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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

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Is my participation confidential?

Absolutely. Your responses will be deleted at the end of data processing and analysis, and used for research purposes only. Data will NEVER be shared outside of AWID and will be only processed by AWID staff and consultants working on the WITM project. We prioritize your privacy and security. Our detailed privacy policy is available here.

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My question isn’t answered here

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For additional questions, please use our contact form, and select “14th AWID Forum" from the dropdown menu.

Contact us

Activism in the Middle East and North Africa

In our 2015 Online Tribute we honor five Women Human Rights Defenders murdered in the Middle East and North Africa region. These defenders worked for women and civil rights as lawyers and activists. Their death highlights the often dangerous and difficult working conditions in their respective countries. Please join AWID in honoring these women, their activism and legacy by sharing the memes below with your colleagues, networks and friends and by using the hashtags #WHRDTribute and 16Days.

Please click on each image below to see a larger version and download as a file

 

¿Cuántas respuestas a la encuesta desean recoger?

Nuestra meta es alcanzar un total de 200 respuestas, prácticamente el doble de la cifra registrada en la última encuesta ¿Dónde está el dinero? de 2011.

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ADVOCACY

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To influence decision makers and promote more equitable access to land for women working in agriculture

Why did AWID choose Taipei as the location for the Forum?

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We see Taipei as the location in the Asia Pacific region that will best allow us to build that safe and rebelious space for our global feminist community.

Taipei offers a moderate degree of stability and safety for the diversity of Forum participants we will convene. It also has strong logistical capacities, and is accessible for many travellers (with a facilitated e-visa process for international conferences).

The local feminist movement is welcoming of the Forum and keen to engage with feminists from across the globe.

Read more about our considerations when choosing Taipei

Aquellas que dieron impulso a los movimientos

En el transcurso de sus vidas, 6 defensoras de derechos humanos de Europa occidental, Oriental, Central y del Sudeste investigaron, hicieron campañas y participaron en los movimientos de la paz y los derechos de las mujeres a través del activismo político y social o mediante la danza. Agradecemos su legado. Únete a AWID para honrar a estas defensoras de derechos humanos, su trabajo y su legado, compartiendo los memes aquí incluidos con tus colegas, amistades y redes; y tuiteando las etiquetas #WHRDTribute y #16Días. 

Por favor, haz click en cada imagen de abajo para ver una versión más grande y para descargar como un archivo.  

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Foire aux questions - FAQ

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¡INVOLÚCRATE!

Sigue a Nous Sommes la Solution en
Facebook y apoya su trabajo haciendo una donación aquí.

Llamados a la participación

¿Qué significado tiene para ti el Día de la Mujer?

1. Concentra los recursos

En esta sección se enumeran los principales recursos con los que AWID te recomienda contar para poder realizar la investigación WITM.

En esta sección

Personas que se necesitan

  • 1 o más personas que coordine/n la implementación de la metodología de investigación en general y garanticen que todos los componentes se completen en tiempo y forma (Secciones 2-11);
  • 1 o más personas que formule/n los principales objetivos de la investigación y las preguntas-guía;
  • 1 o más personas que pula/n e implemente/n la metodología de investigación; esto incluye recoger la información;
  • 1 o más personas que realice/n análisis cualitativos y cuantitativos relevantes a partir de la información recogida;
  • 1 o más personas que documente/n los resultados de la investigación y los preparen para presentarlos a la o las audiencias a las que quieras llegar con el mensaje;
  • 1 o más personas que edite/n los productos finales;
  • 1 o más personas que difundan la investigación y hagan incidencia utilizando los resultados.

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Gastos posibles

  1. Salarios del personal de la organización y/o personas externas;
  2. Programas para analizar grandes volúmenes de datos si esto va a estar a cargo de la propia organización.
    Las opciones son:
    - SPSS
    - Stata
    - R (gratis)
  3. Costos de producir publicaciones y otros productos de la investigación;
  4. Incentivos que quienes participen en la investigación pueden recibir por haber respondido la encuesta (optativo);
  5. Incentivos para las personas que sean consultadas acerca de la investigación (optativo).

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Duración estimada

  • Para el proceso de investigación: 6 a 18 meses, según el volumen de información y la capacidad del personal;
  • Para la incidencia: 1-2 años, según las metas la tu organización.

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Recursos necesarios

  • Lista de organizaciones, donantes y activistas a quienes se puede consultar;
  • Lista de espacios virtuales y eventos/redes donde difundir la encuesta y presentar sus resultados;
  • Lista de donantes, activistas y organizaciones por los derechos de las mujeres a quienes entrevistar;
  • Preguntas para las entrevistas preparadas por anticipado;
  • Lista de publicaciones a utilizar para la investigación secundaria.

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Recursos con que cuento

Herramientas en línea

Una vez que hayas reunido todos estos recursos, podrás calcular los costos de la investigación utilizando nuestra Planilla «¿Estoy listx?»

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Paso previo

Antes de comenzar

Paso siguiente

2. Prepara el marco para la investigación