Women Human Rights Defenders
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.
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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.
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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;
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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:
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Mobilizing urgent responses of international solidarity for WHRDs at risk through our international and regional networks, and our active membership.
Related Content
Add your own propositions
Please take a look at the existing propositions for inspiration before submitting your own idea. Someone might already be thinking along the same lines! Send your proposition to contribute@awid.org.
We will review and include new propositions on this webpage as they come.
Imma Sala
Ritu
Ritu est une technologue féministe qui apporte son expérience au secteur non lucratif, animée par une passion pour l'utilisation d'approches innovantes pour trouver des solutions technologiques féministes. Titulaire d'un master en technologie des applications informatiques de l'Institut indien de technologie, son rôle au sein de l'AWID couvre un large spectre de responsabilités. De la supervision de la sécurité numérique et gestion des serveurs à l'administration des bases de données, en passant par le renforcement des capacités, l'évaluation technologique, la mise en œuvre de logiciels et de solutions cloud, Ritu veille à ce que l'infrastructure informatique de l'AWID soit résiliente et efficace. Avant de rejoindre l'AWID, elle a joué un rôle central dans l'avancement des initiatives technologiques des secteurs de la promotion de la santé et de l'environnement, alimentée par son engagement à tirer parti de la technologie pour le bien social.
Snippet Festival Day 2,3 (ES)
Rosa Helena Bernal Pinto
Marianne Mesfin Asfaw
Marianne Mesfin Asfaw is a Pan-African feminist who is dedicated to social justice and building community. She has a BA in Gender Studies and International Relations from the University of British Columbia (UBC), and an MA in Gender Studies and Law from SOAS University of London. She has previously worked in academic administration and international student support, and has worked as a researcher and facilitator in feminist and non-profit spaces. She has also worked and volunteered at non-governmental organizations including Plan International in administrative roles. Prior to taking up her current role she worked in logistics and administrative support at AWID. She is from Ethiopia, was raised in Rwanda and is currently based in Tkaronto/Toronto, Canada. She enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her family and friends. In the warmer months she can be found strolling around familiar neighborhoods in search of obscure cafés and bookstores to wander into.
Snippet Elimination of Discrimination_Fest (FR)
Éliminer la discrimination à l’égard des travailleurs·ses du sexe
Kay Thi Win, Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers (APNSW)
Thin Pa Pa Htun, Aye Myanmar Association
Xiao Shuang, Northeast Transgender Support Network
Cathy Ketepa, Friends Frangipani Inc. PNG
Rajeshwari Prajapati, Society for Women Awareness Nepal (SWAN)
Charlotte Schaer
Umyra Ahmad
Umyra Ahmad es una feminista de Malasia con antecedentes en incidencia política internacional y regional y educación en derechos humanos. En AWID, trabaja en la incidencia de los derechos asociados con el género y la sexualidad en las Naciones Unidas. Antes de incorporarse, se desempeñaba como oficial de programa en International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia y el Pacífico (IWRAW, Observatorio Internacional de los Derechos de las Mujeres), donde colaboró con organizaciones regionales, nacionales y de base en el uso de mecanismos de los órganos de tratados de las Naciones Unidas como herramientas para la rendición de cuentas de los Estados y el acceso a la justicia. En Malasia, trabaja con colectivos queer y de personas refugiadas y brinda apoyo en las tareas de coordinación de diferentes iniciativas de ayuda mutua.
Snippet Festival Artwork_fest (EN)
Shehla Masood
Joanne Kobuthi-Kuria
Joanne est une féministe africaine passionnée par le démantèlement des inégalités de genre sur le continent africain. Elle a travaillé avec un certain nombre d'organisations mondiales, de médias et de think tanks, dont entre autres Amnesty International, Wrthy, le Local Development Research Institute, la BBC et la East African Community (EAC). Elle siège au sein de plusieurs conseils d'administration, dont celui de Freely in Hope, une ONG basée au Kenya et en Zambie, qui souhaite outiller les survivant·e·s et les défenseur·e·s dans leur lutte contre les violences sexuelles, et celui de Msingi Trust, un mouvement d'activistes qui se réunissent à la croisée de la foi et des droits humains. Elle est titulaire d'un master en gestion d’affaires, d'un master en politiques publiques et d'une licence en droit. Elle est accro aux livres, avec un penchant pour la fiction.
Snippet Art Gift_Fest (EN)
Durvin Ramírez Díaz en.jpg
أنا ممول/ة أو مانح/ة فردي/ة. كيف يمكنني دعم منتدى جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية؟
ندعوك للتواصل معنا بشأن طرق المشاركة الهادفة في المنتدى.
Maria Olivo
Maria is a graphic designer and visual communicator. Maria has worked with NGOs and Human Rights like Profamilia and OXFAM. As a woman of the Global South, she feels especially called to use her skills to work with organizations that help protect the wellbeing, as well the rights of millions of girls and women in Latin America.
Snippet Love Letters Intro (ES)
Cartas de Amor a los Movimientos Feministas
Como podrás o no saber, AWID está celebrando su 40º aniversario en 2022 y, para festejarlo, se eligieron los lemas «Reunir, sembrar e irrumpir». En honor a esta ocasión, hemos invitado a lxs afiliadxs, aliadxs y al personal de AWID a escribir sus propias «Cartas de Amor a los Movimientos Feministas». En conjunto, hemos encendido una constelación de movimientos feministas. Nos mantengamos cerca mientras forjamos el viaje y seguimos reuniéndonos, sembrando y desmantelando.
Nota sobre nuestra Colección de Cartas de Amor
Todas estas cartas de amor fueron escritas por activistas que están compartiendo sus diversas experiencias en los movimientos feministas. Algunas pueden incluir contenido delicado o complejo sobre abuso sexual, violencia sexual, conflictos, exclusión, entre otras piezas potencialmente perturbadoras o provocadoras. Aunque las cartas están llenas de amor, cuídate al leerlas.
Fabiola Osorio Bernáldez
هل تقدم جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية منح لحضور المنتدى؟
سيقدم صندوق الوصول الخاص بنا عددًا محدودًا من المنح الدراسية لتمويل مشاركة النشطاء/ الناشطات الذين/ اللواتي لا يستطيعون القيام بذلك، وليس لديهم/ن علاقات مع الممولين/ات الذين/ اللواتي يمكنهم/ن تغطية مشاركتهم/ن. لذلك إذا كان لديك احتمالات أخرى، يرجى استكشافها. سنبذل قصارى جهدنا لتقديم أكبر عدد ممكن من المنح الدراسية، وسنشارك المزيد من المعلومات حول هذه العملية وكيفية التقديم لاحقًا في أوائل العام 2024.









