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.

Related Content

Snippet FEA Sopo Japaridze (ES)

Tenemos el placer de presentarte a Sopo Japaridze, feminista feroz, líder sindical y presidenta del sindicato independiente de servicios Red de Solidaridad.

Dejó el país cuando era muy joven para ir a los Estados Unidos, donde se volvió políticamente muy activa como organizadora laboral. Siempre mantuvo a Georgia en su mente todo ese tiempo, hasta que un día, dos décadas después, decidió regresar.

La confederación sindical georgiana existente en este momento era menos que ideal. Entonces, equipada con sus habilidades, conocimientos y experiencia en organización laboral, Sopo regresó a Georgia y formó su propio sindicato.

También es una apasionada investigadora y escritora. Estudia relaciones laborales y sociales, escribe para varias publicaciones y es una de lxs editorxs de Left East, una plataforma analítica de Europa del Este. También cofundó la iniciativa y el podcast de historia política, Reimaginando la Georgia soviética, donde explora las complejidades y los matices de las experiencias del país bajo la Unión Soviética, para entender mejor su pasado y construir un futuro mejor.

Reason to join 4

Piensa en grande. Gracias a nuestro alcance internacional, podemos combinar el trabajo analítico con herramientas políticas y prácticas para la incidencia y la transformación, con el objeto de promover la causa de los movimientos feministas en todos los ámbitos.

จะมีมาตราการด้านการเข้าถึงสำหรับฟอรัมที่จะเกิดขึ้นหรือไม่

ตอบแบบสั้นคือ ใช่! AWID กำลังทำงานร่วมกับคณะกรรมการการเข้าถึงเพื่อให้มั่นใจว่าฟอรัมนี้จะสามารถเข้าถึงได้มากที่สุดเท่าที่จะเป็นไปได้ เรากำลังทำการตรวจสอบการเข้าถึงสถานที่จัดงานฟอรัม โรงแรมโดยรอบ และการคมนาคมขนส่ง ข้อมูลโดยละเอียดเกี่ยวกับการช่วยการเข้าถึงของ AWID ฟอรัม จะถูกอัปเดทเนื้อหาที่นี่ก่อนที่จะเปิดการลงทะเบียน ในระหว่างนี้ หากมีคำถามใดๆ โปรดติดต่อเรา

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

AWID spent close to two years working to identify a Forum location in the Asia Pacific region (the Forum location rotates regions).

Building on initial desk research and consultations with allies that led us to rule out many other options in the region, we organized a thorough round of site visits to Nepal, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and (later) Taiwan. 

Each site visit included not just scoping the logistical infrastructure but meeting with local feminist groups and activists to better understand the context, and their sense of potential opportunities and risks of an AWID forum in their context.

In our site visits, we found incredibly vibrant, diverse local feminist movements.

They often expressed conflicted feelings about the opportunities and risk that the visibility of an event like the Forum could bring to them. In one, during the first 30 minutes of our meeting we heard unanimously from the activists gathered that an AWID Forum would be subject to huge backlash, that LGBTQ rights were a particular political hot-button and that fundamentalist groups would turn out in full force to interrupt the event. When our response was “ok, then you don’t feel it’s a good idea”, again the unanimous response was “of course it is, we want to change the narrative!”.

It was difficult to hear and see in some of these places how many feminist activists wanted to leverage the opportunity of a visible big event and were prepared to face the local risks; but our considerations as hosts of close to 2,000 people from around the world impose a different calculation of risk and feasibility.

We also grappled with questions of what it means to organize a feminist forum that is aligned to principles around inclusion, reciprocity and self-determination, when state policy and practice is usually directly counter to that (although officials in the ministries of Tourism work very hard to smooth that over).

We weighed considerations of infrastructure, with potential opportunity to tip momentum on some national level feminist agendas, and national political context.

In many of these places, monitoring the context felt like an exercise on a pendulum that could swing from open and safe for feminist debates in one moment to stark repression and xenophobia the next, sacrificing feminist priorities as political bargaining chips to pacify right wing, anti-rights forces.

The process has been a sobering reflection on the incredibly challenging context for women’s rights and gender justice activism globally.

Our challenges in Asia Pacific led us to consider: would it be easier if we moved the Forum to a different region? Yet today, we would not be able to organize an AWID Forum in Istanbul as we did in 2012; nor would we be able to do one in Brazil as we did in 2016.

With all of this complexity, AWID selected Taipei as the Forum location because:

  • It 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.

In organizing the AWID Forum, we are trying to build and hold space as best we can for the diverse expressions of solidarity, outrage, hope and inspiration that are at the core of feminist movements.

At this moment, 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.

The fact is, there is no ideal location in today’s world for a Forum that centers Feminist Realities. Wherever we go, we must build that space together!

Snippet FEA Criminalization of sex workers (FR)

La plupart des États membres de l'Union européenne ont des lois et des pratiques qui pénalisent ou contrôlent de facon inacceptable le travail des travailleur·euses du sexe. La criminalisation des travailleur·euses du sexe et/ou de leurs client·e·s ne fait que contribuer à accroître la vulnérabilité des travailleur·euses du sexe, qui sont déjà confronté·es quotidiennement à la stigmatisation, à la discrimination et à l'exclusion de l'État et de la société, en particulier les femmes, les personnes trans, les migrant·e·s et/ou les travailleur·euses racialisés. En Espagne par exemple, le gouvernement essaie actuellement de faire passer une Loi pour l'Abolition de la Prostitution, ce qui entraînera plus de marginalisation et de violence. Venez entendre les histoires de travailleuses du sexe et d'organisatrices syndicales qui luttent pour décriminaliser le travail du sexe et promouvoir les droits et conditions de travail décentes pour les travailleur·euses du sexe.

Our values - Human Rights

Droits humains

nous croyons en une application complète du principe des droits, y compris ceux établis dans les lois internationales, et affirmons la conviction que tous les droits humains sont indissociables, interdépendants et indivisibles. Nous nous engageons à œuvrer pour l'éradication de toutes les discriminations fondées sur le genre, la sexualité, la religion, l'âge, les capacités, l'ethnicité, la race, la nationalité, la classe sociale ou d'autres facteurs.

Snippet - CSW68 Intro

Reclaiming Feminist Power

This year, we, alongside feminist activists from across the world, will be at CSW68 in New York, to challenge capitalist, neoliberal narratives and false solutions around poverty, development and financing. Through in-person events, lives on our socials, an exhibit booth and more; we are showing up to convene, amplify and support the voices and participation of our members, partners and allies.

Learn more about our program this year below.

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Вместе под Зонтом: Феминизм и Права Секс-Работниц/ков

Ассоциация «Права женщин в развитии» и Фонд «Красный зонт» приглашают Вас принять участие  в диспуте-семинаре на тему феминизма и секс-работы.


Вместе под Зонтом: Феминизм и Права Секс-Работниц/ков

10 ноября 2020г. в 14:00 по UTC (сверьтесь с вашим местным временем)

В рамках данной сессии, сотрудницы (-ки) Ассоциации «Права женщин в развитии» будут делиться своими знаниями и опытом работы в условиях виртуального общения. Мы поговорим об основных сложностях и интерсекциональности в работе секс-работниц (-ков) и феминисток (-ов).

Подумайте над своими вопросами!

Для участниц (-ков) будет предоставлен перевод на испанский, французский и русский языки.


Спикеры

Кей Тхи Вин 

Кей Тхи является секс-работницей и с 2007 года лоббирует вопросы здоровья и прав секс-работниц (-ков). За последние девять лет она участвовала в программе по предупреждению ВИЧ среди женщин, работающих в секс-индустрии, и мужчин, имеющих половые связи с мужчинами, в Мьянме. В настоящее время Кей Тхи является региональной координаторкой  Азиатско-Тихоокеанской сети секс-работниц (-ков) (АТССР) и работает с партнерами по всему Азиатско-Тихоокеанскому региону.

Гитанджали Мишра 

Гитанджали является соосновательницей и исполнительной директоркой организации CREA (Нью-Дели). Она феминистка и любительница кино, работала по вопросам сексуальности, репродуктивного здоровья, гендера, прав человека и насилия в отношении женщин на различных уровнях - в качестве активистки, грантодательницы и на директивном уровне.

Вера Родригез

Вера присоединилась к фонду «Красный зонт» в августе 2017 года в качестве сотрудницы по программам. Вера родилась в Испании, где окончила факультет журналистики Университета Сан Пабло в Валенсии. Последние 7 лет она является активной участницей организации «X-talk», очень вовлечена в работу Коллектива Стриптизерш (-ров) Восточного Лондона, а также является участницей съемочной группы «Опера секс-работниц (-ков)».

Заинтересованы в том, чтобы вскоре стать частью этого диспут-семинарa и других обучения?!

Присоединяйтесь сейчас как участница/участник!

Snippet FEA Union Otras Photo 4 (EN)

Photo of a group of people at night demonstrating.

Membership why page - Angelina Mootoo quote

"Joining AWID, I hope I can help in the mobilization of the feminist movement. Not just for the privileged women, but for ALL women and feminist activists."

- Angelina Mootoo, Intersectional and Caribbean Feminist, Guyana/USA

Snippet - CSW68 - Responding to Anti-rights - FR

Répondre aux évolutions antidroits

in Multilateral and Regional Spaces

✉️ Sur invitation uniquement
📅Mardi 12 mars
🕒14 h - 15 h 30 HNE

Organisateur : Consortium de l'Observatoire sur l'universalité des droits (OURs)
🏢Blue Gallery, 222 E 46th St, New York

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