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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.
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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.
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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;
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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:
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Mobilizing urgent responses of international solidarity for WHRDs at risk through our international and regional networks, and our active membership.
Related Content
論壇將包括哪些語言?
英文、法文、西班牙文和中文
Snippet FEA Aura Roig (EN)
Meet Aura Roig, the visionary feminist activist, anthropologist, director and founder of the Metzineres cooperative.
She spent the last two decades researching, designing and implementing drug policies from the perspective of harm reduction, human rights and intersectional feminism.
Having experienced and learned from communities who use drugs around the world, she returned to Barcelona and created Xarxa de Dones que Usen Drogues (the Network of Women Who Use Drugs, XADUD). XADUD was a space of mutual support and solidarity with the struggle to secure rights for marginalized groups, which later became the Metzineres cooperative.
Aura is currently working on expanding the Metzineres model to provide support to bigger constituencies, while also extensively documenting their prolific journey and learnings.
Kazuko Kawaguchi
Snippet - WITM about research - FR
À propos de l’enquête Où est l’argent ?
L’enquête WITM mondiale est un des piliers essentiels de la troisième édition de notre recherche orientée sur l’action, intitulée Où est l’argent pour l’organisation des mouvements féministes? (abrégé en Où est l’argent ou WITM, pour l’acronyme en anglais). Les résultats de l’enquête seront développés et approfondis à l’occasion de conversations profondes avec des activistes et des financeurs, et les références seront croisées avec d’autres analyses et études existantes sur la situation du financement des mouvements féministes et de l’égalité des genres à travers le monde.
Le rapport complet de la recherche Où est l’argent pour l’organisation des mouvements féministes sera publié en 2026.
Pour en apprendre davantage sur la manière dont l’AWID met en lumière l’argent utilisé pour et contre les mouvements féministes, consultez notre dossier WITM et nos précédents rapports à ce sujet ici.
Obiageli “Oby” Nwankwo
Con una carrera jurídica que abarcó más de 30 años, Oby era conocida en toda África y en el mundo como una defensora de la justicia de género y los derechos humanos.
Fundó y fue Directora Ejecutiva del Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC), una ONG nigeriana que patrocina capacitaciones y actividades de creación de redes para miembrxs de la sociedad civil, parlamentarixs y otrxs actores clave, para promover los derechos humanos, la buena gobernanza y el acceso a la justicia y el estado de derecho.
Oby es afectuosamente recordada por lxs activistas de Nigeria como una «extraordinaria activista que mostraba energía y pasión por la lucha por la igualdad de género y la justicia de género en Nigeria y en toda África».
透過CfA提交活動提案後續?
- 活動提案最初將由AWID工作人員進行篩選。
- 然後,入圍的提案企劃者受邀參加票選,在入圍的活動中進行選擇。票數最高者會納入論壇活動。AWID可能會在決選做一些調整,以確保我們的活動議程在各個地區、擁護族群、議題和方法之間具適當平衡。
- 我們的論壇內容與方法委員會將與獲選的提案企劃者聯繫,協助他們進一步規劃活動。
我們屆時會於網站上公告徵選結果。
Snippet FEA Get Involved 2 (ES)
Mientras estés en São Paulo, Brasil, puedes visitar la Ocupação 9 de Julho y pedir una comida colaborativa. También puedes comprar sus productos en su tienda online desde el extranjero.
Visita la tienda en línea de la Asociación de Mujeres Afrodescendientes del Norte del Cauca (ASOM) donde puedes encontrar hermosos productos hechos a mano.
Hay varias formas de apoyar a Metzineres: puedes hacer una donación económica, donar materiales y servicios, o proponer una formación, un taller o una actividad (para más información, ¡ver aquí!)
Moushmi Narain
¿Cuál es la finalidad de la encuesta ¿Dónde está el dinero?
El objetivo fundamental de la encuesta ¿Dónde está el dinero? es arrojar luz sobre la situación financiera de la diversidad de movimientos feministas, por los derechos de las mujeres, la justicia social, las personas LBTQI+ y demás movimientos aliados de todo el mundo y, sobre la base de dicha información, reforzar las razones fundadas para movilizar más y mejores fondos y transferir el poder a los movimientos feministas.
Laura Lee
Laura était une activiste et une avocate de premier plan qui a mené une campagne courageuse en faveur de la dépénalisation du travail du sexe en Irlande.
On se souvient d'elle comme « une combattante de la liberté pour les travailleurs et les travailleuses du sexe, une féministe, une mère pour certainEs et une amie nécessaire pour beaucoup ».
Laura militait pour que les personnes de l'industrie du sexe soient reconnu-e-s comme des travailleurs et travailleuses sujets de droits. Elle a activement milité en faveur de la dépénalisation, notamment en engageant une procédure judiciaire devant la haute cour de Belfast qui concernent des dispositions criminalisant l’achat de services sexuels. Laura a déclaré que son intention était de porter l'affaire devant la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme.
去台北參加論壇需要簽證嗎?
您若持有下列國家的護照,可免簽入境台灣到台北參與論壇活動(請留意持免簽可停留的天數各國不同):
安道爾、澳大利亞、奧地利、比利時、保加利亞、汶萊、加拿大、智利、克羅埃西亞、賽普勒斯、捷克、丹麥、愛沙尼亞、 史瓦濟蘭、芬蘭、法國、德國、希臘、瓜地馬拉、海地、宏都拉斯、匈牙利、冰島、愛爾蘭、以色列、義大利、日本*、韓國、拉脫維亞、列支頓斯登、立陶宛、盧森堡、馬爾他、馬歇爾群島、摩納哥、荷蘭、紐西蘭、尼加拉瓜、挪威、帛琉、巴拉圭、菲律賓、波蘭、葡萄牙、羅馬尼亞、俄國、聖馬利諾、斯洛伐克、斯洛維尼亞、西班牙、瑞典、瑞士、吐瓦魯、英國、美國、梵蒂岡城國、貝里斯、多明尼加、馬來西亞、諾魯、聖克里斯多福及尼維斯、聖塔露西亞、聖文森和格瑞納丁、新加坡。
未持有上述國家護照的人士來台北須申請簽證。
請留意:
在您完成論壇註冊手續後,無論您國籍為何,應會收到與論壇參與相關的一組號碼,用於申請來台灣的電子簽證。
論譠開放報名的時間我們會另行通知。
Snippet FEA EoS The Ivy (ES)

La Hiedra
Comunidad y vecindario
Mia Berden
Our Companion Sites
The Young Feminist Wire
An online community for and by young feminists working on women’s human rights, gender equality and social justice around the world.
The Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs)
The platform is the go-to place for information and resources on safeguarding the universality of rights in international and regional human rights spaces.
The Young Feminist Fund-FRIDA
Provides funding for young feminist-led initiatives. It aims to strengthen the capacity of young feminist organizations to leverage resources for their work and to increase donors’ and allies’ commitments to resourcing young feminist activism.
Online Directory of Urgent Responses for WHRDs
A go-to site to learn about the urgent responses undertaken to protect women human rights defenders and to find tools and resources to support the work and wellness of WHRDs.
IM-Defensoras (Mesoamerican Initiative for Women Human Rights Defenders)
A regional initiative created to prevent, respond, document and make public all cases of violence against women human rights defenders in the Mesoamerican region.
The WHRD International Coalition
The WHRD IC is a resource and advocacy network for the protection and support of women human rights defenders worldwide.
Post-2015 Women´s Coalition
A Coalition of feminist, women´s rights, women´s development, grassroots and social justice organisations working to challenge and reframe teh global development agenda.
Women´s Major Group on Development
The role of the Women’s Major Group is to assure effective public participation of women’s non-governmental groups in the UN policy processes on Sustainable Development, Post2015 and Environmental matters.
Women Working Group on Financing for Development
An alliance of women’s organizations and networks to advocate for the advancement of gender equality, women’s empowerment and human rights in the Financing for Development (FfD) related UN processes.
Est-ce que plusieurs personnes d’un même groupe peuvent répondre séparément aux questions de l’enquête WITM?
Non, nous souhaitons recevoir une seule participation par groupe.
Razan Al-Najjar
Razan was a 21-year-old volunteer medic in Palestine.
She was shot as she ran toward a fortified border fence, in an effort to reach a casualty in the east of the south Gaza city of Khan Younis.
In her very last Facebook post, Razan said: “I am returning and not retreating,” adding: “Hit me with your bullets. I am not afraid.”
Snippet FEA Ecofeminism (FR)
Afrique de l’Ouest
NOUS SOMMES LA SOLUTION