Philippe Leroyer | Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

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.

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กระบวนการเสนอกิจกรรมแบบเสมือนจริงแตกต่างจากการเสนอกิจกรรมที่เป็นแบบกายภาพหรือไม่?

เป็นกระบวนการเดียวกันและกำหนดเวลาเดียวกันทุกประการ โปรดใช้แบบฟอร์มเดียวกันนี้ในการส่งกิจกรรมของคุณ ไม่ว่าจะเป็นกิจกรรมที่จัดแบบพบกันทางกายภาพ ทางออนไลน์ หรือทั้งสองแบบ (ไฮบริด)

Domaine prioritaire : Co-Création des réalités féministes

Alors que nous rêvons d’un monde féministe, il y en a qui sont déjà en train de le construire et de le vivre. Ce sont nos réalités féministes ! 

Que sont les réalités féministes ?

Les réalités féministes sont les exemples concrets des mondes justes que nous sommes en train de co-créer. Elles existent aujourd’hui, dans les manières, dont les personnes et les mouvements vivent, luttent et se construisent.

Ces réalités féministes vont au-delà de la résistance aux systèmes oppressifs pour nous montrer à quoi ressemble un monde sans domination, sans exploitation et sans suprématie.

Ce sont ces histoires-là que nous voulons mettre en lumière, partager et amplifier à travers notre aventures des réalités féministes.

Transformer des visions en des expériences vécues

Au travers de cette initiative, nous voulons:

  • Créer et élargir les alternatives: Ensemble, nous créons de l’art et des expressions artistiques qui placent au centre et célèbrent l’espoir, l’optimisme, la guérison et l’imagination radicale que les réalités féministes inspirent.

  • Enrichir nos connaissances: Nous documentos, démontrons & diffusons des méthodologies qui permettront d’identifier les réalités féministes de nos différentes communautés.

  • Promouvoir des programmes féministes: Nous élargissons et approfondissons notre réflexion et notre organization collectives afin de promouvoir des solutions et des systèmes justes incarnant les valeurs et les visions féministes.

  • Mobiliser des actions solidaires: Nous incitons les mouvements féministes, en faveur des droits humaines et de la justice de genre et leurs allié-e-s à partager, échanger et co-créer des réalités, des récits et des propositions féministes lors du 14ème Forum international de l’AWID.

Le Forum international de l’AWID

Bien que nous mettions l’accent sur le processus avant, pendant et après les quatre jour du Forum, c’est lors de l’événement lui-même que la magie opère. Grâce à l’unique énergie des participant·e·s et à l’opportunité de rassembler les gens.

Nous espérons que le prochain Forum :

  • Construira le pouvoir des réalités féministes, en nommant, célébrant, amplifiant et en alimentant l’énergie autour des expériences et propositions qui font émerger les possibilités et nourrissent notre imagination

  • Remplira nos puits d’énergie et d’inspiration comme le carburant de notre activisme et de notre résilience pour les droits et la justice

  • Renforcera la connectivité, la réciprocité et la solidarité au sein des divers mouvements féministes et avec les mouvements en faveur des droits et de la justice.

En savoir plus sur le processus du Forum

Le prochain forum de l'AWID aura lieu du 20 au 23 september 2021 à Taipei, Taiwan.

En savoir plus

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Snippet SM CTA_Fest (FR)

Suivez-nous sur les réseaux sociaux et partagez vos moments préférés de notre festival :

Facebook: @AWIDWomensRights
Instagram: @awidwomensrights
Twitter FR: @awid_fr
LinkedIn: Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)

ถ้าฉันไม่สามารถเข้าร่วมทางกายภาพได้ จะมีการจัดประชุมแบบออนไลน์ควบคู่หรือไม่

มี! ขณะนี้พวกเรากำลังค้นหานวัตกรรมทางเทคโนโลยีที่จะช่วยให้เกิดการเชื่อมต่อและการเข้าร่วมอย่างมีความหมาย

Snippet Love Letters from our Co-EDs and the Board (EN)

Love Letters from our Board and the Co-EDs

CFA 2023 - breadcrumbs Menu _ FAQ-fr

L’AWID EN 2014 : Renforcer les processus d’organisation en faveur des droits des femmes dans le monde entier

Snippet FEA Tanta Gente sem casa (ES)

A graphic with green feather patterns on a beige background, text on it in Portuguese says “Tanta Gente sem casa. tanta casa sem gente” which means "So many people without a home, so many homes without people"

"Tanta gente sin hogar, tantos hogares sin gente."

Snippet - CSW68 - Follow the Money Post - EN

Image to promote the event Follo the Money for AWID at CSW68

2019: Feminist Realities in a changing world

AWID began preparing this annual report just as the global pandemic began to unravel how we gather, organize and live our lives. It is impossible to review what we have done without COVID-19 tinting our assessment. 

Download the full 2019 Annual review

frmagazine cover eng

 

 

Co-Creating Feminist Realities is no longer just an AWID Forum theme - it is a rallying cry in response to a pandemic that has laid bare the failures of social, political and economic systems.

It is an urgently needed affirmation that there are other, more just ways of organizing our lives. During 2019 hundreds of groups shared their experiences and proposals for feminist realities with us, ranging from radical networks of community support in Latin America facilitating self-managed abortion, to practices of community-centered economies in Indonesia and community-centered food systems in India and the US, to a  re-imagination and new practice of harm-free rites of passage in Sierra Leone. These are the experiences that will chart a path forward for a “new normal”. 
Yet long histories of oppression and violence can make it difficult to imagine the possible. A key part of our work in 2019 was to spark these explorations through a toolkit AWID launched to support groups interested in unearthing the stories and aspirations that are the building blocks of feminist propositions.

While we focus on our proposals for a different world, we recognize the challenging context around us.

Through the Observatory on the Universality of Rights, Feminists for a Binding Treaty, Count Me In! and other alliances, AWID has continued to push back against unfettered corporate power and fascist and fundamentalist agendas that undermine women’s rights and gender justice. With dim prospects for transformative change through multilateral processes  and limited responsiveness from most states, we are redoubling our efforts  to ensure that feminist movements, in all their diversity, are resourced in ways that match the critical roles they play - supporting their communities, demanding rights and responding to crises. In 2019 we introduced feminist principles and approaches to ground-breaking funds like the Spotlight Initiative and the Equality Fund, and succeeded in leveraging resources through feminist reality seed grant funding from feminist funders.

As we look ahead, it is clear that the context is calling for a transformation of our organizing strategies:

  • we are learning to navigate global advocacy confined to online channels,
  • we grapple with the uncertainty of when and how we can convene in person, and
  • we use the tools at our disposal to tighten connections across local to global spheres.

AWID is embarking on a new membership model that lowers barriers to access and emphasizes opportunities for engagement and cross-member connection. We will continue to experiment with different online tools and processes for building community. Cross-movement engagement will stay at the center of our work. AWID’s actions in solidarity with oppressed movements and identities, even and especially where these are marginalized in feminist movements, are important to drive change and support broad and inclusive movements for all.

Crisis is not new to feminist and social movements.

We are resilient, we adapt, and we show up for each other. And we have to keep doing better. Thank you to all who are part of the journey with us.

Download the full 2019 Annual review

Download the full 2019 Annual review

Snippet FEA Introducing Carmen Silva Ferreira (FR)

Nous avons l’énorme plaisir de vous présenter Carmen Silva Ferreira.

Née à Bahia, dans le nord-est du Brésil, Carmen est une immigrante, militante sociale et mère de 8 enfants.

Carmen a connu l'itinérance à l'âge de 35 ans, après avoir émigré seule à São Paulo. Cela l'a amenée à devenir une ardente défenseuse des communautés vulnérables, marginalisées et invisibles les plus touchées par la crise du logement. Elle est finalement devenue l'une des fondatrices de MSTC en 2000.

En tant qu'organisatrice politique visionnaire et actuelle dirigeante du MSTC, le travail de Carmen a révélé la crise du logement de la ville de São Paulo et inspiré d'autres personnes sur différentes façons d'organiser et de gérer les occupations.

Carmen a été fermement à l'avant-garde de diverses occupations. L'une d'elles est l’Ocupação 9 de Julho, qui sert désormais de scène à la démocratie directe et d'espace où chacun·e peut être soigné·e, entendu·e, apprécié·e et travailler ensemble.

Carmen a longtemps été célébrée pour son audace à redonner vie à des bâtiments abandonnés au cœur de São Paulo.

Pour en savoir plus sur sa vie, vous pouvez la suivre sur Instagram!

Snippet - CSW68 - Challenging Corporate Power - EN

Challenging Corporate Power

to Reduce Poverty & Strengthen Human Rights

📅Wednesday, March 13 🕒10.30am-12pm EST
Organisers: AWID, ESCR-Net, Franciscan International, Womankind Worldwide as part of Feminists For a Binding Treaty
🏢 Church Center of the United Nations, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, 11th Floor