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.

Related Content

Type

Rachel Mabaudi

Biography

Rachel is a financial professional with over two decades of experience. She has overseen financial affairs and projects for private and public entities, non-profits, and international non-governmental organizations. A Chartered Accountant with a Global Master’s in Business Administration, she is also a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. In her spare time, Rachel designs typography art, enjoys traveling and spending time with family and friends over a bottle of wine.

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Finance Manager
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Snippet Festival Artwork_fest (EN)

Festival Art!

Featuring artwork by Upasana Agarwal, Ika Vantiani, & Naadira Patel.

Click on the images to enlarge

By artist Upasana Agarwal

Website | Instagram

Illustrated portrait of Anima Adjepong saying I learn queer as practice, as in the service of freedom… Queer disrupts the normative order we live in, in order to create something else, it is about leadership beyond the individual
Illustrated portrait of Anwulika Okonjo that says: Feminists are World Builders
Portrait of Dilar Dirik saying: “We need to make sure that feminism is a threat to the system” "We no longer need to just be in solidarity with each other, we need new platforms of common struggles"
Illustrated portrait of Makgosi Letimile saying: Sex toys should not be a luxury. They should be accessible and affordable
Illustrated portrait of Manal Tamimi that says: “You are the fire that keeps everyone warm"
Illustrated portrait of Nana Akosua Hanson that says: "Art allows us to create an alternate reality"
Illustrated portrait of Nomsa Sizani, over a white and turquise background, that says: “When we occupy this land, it is another way of condemning this capitalist system” “If we don’t so, nobody will liberate ourselves”
Illustrated portrait of Sandie Hanna that says: “Solidarity is a mechanism of survival” “We need to keep going because continuity is vital in our causes for liberation”
Illustrated portrait of Doctor Vandana Shiva that says: “The panel today is a beautiful awakening of the world that is possible”
Illustrated portrait of Yannia S. Garzón that says: “Recovering the dignity of being a black woman is what keeps me alive”
Illustrated portrait of Dr. Angelique V. Nixon that says: “Listen to your body. It’s smarter than you are.”
Patricia Wattimena : I want a future where economies work for the women and not women working the economy

By artist Ika Vantiani

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

 
Collage of Mariama Sonko
Collage of Nomsa Sizani
Artistic collage featuring Yania Sofia

By artist Naadira Patel 

Website | Facebook | Instagram

Illustration of several women of color with text that says: Moving from Transactional to Transformative
Illustration of three hand outstretched. Two are spilling seeds into the other. In the center there is planet Earth and a woman walking over plants. The text reads "To defy capitalism we occupy land acting as custodians of diversity"

ما هي المعايير اختيار الأنشطة؟

يرجى الرجوع إلى فتح باب التقديم للحصول على هذه المعلومات، بما في ذلك قسم "ما تحتاج/ين إلى معرفته".

¿Qué labor realiza AWID?

Snippet Art Gift_Fest (EN)

Download our zoom background & printable postcard!

by Ellena Ekarahendy. 

Download here

ฉันไม่เคยเดินทางมาก่อน ฉันควรทำอย่างไร

เราทราบดีว่าการเดินทางครั้งแรกอาจจะน่าตื่นเต้นและบางครั้งอาจสร้างความกังวล จากการตระหนักถึงข้อท้าทายต่างๆต่อเรื่องนี้ เราจะจัดเตรียมข้อมูลมากขึ้นกว่านี้สำหรับการเดินทางมายังกรุงเทพฯเมื่อมีการเปิดรับลงทะเบียนในปีหน้า

Les organisations peuvent-elles devenir membres de l’AWID ?

Oui, nous encourageons l’adhésion institutionnelle.

Nous comptons actuellement parmi nos membres plusieurs centaines d’organisations parmi les plus connues et novatrices. Les critères d’adhésion sont les mêmes que pour les personnes, mais les cotisations diffèrent et les services proposés tentent de répondre à leurs besoins particuliers.

En savoir plus sur l’adhésion à l'AWID

Snippet Love Letters Intro (ES)

Cartas de Amor a los Movimientos Feministas

Como podrás o no saber, AWID está celebrando su 40º aniversario en 2022 y, para festejarlo, se eligieron los lemas «Reunir, sembrar e irrumpir». En honor a esta ocasión, hemos invitado a lxs afiliadxs, aliadxs y al personal de AWID a escribir sus propias «Cartas de Amor a los Movimientos Feministas». En conjunto, hemos encendido una constelación de movimientos feministas. Nos mantengamos cerca mientras forjamos el viaje y seguimos reuniéndonos, sembrando y desmantelando.

Nota sobre nuestra Colección de Cartas de Amor

Todas estas cartas de amor fueron escritas por activistas que están compartiendo sus diversas experiencias en los movimientos feministas. Algunas pueden incluir contenido delicado o complejo sobre abuso sexual, violencia sexual, conflictos, exclusión, entre otras piezas potencialmente perturbadoras o provocadoras. Aunque las cartas están llenas de amor, cuídate al leerlas.

CFA FAQ - Other questions - AR

اسئلة أخرى

What is the AWID International Forum?

The AWID international Forum is a gathering of 2,000 women’s rights leaders and activists from around the world. The AWID Forum is the largest recurring event of its kind, and every Forum takes place in a different country in the global South.

The AWID International Forum is both a global community event and a space of radical personal transformation. A one-of-a-kind convening, the Forum brings together feminist, women’s rights, gender justice, LBTQI+ and allied movements, in all our diversity and humanity, to connect, heal and thrive.

When people come together on a global scale, as individuals and movements, we generate a sweeping force.

Join us in Bangkok, Thailand and online in December 2024.

Register now!

Snippet FEA A Caring Economy (FR)

ECONOMIES

DES SOINS

Les Féministes qui Centrent
les Soins dans l'Économie

Et si nous ré-imaginons différentes manières de prendre soin de nos communautés?

Et si l'économie n'était pas basée sur le profit d’une petite élite mais sur notre bien-être individuel et collectif, et celui de la Nature?

Les histoires que vous allez découvrir portent sur les collectifs créés par et pour les personnes historiquement et actuellement exclues, privées de leurs droits et déshumanisées par l'État et la société.

Voici les histoires des féministes qui centrent les soins dans l’économie.

Snippet - CSW68 - March 11 - EN

Día 1

11 de marzo

2002: comienzan las conversaciones acerca de una agenda de Financiación para el Desarrollo

La Conferencia de Monterrey sobre la Financiación para el Desarrollo marcó el comienzo de las conversaciones acerca de una agenda de Financiación para el Desarrollo.

  • El Consenso de Monterrey fue adoptado durante la primera Conferencia Internacional sobre la Financiación para el Desarrollo. Fue la primera reunión organizada por la ONU con nivel de cumbre para abordar aspectos esenciales del desarrollo global, entre ellos los temas financieros y otros conexos.
  • Durante la Conferencia y sus procesos preparatorios se dio una cooperación sin precedentes entre las Naciones Unidas y el Banco Mundial (BM), el Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI) y la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC) para promover mayor coherencia y cohesión entre los sistemas e instituciones monetarias, comerciales y financieras internacionales.
  • Monterrey también marcó la primera ocasión en que se debatió la financiación para el desarrollo entre gobiernos, representantes de la sociedad civil y el sector empresarial. Estos actores llevaron la discusión más allá de lo ‘técnico’ para abordar cómo movilizar y canalizar recursos financieros a fin de alcanzar las metas internacionalmente convenidas en conferencias y cumbres de la ONU celebradas en la década de 1990, entre ellas los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio (ODM).
  • El WWG [Grupo de Mujeres] señaló el significado histórico de la conferencia, afirmando que tenía el potencial de abordar desafíos estructurales que continúan obstaculizando el desarrollo. Sin embargo, también planteó sus preocupaciones por los efectos del incremento de la militarización y del fundamentalismo sobre las mujeres, pese a que el Consenso de Monterrey dio por sentado que el sistema económico y financiero mundial funcionaba bien para todas las personas.

Para saber más sobre los seis temas centrales de Monterrey los mecanismos de seguimiento a esta conferencia, consulta Género y financiación para el desarrollo, de Maria Floro, Nilufer Çagatay, John Willoughby y Korkut Ertürk (INSTRAW, 2004).