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

Special Focus

AWID is an international, feminist, membership organisation committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women’s human rights

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

Manal Tamimi | Snippet AR

Portrait Manal Tamimi

منال التميمي، ناشطة فلسطينية ومدافعة عن حقوق الإنسان. أم لأربعة أطفال كما أنها حائزة على ماجستير في القانون الدولي الإنساني. اعتقلت منال ثلاث مرات على إثر نشاطها السياسي وأصيبت أكثر من مرة بالرصاص الانشطاري الحي المحظور دوليا. عائلتها مستهدفة أيضًا: اعتقل وأصيب أطفالها بالذخيرة الحية أكثر من مرة. وكانت الحادثة الأخيرة محاولة اغتيال نجلها محمد الذي أصيب برصاصة في صدره قرب القلب بعد أسابيع قليلة من تحريره من سجون الاحتلال حيث أمضى عامين. فلسفتها في الحياة: إذا كان عليّ أن أدفع ثمن كوني فلسطينيّة، فأنا أرفض أن أموت في صمت.

Estoy viviendo una situación de violencia en una o más de mis relaciones, ¿AWID puede abogar en mi nombre?

AWID no es una organización que brinde servicios directos ni que defienda casos individuales

Te recomendamos buscar asesoría legal y ponerte en contacto con un refugio para mujeres o un centro de referencia en tu área.

Las "HotPeachPages" son un recurso en línea que ofrece enlaces a albergues para mujeres en todo el mundo. AWID no puede dar fe de la exactitud o la calidad de las instituciones que aparecen en esos listados, pero podría ser un buen lugar por donde empezar si no conoces organizaciones en tu zona.

¿Qué criterios están utilizando para seleccionar las actividades?

Por favor consulta la Convocatoria de Actividades, incluida la sección «Lo que necesitas saber».

Mariam Mekiwi | Snippet FR

Mariam Mekiwi Portrait

Mariam Mekiwi est une cinéaste et photographe originaire d’Alexandrie qui vit et travaille à Berlin.

2007: la participation de la société civile est renforcée par la création du WWG sur le FdD

Le Groupe de travail des femmes sur le financement du développement   (Women's Working Group on Financing for Development – WWG on FfD) , une alliance composée d’organisations et de réseaux de défense des droits des femmes,  a été créée en octobre 2007 pour mener, dans le cadre des processus des Nations Unies sur le FdD, des activités de plaidoyer en faveur de l’égalité de genre, de l’autonomisation des femmes et des droits humains.

Troisième Dialogue de haut niveau sur le financement du développement, 23-25 octobre 2007

  • Le troisième Dialogue de haut niveau sur le financement du développement a été l’occasion d’un regain de participation de la société civile. En plus des six tables rondes, des audiences ont été consacrées à la société civile et au secteur privé.
  • Lors de la séance plénière, l’AWID a prononcé une déclaration au nom de la société civile  appelant les gouvernements à accorder une attention plus soutenue au rôle important en tant qu’agentes de développement que jouent les organisations de défense des droits des femmes et à la nécessité de favoriser la mise en œuvre de nouveaux mécanismes de financement destinés aux femmes dans les pays en développement et dans les pays les moins avancés. Cette déclaration exhortait les gouvernements à apporter un soutien plus important à l’architecture de genre des Nations Unies, de façon à ce que le système,  dans son ensemble,  puisse progresser dans son engagement en faveur de l’égalité des genres, de l’autonomisation des femmes et des droits humains, en ce qui concerne notamment  les droits économiques, sociaux, culturels et environnementaux de toutes les personnes.

Y aura-t-il un soutien pour les supports ou autres frais engendrés par la préparation des ateliers ?

Vous pouvez vous attendre à disposer de l’ensemble des supports et accessoires d’ateliers et présentations habituels : tableau de papier, marqueurs, notes repositionnables, en plus de rétroprojecteurs et d’équipement audiovisuel. Tout équipement supplémentaire est à la charge de la personne ou organisation qui propose l’activité. L’équipe logistique de l’AWID sera disponible pour répondre à vos questions et vous conseiller.

Mango | Small Snippet

Mango

I’ll admit it: when Angélica and Fabi invited me to curate a collection of erotic texts by black women, I didn’t know what curatorship was. I understood the erotic well, but curatorship... 

Read more

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. 

ฟอรัมจะถูกจัดขึ้นเมื่อไร และที่ไหน

2-5 ธันวาคม 2567 กรุงเทพ ประเทศไทย! เราจะรวมตัวกันที่ศูนย์การประชุมแห่งชาติสิริกิติ์และจัดให้มีการประชุมแบบเสมือนจริงออนไลน์ไปพร้อมกันด้วย

Hospital | Small snippet EN

Hospital

Hospitals are institutions, living sites of capitalism, and what gets played out when somebody is supposed to be resting is a microcosm of the larger system itself. 

Read more

CREDITS | Content Snippet ES

Agradecimientos

Consejo editorial 

Co-editorxs
Chinelo Onwualu
Ghiwa Sayegh (Kohl)

Diseño e ilustración 
Sophia Andreazza

Estratega de las comunicaciones
Zuhour Mahmoud (Kohl)

Editora de la versión árabe
Sabah Ayoub (Kohl)

Responsable de la traducción
Maya Zebdawi (Kohl)


El equipo de AWID
Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah
Lola Silva
Kamee Abrahamian
Tanya Lallmon    
Maria Olivo
Marianne Asfaw
Ana Abelenda


Versión española
Traducción
Verónica Torrecillas
Gabriela Adelstein
Maria Luisa Peralta
Alejandra Sarda
Gabby De Cicco

Corrección
Alejandra Sarda
Gabby De Cicco
María Eugenia Martí

Traducciones árabes
Lina Yahya
Marina Samir
Maya Zebdawi
Nidal Majeed
Rania El-Ghazal
Rola Alaeddine
Viviane Akiki


Versión francesa
Traducción
Camille Dufour
Morgane Boëdec

Corrección
Nathalie Thériault


Portugués a inglés
Traducción
Luiza Martello

Corrección
Shaina Greiff