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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

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

¿En qué temas trabaja AWID?

AWID trabaja para lograr la justicia de género y la realización de los derechos de las mujeres de todo el mundo.

Trabajamos para fortalecer las voces y el impacto de lxs activistas, organizaciones y movimientos por los derechos de las mujeres.

Las áreas prioritarias de AWID se relacionan con temas estrechamente vinculados con tendencias globales dominantes. Estos temas reflejan los crecientes desafíos que afectan negativamente a los derechos de las mujeres en todo el mundo.

  • Justicia Económica
  • Recursos para los Derechos de las Mujeres
  • Desafiando los Fundamentalismos Religiosos
  • Defensoras de los Derechos Humanos
  • Activismo Joven Feminista

Más información sobre las áreas prioritarias de AWID

Derechos en riesgo: Hora de actuar (Informe OURS 2021)

Informe:

Derechos en riesgo: Hora de actuar – Informe sobre tendencias 2021

El informe más reciente del Observatorio sobre la Universalidad de los Derechos desarma discursos como los de la «ideología de género», el «genocidio prenatal» y el «imperialismo cultural». También investiga los flujos de fondos para CitizenGo, la Alliance Defending Freedom/ADF Internacional y otros grupos anti-derechos. En este informe también se puede encontrar un análisis de los sistemas regionales de derechos humanos así como de las estrategias exitosas y los logros feministas.

Obtén el informe

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Registration status:

Search for funders based on their requirements for groups to be registered.

My group or I were supposed to participate in the Forum that was canceled in the pandemic, how can I be engaged in this Forum?

We will reconnect with past partners, to ensure past efforts are honored. If your contact information has changed since the last Forum process, please update us so that we may reach you.

Produisez-vous un rapport annuel ?

Oui. Nous produisons un rapport annuels.

Tous nos rapports annuels sont accessibles sur notre site web.

Voir les rapport annuels de l'AWID

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Acerca de la encuesta

  • GLOBAL Y DIVERSA: Reflexiona acerca de las realidades de la dotación de recursos entre las organizaciones feministas a escala mundial y desglosada por regiones.
  • CONTEXTUALIZADA: Se centra en las voces, perspectivas y experiencias de los movimientos feministas en toda su riqueza, audacia y diversidad, en sus respectivos contextos.
  • DE CREACIÓN CONJUNTA: Desarrollada y puesta a prueba en consulta estrecha con lxs afiliadxs y movimientos aliados de AWID.
  • COMPLEMENTARIA: Contribuye a la evidencia disponible acerca del estado de la dotación de recursos para las organizaciones feministas, por los derechos de las mujeres y la justicia de género por parte de activistas, donantes feministas y aliadxs, y la difunde.
  • PLURILINGÜE: Disponible en árabe, español, francés, inglés, portugués y ruso.
  • CONFIDENCIAL: Damos prioridad a tu privacidad y anonimato. En ningún caso, AWID divulgará información acerca de una organización en particular ni exhibirá información que permita identificar a una organización por su ubicación o características. Los detalles de nuestra política de privacidad se encuentran disponibles aquí.
  • ACCESIBLE: Es accesible a personas con distinto grado de capacidades auditivas, de movilidad, visuales y cognitivas, y responderla toma aproximadamente 30 minutos.
  • REPLICABLE: Es susceptible de ser replicada por los movimientos en sus respectivos contextos; las herramientas y los conjuntos de datos de la encuesta estarán disponibles al público como forma de apoyar una mayor investigación y la promoción colectiva.

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Para preguntas adicionales, por favor utiliza nuestro formulario de contacto. ¡Continuaremos actualizando este documento en base a las consultas que vayamos recibiendo de ustedes!

I am writing a research paper. Can AWID help me?

AWID provides a wealth of resources to help your research.

We invite you to explore the Priority Areas and Stay Informed sections of our website, or use the search function to find information about the specific topics you are researching.

We particularly recommend that you explore our toolkit “Where is the Money for Women’s Rights” (WITM Toolkit). This is a Do-it-Yourself Research methodology to support individuals and organizations who want to conduct their own research on funding trends for a particular region, issue or population by adapting AWID’s research methodology.

Explore the WITM Toolkit

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New

Online & Hybrid

As an online participant, you can facilitate activities, connect and converse with others, and experience first-hand the creativity, art and celebration of the AWID Forum. Participants connecting online will enjoy a rich and diverse program, from workshops and discussions to healing activities and musical performances. Some activities will focus on connection among online participants, and others will be truly hybrid, focusing on connection and interaction among online participants and those in Bangkok.

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Snippet Kohl - Intro EN

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Feminists have long asserted that the personal is political. Crear, Resister, Transform Festival created spaces for feminists to discuss issues around body, gender and sexualities, and explored the interconnections of how these issues are both deeply embodied experiences, and simultaneously a terrain where rights are constantly disputed and at risk in society.

The power of feminist movements lie in how we organise and take coordinated action, not only amongst our own communities and movements, but with allied social justice causes and groups. This space provided opportunities for movements to share and strengthen organizing and tactical strategies with each other.

The COVID-19 global health pandemic has made the failures of neo-liberal capitalism even more apparent than ever before, exposed the cracks in our systems, and highlighted the need and opportunities to build new realities. A feminist economic and social recovery requires all of us to make it together. This journal edition in partnership with Kohl: a Journal for Body and Gender Research, will explore feminist solutions, proposals and realities for transforming our current world, our bodies and our sexualities.

Explore the articles online or
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