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

Read in: English French Spanish

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 Metzineres activists (FR)

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

 

Des militants de Metzineres en action

Feminist Realities Magazine

Main image
_frmagazine-tile-homeen.jpeg
Description
Feminist realities are the living, breathing examples of the worlds we know are possible.
Add to stories
On

Faut-il être membre de l’AWID pour participer au Forum ?

Read in: English French Spanish

Non, vous n’avez pas besoin d’être membre de l’AWID pour participer, mais les membres de l’AWID bénéficient d’une réduction sur les frais d’inscription ainsi qu’un certain nombre d’autres avantages.

Apprenez-en davantage sur la façon de devenir membre de l’AWID

Snippet - WITM Why now_col 2 - FR

Le financement des mouvements féministes est indispensable à la mise en place d’une présence plus juste et pacifique et d’un avenir libéré. Au cours de la dernière décennie, les bailleurs de fonds se sont engagés à verser bien plus d’argent en faveur de l’égalité des genres, mais 1 % seulement des financements philanthropiques et de développement a réellement été destiné à financer directement les changements sociaux menés par des féministes (ressource en anglais).

Pour viser l’abondance, et rompre ce cycle d’insuffisance chronique, l’enquête WITM est une invitation pour les activistes féministes et défenseur·ses de la justice de genre à se lancer dans l’aventure de la collecte de données probantes et d’arguments en faveur de la mobilisation de davantage d’argent, de meilleure qualité, et de réappropriation du pouvoir au sein de l’écosystème actuel du financement. En solidarité avec les mouvements qui continuent à être invisibilisés, marginalisés et empêchés d’accéder à des financements de base, à long terme, flexibles et reposant sur la confiance, l’enquête WITM souligne l’état actuel de la mobilisation de ressources, remet en question les fausses solutions, et identifie les changements à opérer au sein des modèles de financement afin que les mouvements s’épanouissent et relèvent les défis complexes de notre époque.

Snippet FEA Get Involved 2 (EN)

While in Sao Paulo, Brazil, you can visit the Ocupação 9 de Julho and have a collaborative meal. You can buy their products in their online store from abroad.

Visit the Association of Afro-Descendant Women of the Northern Cauca’s online store where you can find beautiful handcrafted products.

There are several ways to support Metzineres: you can make a financial donation, donate materials and services, or propose a training course, workshop, or activity (for more information, see here).

Ma question ne trouve toujours pas de réponse dans cette liste

Read in: English French Spanish

Pour toute question sur le Forum, merci de nous contacter via notre formulaire de contact en choisissant « 14e Forum de l'AWID » comme sujet de votre message.

Contactez-nous

Snippet - WITM Articulate - EN

Articulate feminist visions, proposals and agendas for resourcing justice.

START THE SURVEY

Snippet FEA EoS The Ivy (EN)

An illustration of a vine with vine like leaves in neon with purple background

The Ivy
Community and neighborhood

Pourquoi l’AWID a-t-elle choisi de tenir le Forum à Taipei ?

Read in: English French Spanish

Taipei nous semble être l’emplacement de la région Asie-Pacifique qui nous permet au mieux de bâtir un espace sécurisé et désobéissant pour notre communauté féministe mondiale. 

Taipei offre un certain niveau de stabilité et de sécurité aux divers·es participant·e·s du Forum que nous voulons rassembler. La ville dispose aussi de capacités logistiques importantes, en plus d’être accessible pour beaucoup de voyageurs·ses (avec une facilitation de procédure de visa électronique pour les conférences internationales). 

Le mouvement féministe sur place est accueillant vis-à-vis du Forum et désire s’engager avec des féministes du monde entier.  

En savoir plus sur le choix de Taipei

Qui devrait participer à cette enquête?

Les groupes, organisations et mouvements qui travaillent spécifiquement, ou principalement, à la défense des droits des femmes et des filles, pour la justice de genre, pour la défense des droits des personnes LBTQI+ et des allié·es dans toutes les régions et à tous les niveaux, que ces structures soient récentes ou non.

Snippet FEA Ecofeminism (ES)

África del Oeste

NOUS SOMMES LA SOLUTION
Somos la Solución

 

ECOFEMINISMO:

El respeto por todo lo que nos rodea

Calls for Participation

Join our Webinar and eDiscussion on Self-Care and Collective Wellbeing

How do you define external funding?

External funding includes grants and other forms of funding from philanthropic foundations, governments, bilateral, multilateral or corporate funders and individual donors – from both within your country or abroad. It excludes resources that groups, organizations and/or movements generate autonomously such as, for example, membership fees, the voluntary contributions of staff, members and/or supporters, community fundraisers, venue hires or sale of services. For ease and clarity, definitions of the different types of funding as well as short descriptions of different donors are included in the survey.