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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.

  • 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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Financiamiento de los movimientos feministas

Imagen promocional para la encuesta ¿Dónde está el dinero?

La encuesta "¿Dónde está el dinero?" #WITM ya está disponible. Participa y comparte tu experiencia en la financiación de tu organización con feministas de todo el mundo.

Obtén más información y participa de la encuesta


En todo el mundo, los movimientos feministas, de derechos de las mujeres y aliados están enfrentando al poder y reimaginando políticas de liberación. Las contribuciones que sostienen este trabajo llegan de muchas formas, desde recursos financieros y políticos a actos diarios de resistencia y supervivencia.


La iniciativa de AWID Financiando a los Movimientos Feministas (FMF) echa luz sobre el actual ecosistema de financiamiento, el cual abarca desde modelos autogenerados a corrientes de financiamiento más formales.

Mediante nuestra investigación y análisis, indagamos cómo las prácticas de financiamiento pueden servir mejor a nuestros movimientos. Analizamos críticamente las contradicciones de «financiar» la transformación social, especialmente en vistas de la creciente represión política, las agendas anti-derechos y el creciente poder corporativo. Sobre todo, construimos estrategias colectivas para apoyar  movimientos prósperos, fuertes y resilientes.


Nuestras acciones

Reconociendo la riqueza de nuestros movimientos y respondiendo al momento actual, nosotrxs:

  • Creamos y difundimos alternativas: Difundimos prácticas de financiamiento que ponen en el centro las prioridades de lxs propixs activistas e involucramos a un amplio espectro de financiadoras y activistas para que desarrollen nuevos y dinámicos modelos para financiar los movimientos feministas, especialmente en un contexto en el que se reducen los espacios para la sociedad civil.

  • Construimos conocimiento: Analizamos, intercambiamos y fortalecemos el conocimiento sobre cómo los movimientos atraen, organizan y utilizan los recursos que necesitan para lograr cambios significativos.

  • Hacemos incidencia: Trabajamos de manera colaborativa, como  en el Consorcio Count Me In, para influir sobre las agendas de financiamiento y abrimos espacios para el diálogo directo entre/con los movimientos feministas para redistribuir poderes y dineros..

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نرحب بالطلبات عبر مجموعة كاملة من المواضيع والتقاطعات المهمة للحركات النسوية وحركات العدالة الجندرية. 

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Promotion des droits universels et de la justice

Eradiquer les fascismes et les fondamentalismes

Partout sur la planète, les défenseur·e·s féministes, des droits des femmes et de la justice de genre remettent en question les programmes des acteurs fascistes et fondamentalistes. Ces forces opprimantes prennent pour cibles les femmes, les personnes non conformes dans leur identité de genre, leur expression et/ou orientation sexuelle, ainsi que d’autres communautés opprimées.


Les idéologies discriminatoires sapent et s’emparent de nos systèmes et normes en termes de droits humains de manière à ce que seuls certains groupes aient l’exclusivité des droits. Face à cela, l’initiative Promotion des droits universels et de la justice (Advancing Universal Rights and Justice, AURJ) s’attache à promouvoir l’universalité des droits - le principe fondamental selon lequel les droits humains sont le bien de chaque être humain, quelle que soit son identité, et ce sans exception.

Nous créons un espace pour permettre aux mouvements et à nos allié·e·s féministes, en faveur des droits humains et de la justice de genre de se reconnaître, d’élaborer des stratégies et de recourir à des actions collectives afin de contrecarrer l’influence et l’impact des acteurs anti-droits. Nous cherchons également à faire avancer les cadres, les normes et les propositions féministes et relatifs aux droits des femmes, ainsi qu’à protéger et promouvoir l’universalité des droits.  


Nos actions

A travers cette initiative, nous visons à :

  • Enrichir nos connaissances : Dans le cadre du rôle de premier plan que nous assurons sur la plateforme collaborative, l’Observatoire de l'universalité des droits (Observatory on the Universality of Rights, OURs), l’AWID soutient les mouvements féministes, en faveur des droits des femmes et de la justice de genre en diffusant et vulgarisant des connaissances et des messages clés concernant les acteurs anti-droits, leurs stratégies et leur impact au sein des organismes internationaux de protection des droits humains.

  • Promouvoir des programmes féministes : Nous faisons des alliances avec des partenaires au sein d’espaces internationaux dédiés aux droits humains, notamment le Conseil des droits de l’homme, la Commission de la population et du développement, la Commission de la condition de la femme et l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU.

  • Créer et élargir les alternatives : Nous impliquons nos membres afin de garantir que les engagements, les résolutions et les normes à l’échelle internationale sont reflétées et réintroduites dans l’organisation d’autres espaces à l’échelle locale, nationale et régionale.

  • Mobiliser des actions solidaires : Nous agissons aux côtés de défenseuses des droits humains (women human rights defenders, WHRD), y compris de défenseur·e·s trans et intersexes et de jeunes féministes, et oeuvrons à contester les fondamentalismes et les fascismes tout en attirant l’attention sur les situations à risque.   

 

 

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Informations générales

AWID IN 2015: Building Collective Impact

In 2015 AWID grew and diversified.

We ramped up preparations for the 13th AWID international Forum, focused a lot of energy on the Post 2015 Development Agenda and Financing for Development processes, and continued the core work of our priority areas:


A sneak peak inside the report

The context

  • We continue witnessing the rapid breakdown in democracy and democratic institutions, with spaces for dissent shrinking.
  • Multiple and concurrent systemic crises (energy, food, finance and climate) continue to deepen inequalities and pose major challenges.
  • Corporations are a leading power in determining the development agenda.
  • Violence against WHRDs remains an urgent problem.
  • Religious fundamentalisms are pervasive and increasingly powerful.
  • New forms of online gender-based violence have emerged.

In response, we are moving out of our silos.

Increasingly, women’s rights and other movements worldwide are articulating the systemic and intersectional nature of these and other problems. We are making better connections with the agendas of other social and environmental movements for solidarity, alliance building and collective responses. We are also seeing greater visibility of these movements fighting for justice on the ground.


Our Impact

  • For effective strategizing and advocacy, we need facts
  • To exchange knowledge and join hands in solidarity, we need  a strong online community
  • To build our collective power, we need to work together
  • To influence international processes,  we need to increase our access and voice
  • To reposition power we need to give visibility and emphasize  the important role that feminist and women’s rights movements  are already playing
     

Our Members

As at 31st December, 2015 we had:


Read the full report

 

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Our 2010 Annual Report highlights the major accomplishments of each of our strategic initiatives during the year.

Along with activity highlights, we include a brief analysis of the impact of our initiatives as well as reflections from our members and partners that further illustrate the relevance of AWID’s work and its connection to broader women’s rights movements. 

This interactive document is complete with links to our websites and recent publications with in-depth information on the issues we address in the report.

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