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Special Focus

AWID is an international, feminist, membership organisation committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women’s human rights

Women Human Rights Defenders

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WHRDs are self-identified women and lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LBTQI) people and others who defend rights and are subject to gender-specific risks and threats due to their human rights work and/or as a direct consequence of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

WHRDs are subject to systematic violence and discrimination due to their identities and unyielding struggles for rights, equality and justice.

The WHRD Program collaborates with international and regional partners as well as the AWID membership to raise awareness about these risks and threats, advocate for feminist and holistic measures of protection and safety, and actively promote a culture of self-care and collective well being in our movements.

Risks and threats targeting WHRDs  

WHRDs are exposed to the same types of risks that all other defenders who defend human rights, communities, and the environment face. However, they are also exposed to gender-based violence and gender-specific risks because they challenge existing gender norms within their communities and societies.

By defending rights, WHRDs are at risk of:

  • Physical assault and death
  • Intimidation and harassment, including in online spaces
  • Judicial harassment and criminalization
  • Burnout

A collaborative, holistic approach to safety

We work collaboratively with international and regional networks and our membership

  • to raise awareness about human rights abuses and violations against WHRDs and the systemic violence and discrimination they experience
  • to strengthen protection mechanisms and ensure more effective and timely responses to WHRDs at risk

We work to promote a holistic approach to protection which includes:

  • emphasizing the importance of self-care and collective well being, and recognizing that what care and wellbeing mean may differ across cultures
  • documenting the violations targeting WHRDs using a feminist intersectional perspective;
  • promoting the social recognition and celebration of the work and resilience of WHRDs ; and
  • building civic spaces that are conducive to dismantling structural inequalities without restrictions or obstacles

Our Actions

We aim to contribute to a safer world for WHRDs, their families and communities. We believe that action for rights and justice should not put WHRDs at risk; it should be appreciated and celebrated.

  • Promoting collaboration and coordination among human rights and women’s rights organizations at the international level to  strengthen  responses concerning safety and wellbeing of WHRDs.

  • Supporting regional networks of WHRDs and their organizations, such as the Mesoamerican Initiative for WHRDs and the WHRD Middle East and North Africa  Coalition, in promoting and strengthening collective action for protection - emphasizing the establishment of solidarity and protection networks, the promotion of self-care, and advocacy and mobilization for the safety of WHRDs;

  • Increasing the visibility and recognition of  WHRDs and their struggles, as well as the risks that they encounter by documenting the attacks that they face, and researching, producing, and disseminating information on their struggles, strategies, and challenges:

  • Mobilizing urgent responses of international solidarity for WHRDs at risk through our international and regional networks, and our active membership.

Related Content

Type

Stacey Park Milbern

Read in: English French Spanish
Category
Civil & Political Rights
Region
North America
Date of birth
Date of death / disappearance
Cause of death / disappearance

Natural

“I do not know a lot about spirituality or what happens when we die, but my crip queer Korean life makes me believe that our earthly bodyminds is but a fraction, and not considering our ancestors is electing only to see a glimpse of who we are.” - Stacey Park Milbern

Stacey Park Milbern was a self-identifying queer disabled woman of colour and a trailblazer. A long-standing and respected organizer and leader in the disability rights and justice movement, she also advocated for the rights of many different communities, not just her own. Stacey’s activism had mighty roots in her experience at the intersections of gender, disability, sexuality and race.

Stacey, along with some friends, co-created the Disability Justice Culture Club, a group working to support various and especially vulnerable communities, including helping homeless people gain access to resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

She was also a co-producer of an impact campaign for Netflix’s documentary “Crip Camp”, a board member of the WITH Foundation, and led organizations at local, state and national levels. Stacey wrote beautifully and powerfully:

“My ancestors are people torn apart from loves by war and displacement. It’s because of them I know the power of building home with whatever you have, wherever you are, whoever you are with. My ancestors are queers who lived in the American South. It’s because of them I understand the importance of relationships, place and living life big, even if it is dangerous. All of my ancestors know longing. Longing is often our connecting place...” - Stacey Park Milbern

She was born in Seoul, Korea and grew up in North Carolina, later  continuing her journey in the San Francisco Bay Area. Stacey passed away of complications from surgery on her 33rd birthday on 19 May 2020. 

Read an essay by Stacey Park Milbern
Listen to an interview with Stacey Park Milbern
#StaceyTaughtUs: Record your story for the Disability Visibility Project

Tributes:

“She was, a lot of people would say, a leader. She kind of encompassed all of it. You know, sometimes there's like a lead from the front, lead from the middle, lead from the back. And she was just somehow able to do all of that.” - Andraéa LaVant, disability rights activist

“What a blow to lose Stacey when our communities need her leadership more than ever, and at a time when her strength, insight, and grit were receiving increased recognition outside of disability circles, giving her a greater platform to advance her life’s work...We will not have the gift of learning where her charismatic leadership would have taken us. But let there be no doubt: What Stacey gave us, in a relatively short time, will continue benefiting others for years to come.” - Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)

Our Companion Sites

The Young Feminist Wire

An online community for and by young feminists working on women’s human rights, gender equality and social justice around the world.

Visit the site

The Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs)

The platform is the go-to place for information and resources on safeguarding the universality of rights in international and regional human rights spaces.

Visit the site

The Young Feminist Fund-FRIDA

Provides funding for young feminist-led initiatives. It aims to strengthen the capacity of young feminist organizations to leverage resources for their work and to increase donors’ and allies’ commitments to resourcing young feminist activism.

Visit the site

Online Directory of Urgent Responses for WHRDs

A go-to site to learn about the urgent responses undertaken to protect women human rights defenders and to find tools and resources to support the work and wellness of WHRDs.

Visit the site

IM-Defensoras (Mesoamerican Initiative for Women Human Rights Defenders)

A regional initiative created to prevent, respond, document and make public all cases of violence against women human rights defenders in the Mesoamerican region.

Visit the site

The WHRD International Coalition

The WHRD IC is a resource and advocacy network for the protection and support of women human rights defenders worldwide.

Visit the site

Post-2015 Women´s Coalition

A Coalition of feminist, women´s rights, women´s development, grassroots and social justice organisations working to challenge and reframe teh global development agenda. 

Visit the site

Women´s Major Group on Development

The role of the Women’s Major Group is to assure effective public participation of women’s non-governmental groups in the UN policy processes on Sustainable Development, Post2015 and Environmental matters. 

Visit the site

Women Working Group on Financing for Development

An alliance of women’s organizations and networks to advocate for the advancement of gender equality, women’s empowerment and human rights in the Financing for Development (FfD) related UN processes.

Visit the site

What measures to protect public health and contain risks of Covid19 outbreak will be in place?

We are monitoring this and other risks carefully, and will publish comprehensive health and safety information when the registration opens, so you could make an informed decision. In addition, the hybrid format is designed to provide a meaningful engagement experience to the participants who will prefer not to travel or are not able to travel.

Nos droits en danger - OURs 2021 résumé

Nos droits en danger : il est temps d’agir

Un réseau complexe et mouvant d’acteur·rice·s antidroits exerce aujourd’hui une influence croissante dans les espaces internationaux et nationaux, ainsi qu’au niveau des politiques locales. Les antidroits pénètrent les espaces multilatéraux de collaboration entre pays, dans le but de les transformer et les saboter de l’intérieur. C’est en s’appropriant le langage des droits et de la justice pour travestir leurs véritables intentions qu’ils et elles parviennent à acquérir une certaine légitimité.

Ce rapport est le deuxième d’une série sur les droits humains, produite par l’Observatoire sur l’universalité des droits (OUR). Outre une analyse des principales parties antidroits, de leurs discours, stratégies et impacts, ce rapport inclut des nouvelles féministes pleines d’inspiration et des exercices de renforcement des connaissances qui nous permettront d’assurer notre résistance collective.

Lire le rapport 

Les conséquences sur nos droits sont déjà importantes, mais il est encore possible de réagir. Nous pouvons toutes et tous participer à la résistance face aux programmes antidroits et récupérer nos droits.

Rejoignez l’appel à l’action collective dès aujourd’hui!

Signer l’appel à l’action

Snippet - WCFM getting the money we need - En

Getting the Money We Need | A 101 Guide on Fundraising for Small Grassroots Organizations

 From building prospect funders lists with *templates*, to understand  how to write a solid grant proposal, with ‘Getting the Money we Need’ Guide really we don't have to figure this out alone anymore

Read and download the guide hereText-only version

Also available in Arabic

How can I fund my participation in the AWID Forum? Many activists will not be able to afford the cost of the Forum – is AWID doing anything to provide assistance?

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Please visit the "Funding ideas" page to get some ideas and inspiration for how you can fund your participation at the next Forum, including the limited support AWID will be able to provide.

English article

English article created from Spanish site

Diferentes personas de mi organización planean asistir al Foro. ¿Hay algún descuento para grupos en el Foro?

AWID no ofrece descuentos para grupos, pero sí ofrece descuentos en la inscripción a sus afiliadxs. (Haz clic aquí para obtener más información sobre cómo sumarte a la membresía)

ours chapter 6

Chapter 6
Anti-Rights Trends in Regional Human Rights Systems

In the African Commission and the Inter-American System, anti-rights actors push essentialist notions of culture and gender to hamper progress on rights and undermine accountability. As we see, anti-rights actors are exerting influence in regional human rights systems, as well as international spaces.

Read more

Snippet - WITM Infographic annual budget 2 in 4- EN

Ever Wondered What Budgets for Feminist  Organizations Look Like?

A closer look at actual budgets reveals major income diversity and inequality.

 

Will there be pre-Forum convenings this time around?

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We have been contacted by global and regional partners about some ideas for pre-Forum convenings and we will share more information about these ideas soon.

If you plan to organize a meeting before the Forum please let us know!

Contact us

Many beautiful things emerged from the 2016 Black Feminisms Forum (BFF) that was organized by an Advisory Group and funded by AWID. Some of the independent organizing that arose from the BFF include Black feminist organizing in Brazil. While we won’t have another BFF this year, we remain committed to sharing some key learnings with anyone interested in continuing work around Black feminist organizing.

Mexican WHRDs

The data from our tribute indicate that Mexico is a particularly dangerous country for defenders. Out of the 12 Mexican Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) we commemorate in this years’ Tribute, 11 were murdered. They were journalists, women’s rights advocates, trans* rights and social activists. Join us in remembering and honoring these WHRDs, their work and legacy by sharing the memes below and tweeting by using the hashtags #WHRDTribute and #16Days. 

Please click on each image below to see a larger version and download as a file

 

Je n’ai encore jamais voyagé. Que devrais-je savoir ?

Ayant conscience des nombreuses difficultés que les déplacements impliquent, nous vous fournirons davantage d’informations et de détails sur les modalités de voyage jusqu’à Bangkok lorsque les Inscriptions ouvriront, au début de l’année prochaine.

Llamado a la acción: ¡Basta de infiltración antiderechos en la ONU!

Llamado a la acción

¡Basta de infiltración antiderechos en la ONU!

¿Quieren sumarse al creciente número de personas que le están diciendo «basta» a la infiltración de lxs actores anti-derechos en la ONU?

Suma tu nombre

WITM - Refreshed INFOGRAPHIC 3 FR

Comment les féministes s’autofinancent ?

Les organisations féministes et de défense des droits des femmes ne dépendent pas uniquement des financements institutionnels, elles s’autofinancent. Nos mouvements sont animés par la passion, la solidarité, l’engagement politique et le soin collectif.
Ces ressources autonomes et autogénérées sont souvent invisibles dans les budgets, mais elles sont le pilier de notre action collective.

 Explorez les données sur l’autofinancement

Where and when will the next AWID Forum take place?

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The 14th AWID International Forum will take place 20-23 September 2021 in Taipei, Taiwan.

Find out more!

Defensoras del África subsahariana

En nuestro Tributo Virtual 2015 a las defensoras de derechos humanos que ya no están con nosotros/as recordamos a cuatro mujeres del África subsahariana, tres de las cuales fueron asesinadas por el trabajo que realizaban y/o por su identidad de género y orientación sexual. Sus muertes ponen en evidencia la violencia que suelen enfrentar las personas LGBT en la región y en  el mundo. Únete a AWID para honrar a estas defensoras de derechos humanos, su trabajo y su legado, 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.