Paula Kantor
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.
-
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
2021: Feminist Power in Action
In 2021, AWID, along with many other organizations, was coming to grips with the implications of the on-going global pandemic for how we work and our role in this particular time. The year taught us three critical lessons about navigating this moment as a global feminist movement-support organization.
Download the full 2021 Annual review
Through dialogue and exchanges critical to their work, AWID connected thousands to feminists from around the world.
Our experience in 2021 reaffirmed the importance of building and sustaining a global feminist community, and AWID’s core mission to support feminist movements as a whole. We believe that at this moment, a strong community bound by a shared vision and collective care is the foundation of all social change and transformation.
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?
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
- Version française version intégrale | version texte seulement
- Versión en español versión completa | versión solo texto
Lucy O.
Biography
With over ten years of finance experience, Lucy has devoted her career to for profit and furthering nonprofit missions. She also worked and volunteered at non-for-profit organizations. From the fast-paced world of Finance, Lucy has passion for staying tuned with tech skills in the finance field. Lucy joined AWID in 2014. During her spare time she enjoys music, traveling, and variety sports.
Position
Accounting Coordinator
Add to stories
Off
How about climate justice, is this really the time for so many international flights?
Asking ourselves the same question, we believe there are no simple answers. For many participants the AWID Forum might be one of the few international trips they undertake in their life. The pandemic taught us the possibilities but also the limitations of virtual spaces for movement-building: there is nothing like in-person connection. Movements need cross-border connections to build our collective power in the face of the threats we face, notably the climate crisis. We believe that the upcoming AWID Forum can be a strategic space to hold these conversations and to explore alternatives to international travel. The hybrid element of the Forum is an important part of this exploration.
Ghiwa Sayegh Snippet
Ghiwa Sayegh es una anarcoescritora queer, editora independiente y archivista. Es la editora fundadora de Kohl, una revista para la investigación sobre cuerpo y género, y la cofundadora de Intersectional Knowledge Publishers. Posee una maestría en estudios de género de Université Paris 8 Vincennes, Saint-Denis. Le apasionan la teoría queer, las circulaciones transnacionales y las historias imaginadas o desconocidas. Sus influencias son Audre Lorde y Sara Ahmed.
Ronnie Gilbert
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.
Kasia Staszewska
Biography
Kasia viene apoyando la labor de los movimientos feministas y por la justicia social desde hace 15 años. Antes de sumarse a AWID, se lideró las acciones de política e incidencia ActionAid y Amnistía Internacional, a la vez que participaba en procesos de organización feministas y de distintas agrupaciones por la justicia social en Polonia, en pro del acceso al aborto y contra la violencia en las fronteras europeas. Es una apasionada del financiamiento para la movilizaciónfeminista en toda su audacia, riqueza y diversidad. Reparte su tiempo entre Varsovia y su aldea comunitaria de trabajo artesanal en el bosque. Le encanta tomar saunas y adora con locura a su perro Wooly.
Position
Gerente, Financiamiento de los Movimientos Feministas
Add to stories
Off
CFA 2023 - breadcrumbs Menu _ awid-forum-en
Snippet Kohl - Table ronde | Terres et territoires libérés : une conversation panafricaine
avec Luam Kidane, Mariama Sonko, Yannia Sofia Garzon Valencia et Nomsa Sizani.
Nelly Amaya
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.
Faye Macheke
Biography
Faye est une féministe panafricaine passionnée, engagée dans les mouvements pour les droits des femmes, la justice raciale, les droits des migrant·e·s et des travailleur·euse·s, et la justice environnementale. Son activisme s'appuie sur l'héritage de la lutte contre l'apartheid en Afrique du Sud et de ses suites au Zimbabwe.
En 2019, Faye rejoint l'AWID en tant que Directrice des Finances, des Opérations et du Développement. Elle s’est efforcée de garantir que l’AWID respecte les principes et les valeurs féministes dans toutes ses opérations. Elle y apporte plus de 20 années d’expérience en leadership féministe, en stratégie et autres aspects du développement organisationnel et financier.
Faye est membre engagée du conseil d'administration de Urgent Action Fund-Africa et d'autres organisations de défense des droits des femmes. Auparavant, elle a occupé des postes de responsable des finances et des opérations chez Pediatric Adolescent Treatment for Africa et JASS - Just Associates Inc. en Afrique australe. Elle a également occupé des postes de direction chez International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) en Afrique centrale et australe. Elle est titulaire d'une licence en sciences comptables de l'Université d'Afrique du Sud ainsi que membre du Southern African Institute for Business Accountants.
Position
Codirectrice Exécutive
Add to stories
Off
Clone of CFA 2023 - Intro 2 - EN
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” - Maya Angelou
AWID Forum
Welcome to the 15th International AWID Forum!
The International AWID Forum is both a global community event and a space of radical personal transformation. A one-of-a-kind convening, the Forum brings together feminist, women’s rights, gender justice, LBTQI+ and allied movements, in all our diversity and humanity, to connect, heal and thrive. The Forum is a place where Global South feminists and historically marginalized communities take center stage, strategizing with each other and social justice movements, in order to shift power, make strategic alliances, and usher in a different, better world. When people come together on a global scale, as individuals and movements, we generate a sweeping force. Join us in Bangkok, Thailand in 2024. Come dance, sing, dream and rise with us.
Chinelo Onwualu Snippet FR
Chinelo Onwualu est une conseillère éditoriale ayant près de 10 ans d’expérience dans l’élaboration de communications stratégiques pour des organisations à but non lucratif du monde entier. Elle a notamment travaillé pour ActionAid Nigeria, The BBC World Trust, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) et l’AWID. Elle est titulaire d’un master en journalisme de l’Université de Syracuse et a travaillé comme rédactrice, éditrice et chercheuse au Nigeria, au Canada et aux États-Unis. Elle est également l’éditrice non-romanesque du magazine Anathema et cofondatrice d’Omenana, un magazine de fiction spéculative africaine. Ses nouvelles ont été publiées dans plusieurs anthologies primées et elle a été nominée pour les British Science Fiction Awards, les Nommo Awards for African Speculative Fiction et le Short Story Day Africa Award. Elle est originaire du Nigeria mais vit à Toronto avec son compagnon et son enfant.
Lesbia Yaneth Urquía Urquía
Snippet - COP30 - Radical Democracy - EN
Démocratie radicale et justice climatique - le débat absent de la COP30
Modèles de gouvernance alternative comme moyens de sortir de la crise climatique.
📅 Mercredi 12 novembre 2025
📍 Seminario Mar Nossa Sra Da Assunção, Pará, Brésil
Site web en anglais