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

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.

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هل ستكون هناك تدابير لتسهيل الوصول في المنتدى؟

باختصار، نعم! تعمل جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية حاليًا مع لجنة إمكانية الوصول لضمان إمكانية الوصول إلى المنتدى قدر الإمكان. نحن نجري أيضًا تدقيقًا لإمكانية الوصول إلى مكان انعقاد المنتدى والفنادق المحيطة ووسائل النقل. ستكون المعلومات التفصيلية حول إمكانية الوصول في منتدى جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية متاحة في هذا القسم قبل فتح التسجيل. وفي الوقت نفسه، لأية أسئلة يرجى الاتصال بنا.

Snippet SM CTA_Fest (ES)

Síguenos en las redes sociales y comparte sus momentos favoritos de nuestro festival:

Facebook: @AWIDWomensRights
Instagram: @awidwomensrights
Twitter ES: @awid_es
LinkedIn: Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)

2014: Intergovernmental preparatory process for the 3rd FfD Conference is launched

Launch of the Intergovernmental preparatory process for the 3rd Financing for Development Conference, October 2014

  • A preparatory process, co-facilitated by Ambassador George Wilfred Talbot of Guyana and Ambassador Geir O. Pedersen of Norway, was put in place to lead discussions ahead of the 3rd FfD conference to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July 2015.
  • As part of the preparations, two rounds of substantive informal sessions were held at the UN headquarters in New York to provide input to the drafting sessions of the outcome document.
  • The WWG on FfD was re-activated with the aim of bringing feminist and women’s rights perspectives to the discussions and deliberations ahead of and during the 3rd International FfD Conference. AWID, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) and the Feminist Task Force (FTF) are currently acting as co-facilitators of the group.
  • The WWG on FfD’s submitted two oral statements during the first round, and written input to the second round of substantive informal sessions, which highlighted that gender inequality was not visible, nor was the inclusion of other types of discrimination and inequalities. The WWG’s submission highlights gender power relations and the intersections with other categories such as race, disability, ethnicity, age, wealth and sexual identity, which underpin the unequal distribution of opportunities and resources in societies around the world.
  • Civil society organizations raised concerns about the space for their engagement in the two substantive informal sessions, including the risk that civil society space to engage in negotiations on the outcome document in January 2015 might be constricted. 

Snippet - CSW68 Intro _Es

Recuperar Nuestro Poder Feminista

Este año, junto con activistas feministas de todo el mundo, estaremos en la CSW68 en Nueva York .Estaremos presentes para desafiar las narrativas capitalistas y neoliberales y las falsas soluciones en torno a la pobreza, el desarrollo y la financiación. A través de eventos presenciales, transmisiones en vivo en nuestras redes sociales, un stand de exhibición y más. Nos presentamos para convocar, amplificar y apoyar las voces y la participación de nuestra membresía y aliades.

Conoce más sobre nuestro programa para este año a continuación.

Snippet Video C&H (FR)

Junio 2015

Sesiones adicionales para redactar el Documento Final de Adís Abeba

  • Del 1 al 5 de junio de 2015 se realizaron sesiones adicionales para continuar avanzando en la redacción del Documento Final.
  • Del 15 al 19 de junio, en la sede de la ONU tuvo lugar la ya planificada Tercera Sesión Redactora del Documento Final de la Conferencia.

Para saber más sobre este proceso, puedes consultar la CSO Hitchhiker’s Guide (en inglés).

Snippet - CSW68 - AWID In-Person Exhibit Booth - EN

AWID In-Person Exhibit Booth

📅Tuesday, March 12
🕒 9am-5pm EST

🏢Armenian Cultural Center, 630 2nd Ave. corner of 35th St

Snippet FEA Tanta Gente sem casa (EN)

A graphic with green feather patterns on a beige background, text on it in Portuguese says “Tanta Gente sem casa. tanta casa sem gente” which means "So many people without a home,  so many homes without people"

So many people without a home, so many homes without people.

Quels sont quelques-uns des débats et des sujets controversés ?

Snippet - CSW68 - Follow Socials - ES

¡Síguenos!

A través de eventos presenciales, lives en nuestras redes sociales, un stand de exhibición y más. Nos presentamos para convocar, amplificar y apoyar las voces y la participación de nuestra membresía y aliades.

Juntes vamos a Reclamar Nuestro Poder Feminista al elevar las alternativas y visiones feministas en torno a economías que centran los sistemas colectivos de cuidado y nutren tanto al planeta como a las personas.

¡Síguenos en las redes sociales para más detalles sobre cómo participar! Sea parte de las conversaciones utilizando los hashtags #AWIDatCSW68 y #RecuperarNuestroPoderFeminista

Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X (Twitter)

Snippet FEA Introducing Carmen Silva Ferreira (ES)

Tenemos el placer enorme de presentarte a Carmen Silva Ferreira.

Nació en Bahía, la parte noreste de Brasil. Es inmigrante, activista social y madre de 8 hijxs.

Carmen experimentó la falta de vivienda a los 35 años, después de migrar sola a São Paulo. Esto la llevó a convertirse en una feroz defensora de las comunidades vulnerables, marginalizadas e invisibilizadas más afectadas por la crisis de la vivienda. Eventualmente se convirtió en una de las fundadoras del MSTC en 2000.

Como organizadora política visionaria y líder actual del MSTC, el trabajo de Carmen ha puesto al descubierto la crisis de la vivienda de la ciudad y ha inspirado a otrxs sobre diferentes formas de organizar y gestionar las ocupaciones.

Se mantuvo firme al frente de varias ocupaciones. Uno de ellos es la Ocupación 9 de Julho, que ahora sirve como escenario para la democracia directa y un espacio donde todxs pueden ser cuidadxs, escuchadxs, apreciadxs y trabajar juntos.

Carmen ha sido celebrada durante mucho tiempo por su audacia al devolver la vida a edificios abandonados en el corazón de São Paulo.

¡Si quieres saber más sobre Carmen, puedes seguir su cuenta de Instagram!