solidarity.
Rosalie Eldora Sindi Medar Gould e
En su lucha por los derechos humanos enfrentan la injusticia en América Latina
Este año honramos a 19 defensoras de la región de América Latina y el Caribe. De ellas, 16 fueron asesinadas, incluyendo a 6 periodistas y 4 defensoras LGBTQI. Únete a nosotras en la conmemoración de sus vidas y trabajo, compartiendo los memes aquí incluidos con tus colegas, amistades y redes; y tuiteando las etiquetas #WHRDTribute y #16Días.
Por favor, haz click en cada imagen de abajo para ver una versión más grande y para descargar como un archivo.












Become a member - Spanish (homepage block)
Afíliate
Al unirte a AWID, te sumas a un proceso organizativo feminista mundial, un poder colectivo surgido del trabajo entre movimientos y basado en la solidaridad.
Cao Shunli
Will there be support for sign language interpretation other than ISL?
If your activity is accepted, you will be contacted by the AWID team to assess and respond to interpretation and accessibility needs.
WHRDs from the Pacific Region
The 3 Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) from the Pacific we are featuring in this year's Online Tribute have worked in the media, campaigned for disability rights and advocated for women’s rights. Their contributions are missed and we honor them in this Tribute. Please join AWID in commemorating these WHRDs, their work and legacy by sharing the memes below with your colleagues, networks and friends and by using the hashtags #WHRDTribute.
Please click on each image below to see a larger version and download as a file



Snippet FEA Sopo Japaridze (FR)
Nous avons le plaisir de vous présenter Sopo Japaridze, féministe féroce, dirigeante syndicale et présidente du syndicat de service indépendant Réseau de Solidarité.
Elle a quitté le pays très jeune pour les États-Unis, où elle est devenue politiquement active en tant qu'organisatrice syndicale. Elle a toujours gardé la Géorgie à l'esprit pendant tout ce temps, jusqu'au jour où, 20 ans plus tard, elle a décidé de revenir.
La confédération syndicale géorgienne existante à cette époque était loin d'être idéale. C’est pourquoi, armée de ses compétences, de ses connaissances et de son expérience en matière de syndicalisation, Sopo est retournée en Géorgie et a formé son propre syndicat.
Elle est aussi une chercheuse passionnée et une écrivaine. Elle étudie les relations de travail et les relations sociales, écrit pour diverses publications et est co-éditrice de Left East, une plate-forme analytique d'Europe de l'Est. Elle a également cofondé l'initiative et le podcast d'histoire politique, Réimaginer la Géorgie Soviétique, où elle explore les complexités et les nuances des expériences du pays sous l'Union soviétique, pour mieux comprendre son passé et construire un avenir meilleur.
Reason to join 4
Voyez grand ! Notre rayonnement international nous permet de combiner notre travail analytique avec des outils politiques et pratiques de plaidoyer et de transformation afin de faire avancer la cause des mouvements féministes à tous les niveaux.
Mary Rivera
متى وأين سيكون المنتدى؟
2-5 ديسمبر 2024، بانكوك، تايلاند! سنجتمع في مركز الملكة سيريكيت الوطني للمؤتمرات (QSNCC) وكذلك افتراضيا عبر
Foro de AWID 2016: Kit para redes sociales

¡Ayúdanos a difundir el Foro de AWID 2016!
Este kit incluye ejemplos de mensajes para ser utilizados en Twitter, Facebook y LinkedIn, como así también imágenes que puedes usar para acompañar a estos mensajes.
La utilización de este kit es muy simple. Solo tienes que seguir estos pasos:
-
Descarga aquí tus imágenes favoritas:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram - Combina los mensajes con las imágenes de la forma que desees.
- Compártelos a través de tu cuenta personal y/o profesional de las redes sociales
Combina estos mensajes con las imágenes para Twitter
Tweets utilizando tu nombre de usuarix (handle)
Yo voy al #AWIDForum. Es EL lugar para conectar con los movimientos por los derechos de las mujeres y la justicia social ¡Únete a mi!: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
¡Ya quiero re-imaginar los #FuturosFeministas c/ otrxs activistas x los DD. de las mujeres y la justicia social en el #AWIDForum! Únete: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Me entusiasma poder asistir al Foro de AWID el próximo mes de mayo ¡Ahora ya podemos registrarnos! ¡Únete a mi! http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Tweets para utilizar con tu nombre de usuarix institucional
Se encuentra abierta la inscripción para participar del #AWIDForum! en Costa do Sauípe, Brasil, 8-11 de sept 2016: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Únete al #AWIDForum, un encuentro histórico global de activistas x los derechos de las mujeres y la justicia social: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Únete al #AWIDForum para celebrar los logros de nuestros movimientos y las lecciones aprendidas para seguir avanzando http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
El #AWIDForum, no es solo un evento sino una oportunidad para confrontar la opresión y promover el avance de la justicia: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Únete al #AWIDForum para celebrar, pensar estrategias y renovar nuestros movimientos y a nosotrxs mismxs: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Futuros Feministas
Construyamos juntxs los #FuturosFeministas. Inscríbete al #AWIDForum. Costa do Sauípe, Brasil: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Únete a nosotrxs para re-imaginar y crear juntxs los #FuturosFeministas en el #AWIDForum. Inscríbete: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
#FuturosFeministas: aprovecha el momento en el #AWIDForum para promover nuestras visiones de un mundo mejor: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Seremos 2000 activistas de movimientos sociales en el #AWIDForum, pensando estrategias para nuestros #FuturosFeministas http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Construcción entre movimientos
Somos mucho más que una sola lucha. Únete a nosotrxs en el #AWIDForum: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Únete al #AWIDForum, un espacio para pensar estrategias entre movimientos y hacer uso de nuestro poder colectivo: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Movilicemos la solidaridad y el poder colectivo entre movimientos sociales en el #AWIDForum: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Rompamos el aislamiento entre nuestros movimientos. Re-imaginemos y creemos juntxs nuestros futuros en el #AWIDForum: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Solidaridad es un verbo. Pongámosla en acción en el #AWIDForum: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Mensajes especiales
Donantes se comprometen con los derechos de las mujeres y los movimientos sociales en el #AWIDForum: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Los medios de comunicación y los movimientos amplifican los #FuturosFeministas en el #AWIDForum: http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Combina estos mensajes con las imágenes para Facebook
Estos mensajes pueden ser usados en Twitter también vía mensaje privado directo, ya que allí no hay límites de carácteres.
Mensajes para tu perfil personal
Me entusiasma poder asistir al Foro de AWID el próximo mes de mayo ¡Ahora ya podemos registrarnos! ¡Únete a mi! http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Me encanta la idea de re-imaginar futuros feministas en el Foro de AWID, con 2.000 personas maravillosas pertenecientes a una gran cantidad de movimientos por los derechos de las mujeres y la justicia social ¡Regístrate y reúnete conmigo en Brasil! http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Mensajes para la página de tu organización
La inscripción al Foro de AWID 2016 ya se encuentra abierta. El mismo se realizará en Costa do Sauípe, Brasil! Este no es solo un evento, es un espacio clave para que activistas por los derechos de las mujeres y la justicia nos reunamos y juntxs volvamos a imaginar nuestros futuros feministas ¡No vas a querer perdértelo! http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
¡Únete a nosotrxs en el Foro de AWID 2016 en Brasil! Activistas y movimientos de todo el mundo nos reuniremos allí para celebrar, pensar estrategias, inspirarnos y renovar nuestras luchas colectivas y a nosotrxs mismxs ¡Regístrate ahora! http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
El Foro de AWID 2016 será un encuentro histórico de activistas por los derechos de las mujeres y movimientos por la justicia social de todo el mundo. Únete a nosotrxs allí para romper el aislamiento, reforzar la solidaridad y hacer uso nuestro poder colectivo ¡Regístrate ahora! http://forum.awid.org/forum16/es
Descarga tus imágenes favoritas para usar en Instagram
Snippet FEA Union Otras (EN)
UNION OTRAS
The Sex Workers' Trade Union Organisation (Organización de Trabajo Sexual, OTRAS) is the first union of sex workers in the history of Spain. It was born out of the need to ensure social, legal and political rights for sex workers in a country where far-right movements are on the rise.
After years of struggles against the Spanish legal system and anti-sex workers groups who petitioned to shut it down, OTRAS finally obtained its legal status as a union in 2021.
Its goal? To decriminalize sex work and to ensure decent working conditions and environments for all sex workers.
The union represents over 600 professional sex workers, many of whom are migrant, trans, queer and gender-diverse.
Our values - bodily autonomy
Bodily autonomy, integrity and freedoms<
We celebrate everyone's right to choose their identities, relationships, goals, work, dreams and pleasures, and what they do with their mind, body and spirit. We believe in working towards access to resources, information and safe and enabling environments that allow this to happen.
Eden Marcellana
ويخطط عدد من الأشخاص من منظمتي لحضور المنتدى. هل يوجد خصم جماعي للمنتدى؟
لا تقدم جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية خصومات جماعية، ولكننا نقدم خصومات التسجيل للأعضاء/ العضوات. (انقر هنا لمعرفة المزيد عن كيفية الانضمام)