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
ฉันจำเป็นต้องเป็นสมาชิก AWID หรือไม่เพื่อเข้าร่วมฟอรัม
ไม่ คุณไม่จะเป็นต้องเป็นสมาชิก AWID เพื่อที่จะเข้าร่วมฟอรัม แต่สมาชิก AWID จะได้รับส่วนลดค่าลงทะเบียนรวมถึงสิทธิประโยชน์อื่นๆ เรียนรู้เพิ่มเติมเกี่ยวกับการเป็นสมาชิก AWID
Snippet "un"Inclusive Feminism_Fest (FR)
Féminisme "non"Inclusif :
Les filles sans voix dans le mouvement féministe haïtien
Naike Ledan
Semi Kaefra Alisha Fermond, Trans Rights Activist ACIFVH
Natalie Desrosiers
Fédorah Pierre-Louis

I am interested in working for women’s rights. How do I get started?
บุคคลหรือองค์กรสามารถส่งใบสมัครหลายกิจกรรมได้หรือไม่
คุณสามารถส่งกิจกรรมได้มากถึง 2 กิจกรรมในฐานะผู้จัดกิจกรรม และคุณยังสามารถเป็นผู้ร่วมจัดในการส่งกิจกรรมของผู้อื่นได้
Festival Film Club: Leitis in Waiting & Latin/Central American Program
In this selection of films you will find the voices of filmmakers who are not content with simply recording the feminist realities that palpitate in every corner of this vast and diverse territory. These are works that from their very conceptualization are questioning for what, by whom, and how films and videos are made. They understand film to be an instrument of struggle, something more than images to be enjoyed on a screen. These are individual or collective filmmakers who see film and video making as an instrument to promote discussion, open a debate, and thus serve as a resource for popular and feminist pedagogies.
Soy una mujer defensora de los derechos humanos (MDDH) y actualmente me encuentro bajo amenaza. ¿A dónde puedo acudir por ayuda?
Mina Agarwala
วิทยากรหรือรายละเอียดกิจกรรมต่างๆสามารถเปลี่ยนแปลงในปี 2567
ได้หรือไม่ เพราะได้มีการเสนอกิจกรรมเป็นเวลาเกือบ 1 ปีก่อนกิจกรรมจริง
แน่นอน! ในตอนนี้แบบฟอร์มสำหรับเสนอกิจกรรมได้ให้ระบุชื่อวิทยากร แม้วิทยากรเหล่านั้นอาจยังไม่ได้ยืนยันเข้าร่วมเราเข้าใจว่าการเปลี่ยนแปลงอาจเกิดขึ้นได้ภายในระยะเวลา 1 ปี
Sandhya Rao
Do You Want To Organize Your Own Festival?
Do You Want To Organize Your Own Festival?
Check Out our Super Short Guide To Organising Global Feminist Festivals And Online Events!
2008: la Conférence internationale de Doha se déroule avec des résultats limités
Conférence internationale de suivi sur le financement du développement, Doha, Qatar
- La Conférence de Doha visait à dresser le bilan de la mise en œuvre du Consensus de Monterrey. Les six domaines du financement du développement y ont été examinés mais les progrès tangibles constatés ont été peu nombreux.
- Si la Conférence de Doha a permis d’aller au-delà de Monterrey du point de vue de l’égalité des genres, ses résultats restent insuffisants dans ce domaine. Dans une déclaration , le WWG on FfD (Groupe de travail des femmes sur le FdD) a souligné le fait que les engagements en faveur de l’égalité des genres figurant dans la Déclaration de Doha ne prendraient sens que si les questions systémiques qui sous-tendent la pauvreté et l’inégale répartition du pouvoir et des ressources dans l’économie politique mondiale étaient fermement traitées.
- À Doha, un forum de la société civile s’est tenu en parallèle à la conférence principale. Rassemblée au sein du Groupe des ONG de Doha pour le financement du développement (Doha NGO Group on Financing for Development), la société civile a exigé des changements économiques structurels ainsi que des politiques qui placent les droits des peuples au premier rang de leur liste de priorités et qui respectent et promeuvent les droit humains.
Jeanne d´Arc Mihigo
CFA FAQ - Other questions - Thai
คำถามอื่นๆ
Fatima Mernissi
Snippet FEA Intro (ES)
Ven a conocer las economías feministas que AMAMOS.
Cuando hablamos de economía, hablamos de cómo organizamos nuestras sociedades, nuestros hogares y lugares de trabajo. ¿Cómo vivimos juntxs? ¿Cómo producimos alimentos, organizamos los cuidados y aseguramos nuestra salud? La economía también se trata de cómo accedemos y gestionamos recursos, cómo nos relacionamos con otras personas, con nosotrxs mismxs y con la Naturaleza.
Lxs feministas han estado construyendo alternativas económicas a los sistemas capitalistas explotadores durante siglos. Estas alternativas existen en el aquí y el ahora, y son los pilares de los mundos más justos y más sostenibles que necesitamos y merecemos.
Nos emociona compartir contigo una muestra de alternativas económicas feministas, con colectivos inspiradores de todo el mundo.
January 2015: 1st drafting session on the outcome document for the 3rd FfD Conference
The 1st drafting session on the outcome document for the 3rd Financing for Development Conference
- In January 2015 a series of drafting sessions towards the final outcome document started at UN headquarters in New York.
- Prior to the first drafting session the co-facilitators of the Addis conference preparatory process presented an elements paper for the so-called “zero-draft” outcome document, as the basis for the intergovernmental negotiations of the outcome document.
- During the sessions, women’s rights organisations emphasised the need to treat the FfD and means of implementations (MOI) under the post 2015 processes separately, because FfD provides a unique opportunity for states to address the structural causes of inequality.
Roberta Galler
Snippet - CSW68 Intro - FR
Récuperer Notre Pouvoir Féministe
Cette année, aux côtés de militant.e.s féministes du monde entier, nous serons à la CSW68 à New York. Nous serons là pour contester les discours capitalistes et néolibéraux et les fausses solutions autour de la pauvreté, du développement et de la finance. À travers des événements en présentiel, des lives sur nos réseaux sociaux, un stand d'exposition et bien plus encore, nous visons à nous rassembler, amplifier et soutenir les voix et la participation de nos membres et allié.e.s.
Apprenez-en davantage sur notre programme cette année ci-dessous.