Philippe Leroyer | Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

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

Snippet FEA LINES OF ACTION (FR)

Sur quoi travaillent-iels?
Illustration of a hand with a pencil writing on white paper

Droits humains et ethno-territoriaux

Assurer la défense des droits humains et des droits de la Nature par la construction d'alliances avec des acteur·rices et organisations locales, nationales, régionales et mondiales.
A person holding a plant in a pink pot in their hands

Développement Durable

Garantir que toutes les activités économiques, culturelles et environnementales contribuent au développement durable, à la sécurité alimentaire et à la génération de revenus, dans le respect de l'autodétermination et de l'autonomie gouvernementale des communautés afro-descendantes.
Three women sitting next to each other

Education and training

Former les femmes et leur donner les moyens d'exercer la défense de leurs droits dans différents espaces politiques, sociaux et économiques.

Pour plus d'informations, cliquez ici!

Snippet - WITM Survey will remain open - FR

Regardez le webinaire « Où est l'argent?» maintenant !

Le 11 juillet 2024, nous avons eu une conversation étonnante avec de grandes féministes sur l'état de l'écosystème du financement et le pouvoir du recherche « Où est l'argent ? ».

Un merci spécial à Cindy Clark (Thousand Currents), Sachini Perera (RESURJ), Vanessa Thomas (Black Feminist Fund), Lisa Mossberg (SIDA) et Althea Anderson (Fondation Hewlett).

N'oubliez pas que l'enquête restera ouverte jusqu'au 31 août 2024 !

Regardez le webinaire

我什麼時候可以註冊論壇？

Read in: English French Spanish

我們會盡快宣布。敬請關注！

Benoîte Groult

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Category
Derechos económicos, sociales y culturales
Region
Europa
Date of birth
Date of death / disappearance
Cause of death / disappearance

Natural

Benoîte fue una periodista, escritora y activista feminista francesa.

Benoîte publicó más de 20 novelas y numerosos ensayos sobre feminismo.

En 1975 se publicó su primer libro, Ainsi Soit-Elle (que podría traducirse «Como ella es»). En él analizaba la historia de los derechos de las mujeres, así como la misoginia y la violencia contra las mujeres.

En su último libro, Ainsi Soit Olympe de Gouges, analizaba los derechos de las mujeres durante la Revolución Francesa, centrándose en la pionera feminista francesa. Olympe de Gouges fue guillotinada en 1793 por desafiar la autoridad masculina; dos años antes había publicado una declaración sobre los derechos de las mujeres («Déclaration Des droits de la Femme et de la Citoyenne»). 

 

Benoïte Groult, France

Snippet FEA Metzineres activists (EN)

 
A crowd of people sitting in front of a banner which says ‘support, don't punish”;
Photo of two women talking to each other, one of them is holding a handheld fan.
Crowd of people with a black banner that says Metzineres in yellow.
Photo of four people sitting on the ground and talking
Photo people with plants around them, most of them sitting and clapping to a person who is walking in the middle

Metzineres activists in action

Snippet - WITM RESOURCES - ES

Recursos

我必須成為AWID會員才能參加論壇嗎？

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您不必成為AWID會員即可參加，但是AWID會員可以獲得折扣的註冊費以及許多其他好處。

詳細瞭解如何成為AWID成員 (in English)

Shireen Lateef

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Category
Droits civils et politiques
Region
Pacifique
Date of death / disappearance
Cause of death / disappearance

Natural

Figure inspirante pour de nombreux-ses féministes aux Fidji, Shireen était une alliée de poids du mouvement des femmes. Elle a plaidé sans relâche pour l'égalité de genre aux niveaux local et régional.

Ayant débuté sa carrière en tant que spécialiste de l’égalité de genre à la Banque asiatique de développement, elle a apporté des changements radicaux en matière d’égalité de genre aux politiques de l’institution. Sa recherche, intitulée « La règle des Danda : la violence domestique chez les Indo-Fidjiens », est l'une des premières recherches sur la violence domestique, le mariage et les femmes aux Fidji. Ce travail précurseur a servi de catalyseur pour la militance féministe dans ce domaine.

L’héritage de Shireen lui survit et beaucoup se souviennent de son influence, de son engagement et de son soutien au mouvement des femmes aux Fidji et dans le Pacifique.

 

Shireen Lateef, Fiji

Les droits des femmes et l’égalité de-s genre-s – La rubrique ‘Point de mire’ sur TheGuardian.com

Snippet FEA Get Involved 1 (ES)

¡INVOLÚCRATE!

Siga el trabajo de estos colectivos en sus cuentas de redes sociales y sitios internet:

Je suis activiste à titre individuel, je ne travaille avec aucun groupe, organisation et/ou mouvement à l’heure actuelle, est-ce que je devrais participer à cette enquête?

Non, nous reconnaissons l’importance de votre travail, mais nous ne collectons pas les réponses fournies à titre individuel à l’heure actuelle.

我的問題在這裡找不到解答

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如有其他疑問，請使用我們的聯繫表，然後從下拉選單中選擇「第14屆AWID論壇」。

聯繫我們

Juana Ramírez Santiago

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Category
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Region
Latin America
Cause of death / disappearance

Killed

Juana was one of the founders and current Board Member of Red de Mujeres Ixiles de Nebaj, an Indigenous women’s rights organization that is a member of the Mesoamerican Initiative of WHRDs (IM-Defensoras).

She was also a midwife and a mother of 7 children. Juana had received death threats that were reported to the Prosecutor’s office. Juana is the third Indigenous WHRD murdered in the area during 2018. The Guatemala Ombudsman reports that a total of 20 HRDs were killed in the country this year. 

Juana Ramírez Santiago was shot dead by unidentified attackers while crossing a bridge in Nebak, Quiché, Guatemala. Investigations to identify the perpetrators are ongoing.

 

Juana Ramírez Santiago, Guatemala

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.

Visit the WHRD Tribute online exhibit

Snippet FEA EoS The Cover (ES)

Illustration of a pink human in white underwear doing a power pose

La Poderosa
Autoprotección y fortalecimiento

Can I fill the survey outside KOBO and share my responses with you via email?

Unless there are accessibility issues and/or you are filling the survey in other languages, we strongly encourage you to use KOBO for WITM standardized data collection and analysis.

AWID為何選擇台北作為此次國際論壇的舉辦地點呢？

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我們認為在亞太區域，台北最能讓我們為全球女性主義社群打造一個安全又可「造反」的空間。

即將召開的論壇與會者多元，台北提供了相當穩定與安全的環境。同時也具備穩健的勤務服務能力，方便許多旅客來往（提供國際論壇與會者便利的電子簽證流程）

當地的女性主義運動社群也歡迎論壇到來並積極與全球女性主義者串連。

我們選擇台北的考量詳情見此