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
Snippet FEA Union Otras Photo 5 (ES)

هل استطيع الوصول للاستطلاع وتعبئته من هاتفي؟
نعم، يمكن تعبئة الاستطلاع من خلال الهاتف الذكي.
14th AWID international Forum is cancelled (forum page)
El 14°Foro Internacional de AWID ha sido cancelado
Dada la situación global, nuestra Junta Directiva tomó la difícil decisión de cancelar el Foro que estaba programado en 2021, enTaipei.
2014: Intergovernmental preparatory process for the 3rd FfD Conference is launched
Launch of the Intergovernmental preparatory process for the 3rd Financing for Development Conference, October 2014
- A preparatory process, co-facilitated by Ambassador George Wilfred Talbot of Guyana and Ambassador Geir O. Pedersen of Norway, was put in place to lead discussions ahead of the 3rd FfD conference to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in July 2015.
- As part of the preparations, two rounds of substantive informal sessions were held at the UN headquarters in New York to provide input to the drafting sessions of the outcome document.
- The WWG on FfD was re-activated with the aim of bringing feminist and women’s rights perspectives to the discussions and deliberations ahead of and during the 3rd International FfD Conference. AWID, Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) and the Feminist Task Force (FTF) are currently acting as co-facilitators of the group.
- The WWG on FfD’s submitted two oral statements during the first round, and written input to the second round of substantive informal sessions, which highlighted that gender inequality was not visible, nor was the inclusion of other types of discrimination and inequalities. The WWG’s submission highlights gender power relations and the intersections with other categories such as race, disability, ethnicity, age, wealth and sexual identity, which underpin the unequal distribution of opportunities and resources in societies around the world.
- Civil society organizations raised concerns about the space for their engagement in the two substantive informal sessions, including the risk that civil society space to engage in negotiations on the outcome document in January 2015 might be constricted.
Nadyn Jouny
« Le privé est politique » - tel est le mantra féministe que personnifiait la fougueuse et courageuse Nadyn Jouny. Nadyn avait personnellement vécu la douleur de la violence structurelle des systèmes juridiques qui refusent aux femmes de jouir de leurs droits.
Lorsqu’elle décide de demander le divorce, les tribunaux religieux chiites – conformément aux lois relatives au statut personnel du Liban – lui refusent la garde de son jeune fils Karam. Comme tant d’autres femmes au Liban et d’autres pays, Nadyn s’est retrouvée dans la situation douloureuse et insoutenable de devoir abandonner ses droits sur son enfant pour pouvoir quitter une relation abusive et non voulue. Mais Nadyn s’est battue, jusqu’au dernier jour.
Elle s’est servie de ses compétences médiatiques pour devenir la voix de celles qui n’en ont pas dans leur combat contre un droit de la famille discriminant, tant au Liban qu’à l’étranger. Nadyn a cofondé le groupe autofinancé « Protecting Lebanese Women » (PLW) et s’est alliée à d’autres mères libanaises vivant des situations similaires. Ensemble, elles ont cherché à sensibiliser la société en manifestant pour leurs droits devant les tribunaux religieux et attirant l’attention des médias sur les très grandes injustices qu’elles subissaient.
Nadyn a également collaboré avec ABAAD – Resource Center for Gender Equality, une autre organisation libanaise pour les droits des femmes, à l’occasion de campagnes pour la défense des droits des femmes, l’égalité dans le droit de la famille et la garde des enfants, et contre le mariage forcé et précoce.
Pour nombre de ses collègues, elle « symbolisait le combat d’une mère libanaise contre toutes les formes de répression et de misogynie » (en anglais), utilisant « son expérience personnelle et sa propre trajectoire d’autonomisation pour donner aux autres l’espoir qu’elles peuvent être des catalyseuses de changement positif ». - ABAAD – Resource Center for Gender Equality, Liban
Nadyn a tragiquement perdu la vie dans un accident de voiture le 6 octobre 2019, alors qu’elle se rendait à une manifestation contre les augmentations de taxes injustifiées, dans un pays qui connaît déjà une crise financière croissante. Nadyn Jouny n’avait que 29 ans au moment de son décès.
Snippet FEA Principles of Work S4 (FR)

HORIZONTALITÉ
Нужно ли мне как-то подготовиться, чтобы пройти опрос?
Поскольку опрос посвящен исследованию реалий обеспечения феминистских организаций ресурсами, большинство вопросов касаются финансирования вашей организации в период с 2021 по 2023 год. Вам необходимо будет иметь при себе данную информацию для заполнения анкеты (например, годовые бюджеты и информацию об основных источниках финансирования).
“Where is the Money for Women’s Rights?" AWID’s WITM Toolkit (landing page intro) FR
Une nouvelle édition de la recherche Où est l'argent ? est en cours.
En savoir plusUne méthodologie de recherche autogérée

L’AWID propose la Boîte à outils « Où est l’argent pour les droits des femmes? » (« Where Is The Money for Women's Rights? », WITM) pour soutenir les individus et les organisations qui souhaitent mener leur propre recherche sur les tendances de financement en adaptant la méthodologie de recherche de l’AWID à une région, une question ou une population spécifique.
La Boîte à outils WITM de l’AWID est le produit de dix ans de recherches. La rméthologie WITM de l’AWID proposent une démonstration politique et pratique des ressources et des étapes qu’exige une solide recherche-action.
L’équipe 'Ressources des mouvements féministes' offre également un soutien technique et politique, avant et pendant le processus de recherche. Parcourez la boîte à outils et contactez fundher@awid.org si vous souhaitez plus de renseignements.
Junio 2015
Sesiones adicionales para redactar el Documento Final de Adís Abeba
- Del 1 al 5 de junio de 2015 se realizaron sesiones adicionales para continuar avanzando en la redacción del Documento Final.
- Del 15 al 19 de junio, en la sede de la ONU tuvo lugar la ya planificada Tercera Sesión Redactora del Documento Final de la Conferencia.
Para saber más sobre este proceso, puedes consultar la CSO Hitchhiker’s Guide (en inglés).
Shaimaa El-Shabbagh
Hevrin Khalaf
Hevrin Khalaf was a prominent Syrian Kurdish political leader in the autonomous region of Rojava where Kurdish women are risking their lives to resist the Turkish offensive and build a feminist system.
She was Secretary-General of the Future Syria Party (FSP), a group that aimed to build bridges, reconcile different ethnic groups and work towards a “democratic, pluralistic, and decentralized Syria.”
Hevrin was a symbol of this reconciliation effort. She also worked to promote equality between women and men and was a representative for visiting journalists, aid workers, and diplomats.
Hevrin was also a civil engineer from Derik, and was one of the founders of the Foundation for Science and Free Thought in 2012.
On 12 October 2019 she was tortured and murdered by the Turkish-backed militia, Ahrar al-Sharqiya during a military operation against Syrian Democratic Forces in Rojava.
“The killing of Khalaf is a turning point in Syria’s modern history. It once again demonstrated the old Kurdish proverb “no friends but the mountains.” I will always be a friend of Khalaf and her vision of a better world.” - Ahed Al Hendi
A minha participação é confidencial?
É claro que sim. As suas respostas serão eliminadas no final do processamento e da análise dos dados, e só serão usadas para fins de investigação. Os dados NUNCA serão divulgados fora da AWID e serão processados apenas por colaboradores e consultores da AWID que trabalham no projeto WITM connosco. Damos prioridade à sua privacidade e ao seu anonimato. Consulte a nossa política de privacidade detalhada aqui.
FRMag - United against violence
United against the violence
by Karina Ocampo
In a hidden corner of Chiapas, Mexico, women and sexual dissidents have come to organize our actions. (...)
< artwork by Sonia Carolina Madrigal Loyola
Quels sont quelques-uns des débats et des sujets controversés ?
- Towards The Third International Conference On Financing For Development: Old Tensions And New Challenges, by Nicole Bidegain Ponte/DAWN (March 2015)
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‘A geopolitical Analysis of Financing for Development’ by Regions Refocus 2015 and Third World Network (TWN) with DAWN.
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The Zero Draft Language Map, by Regions Refocus
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‘Addis Ababa financing conference: Will the means undermine the goals?‘ by RightingFinance
Catherine Han Montoya
Diana Isabel Hernández Juárez
Diana Isabel Hernández Juárez fue una maestra guatemalteca, defensora de los derechos humanos y activista comunitaria y del medioambiente. Fue la coordinadora del programa ambiental de la parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, en la costa sur del país.
Diana dedicó su vida a co-crear conciencia ambiental, y trabajó de modo particularmente estrecho con comunidades locales para abordar problemas ambientales y proteger los recursos naturales. Inició proyectos tales como viveros forestales, granjas municipales, huertas familiares y campañas de limpieza. Participó activamente en programas de reforestación, tratando de recuperar especies nativas y paliar la falta de agua, en más de 32 comunidades rurales.
El 7 de septiembre de 2019, Diana recibió disparos y fue asesinada por dos hombres armados desconocidos mientras se encontraba participando de una procesión en su comunidad. Diana tenía solamente 35 años en el momento de su muerte.
Snippet FEA We are living in a world right (ES)
Incluso en tiempos de crisis climática, los gobiernos continúan alentando el crecimiento de las industrias agrícolas a gran escala. Estas actividades envenenan la tierra, amenazan la biodiversidad y destruyen la producción de alimentos y los medios de vida locales. Mientras tanto, aunque las mujeres producen la mayoría de nuestros alimentos en el mundo, casi no poseen tierra.
¿Qué pasaría si percibiéramos la tierra y la Naturaleza no como una propiedad privada para ser explotada, sino como una totalidad con la cual aprender y coexistir en armonía? ¿Y si repararíamos nuestras relaciones con la tierra y adoptaríamos alternativas más sostenibles que nutran tanto al planeta como a sus comunidades?
Nous Sommes la Solution (Somos la Solución, NSS) es uno de los muchos movimientos liderados por mujeres que se esfuerzan por lograr este objetivo.
Esta es su historia.
ما هو عدد الردود الذي ترغبون بجمعها؟
نهدف للوصول الى 2000 رد، وهذا تقريباً ضعف الردود التي جمعناها من استطلاع "أين المال" الأخير عام 2021.