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Protection of the Family

The Issue

Over the past few years, a troubling new trend at the international human rights level is being observed, where discourses on ‘protecting the family’ are being employed to defend violations committed against family members, to bolster and justify impunity, and to restrict equal rights within and to family life.

The campaign to "Protect the Family" is driven by ultra-conservative efforts to impose "traditional" and patriarchal interpretations of the family, and to move rights out of the hands of family members and into the institution of ‘the family’.

“Protection of the Family” efforts stem from:

  • rising traditionalism,
  • rising cultural, social and religious conservatism and
  • sentiment hostile to women’s human rights, sexual rights, child rights and the rights of persons with non-normative gender identities and sexual orientations.

Since 2014, a group of states have been operating as a bloc in human rights spaces under the name “Group of Friends of the Family”, and resolutions on “Protection of the Family” have been successfully passed every year since 2014.

This agenda has spread beyond the Human Rights Council. We have seen regressive language on “the family” being introduced at the Commission on the Status of Women, and attempts made to introduce it in negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals.


Our Approach

AWID works with partners and allies to jointly resist “Protection of the Family” and other regressive agendas, and to uphold the universality of human rights.

In response to the increased influence of regressive actors in human rights spaces, AWID joined allies to form the Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs).  OURs is a collaborative project that monitors, analyzes, and shares information on anti-rights initiatives like  “Protection of the Family”.

Rights at Risk, the first OURs report, charts a map of the actors making up the global anti-rights lobby, identifies their key discourses and strategies, and the effect they are having on our human rights.   

The report outlines “Protection of the Family” as an agenda that has fostered collaboration across a broad range of regressive actors at the UN.  It describes it as: “a strategic framework that houses “multiple patriarchal and anti-rights positions, where the framework, in turn, aims to justify and institutionalize these positions.”

 

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María Verónica Reina

María was recognized globally for her extraordinary leadership in the disability community.

She represented the International Disability and Development Consortium during the negotiation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2001-2006).

Her work was devoted to the implementation of the goal of the Convention - realization of universal human rights by, for and with persons with disabilities for an inclusive, accessible and sustainable world.

In her words, her leadership was about “...serving the disability community, starting with small tasks that others may not wish to do”.

She passed away on October 27, 2017 in her hometown of Rosario, Argentina.

Read more about María Verónica Reina in her own words 

 


 

María Verónica Reina, Argentina

¿Dónde y cuándo tendrá lugar el próximo Foro de AWID?

El 14o Foro internacional de AWID tendrá lugar del 20 al 23 de septiembre de 2021 en Taipéi, Taiwán.

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L’activisme au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique du Nord

Notre hommage en ligne met à l’honneur cinq défenseuses des droits humains assassinées au Moyen-Orient ou en Afrique du Nord. Ces défenseuses étaient avocates ou militantes et ont œuvré pour les droits des femmes ou pour les droits civils. Leur mort met en évidence les conditions de travail souvent difficiles et dangereuses dans leurs pays respectifs. Nous vous invitons à vous joindre à nous pour commémorer la vie, le travail et l’activisme de ces femmes. Faites circuler ces mèmes auprès de vos collègues et amis ainsi que dans vos réseaux et twittez en utilisant les hashtags #WHRDTribute et #16Jours.


S'il vous plaît cliquez sur chaque image ci-dessous pour voir une version plus grande et pour télécharger comme un fichier 

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Snippets FEA EoS The Cover (ES)

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La Cubierta
Cuidados y sanación

How can I access the survey?

The survey is available on KOBO, an open-source platform for collecting, managing, and visualizing data. To participate, simply click on the survey link here and follow the instructions to complete the survey. 

Asma Jahangir

Asma fue una destacada activista pakistaní por los derechos humanos, valiente crítica de la interferencia de los militares en la política, y firme defensora del estado de derecho.

Fue la fundadora y presidenta de la Human Rights Commission of Pakistan [Comisión de Derechos Humanos de Pakistán, un grupo independiente], y una de las administradoras del International Crisis Group. Obtuvo premios internacionales, y fue Relatora Especial de Naciones Unidas sobre derechos humanos y ejecuciones extrajudiciales.

Es recordada con afecto por sus colegas y amigxs de AWID

«Con su vida, Asma reescribió la historia que a muchas nos contaron, como mujeres. Asma cambió el mundo. Lo cambió en Pakistán, y lo cambió en nuestras imaginaciones.»

 


 

Asma Jahangir, Pakistan

WHRDs from Sub-Saharan Africa

In our 2015 Online Tribute to Women Human Rights Defenders No Longer With Us we are commemorating four women from Sub-Saharan Africa, three of whom were murdered due to their work and/or who they were in their gender identity and sexual orientation. Their deaths highlight the violence LGBT persons often face in the region and across the globe. 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

 

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L’Artisan·e
Art et créativité

¿La encuesta ¿Dónde está el dinero? es accesible para personas con discapacidades?

Sí, es accesible para personas con diverso grado de discapacidades auditivas, visuales, cognitivas y de movilidad.

Olivia Arévalo Lomas

Olivia était la cheffe spirituelle des peuples autochtones Shipibo Konibo.

Sage femme et grand-mère autochtone, elle était connue pour sa préservation de la médecine traditionnelle et des chants sacrés de son peuple (les íkaros). Olivia Arévalo était une défenseure engagée en faveur des droits culturels et environnementaux de son peuple. L’assassinat d’Olivia s’est produit dans un contexte de conflit territorial entre la communauté Shipibo et les entreprises qui souhaitent s’accaparer leurs terres pour cultiver de l’huile de palme.

Les membres de sa communauté ont déclaré: « Sa mort est une agression contre toute la communauté Shipibo. Elle était la mémoire vivante de son peuple ».

 


 

Olivia Arévalo Lomas, Peru

Research methology

Over eight years, we did four global surveys and built a research methodology.

In 2013, we published three global reports. These reports confirm that women’s rights organizations are doing the heavy lifting to advance women’s rights and gender equality by using diverse, creative and long-term strategies, all while being underfunded.

Our 2010 global survey showed that the collective income of 740 women’s organizations around the world totaled only USD 104 million. Compare this with Greenpeace International, one organization with a 2010 budget of USD 310 million1. Imagine the impact these groups could have if they were able to access all the financial resources they need and more?

AWID’s WITM research has catalyzed increased funding for women’s rights organizing. WITM research was a driving force behind the Catapult crowdfunding platform, which has raised USD 6.5 million for women’s rights. The Dutch Government cited WITM research as a reason for its unprecedented MDG 3 Fund of EU 82 million. WITM research has also led to the creation of several new funds: FRIDA – The Young Feminist Fund, the Indigenous Women’s Fund, Fundo Elas, the Mediterranean Women’s Fund and the Rita Fund.

Funding trends analyses

While the WITM research has shed important light on the global funding landscape, AWID and partners have identified the need to dig deeper, to analyze funding trends by region, population and issue. In response, organizations are now using AWID’s WITM research methodology to do their own funding trends analyses. For example, in November 2013, Kosova Women’s Network and Alter Habitus – Institute for Studies in Society and Culture published Where is the Money for Women’s Rights? A Kosovo Case Study.

At the same time, AWID continues to collaborate with partners in Where is the Money for Indigenous Women’s Rights (with International Indigenous Women’s Forum and International Funders for Indigenous Peoples) and our upcoming Where is the Money for Women’s Rights in Brazil? (with Fundo Elas).

Several organizations have also conducted their own independent funding trends research, deepening their understanding of the funding landscape and politics behind it. For example, the South Asian Women’s Fund was inspired by AWID’s WITM research to conduct funding trends reports for each country in South Asia, as well as a regional overview. Other examples of research outside of AWID include the collaboration between Open Society Foundations, Mama Cash, and the Red Umbrella Fund to produce the report Funding for Sex Workers Rights, and the first-ever survey on trans* and intersex funding by Global Action for Trans* Equality and American Jewish World Service.


Snippet FEA NSS has a vision of an Africa (FR)

Nous Sommes la Solution a une vision d'une Afrique où, solidairement, les femmes rurales impliquées dans la prise de décision peuvent cultiver, transformer, vendre et consommer les produits de l'agriculture familiale tout en préservant l'environnement, pour un développement harmonieux et durable”

Combien de temps faut-il pour répondre aux questions de l’enquête?

La durée est estimée à 30 minutes.

Carmen Griffiths

Carmen was the Head of the Construction Resource and Development Collective (CRDC) and was instrumental in supporting women’s involvement in the construction industry in Jamaica.

She also worked on issues of disaster preparedness for rural and urban women. She worked closely with women (especially single mothers) teaching them how to use hurricane straps and other technology to secure their homes. She worked in the area of water and sanitation and was a strong advocate for sustainable environmental management and development.

She was a part of the Huairou Commission and advocated for grassroots women on such issues as shelter, energy, and sustainable livelihoods.

 


 

Carmen Griffiths, Jamaica