The situation for women’s rights activists

Partner organisation WORIWA. Photo: Wolobah Sali

Femdefenders

Supporting women human rights defenders (WHRD) is at the very heart of The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation. Today, we support more than 100 women’s rights organisations in 20 countries affected by conflict in their work to strengthen women’s rights, influence and power and to achieve lasting peace.

The UN defines a women human rights defender as a person who works to defend women’s rights and promote gender issues. Most women human rights defenders are women, though not exclusively so. We also call them Femdefenders, the most courageous women in the world.

The situation for women human rights defenders

Since 2013, Kvinna till Kvinna has monitored the situation for women human rights defenders in conflict-affected countries. Early on, we recognised that the WHRDs are faced with unique and gendered challenges to their work and activism.

The threats, hatred and harassment aimed towards the activists are often not recognised for what it truly is, a deliberate strategy to intimidate, silence and stop the WHRDs from challenging the societal power structures. Instead, the specific violence towards women’s rights activists is often disguised as “ordinary” violence against women.

How do threats and harassment affect women human rights defenders?

Living and working with threats and harassment has increasingly become something that is “part of the ordinary workday” for many femdefenders.

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The Kvinna till Kvinna research shows an alarming global trend of increased efforts to silence the women’s movement and those who fight for gender equality. Silencing the women’s movement is one of the main objectives of disparate forces such as anti-gender movements, authoritarian governments, patriarchal religious structures, community leaders, nationalists and alt-rights.

When exploring what sparks the hatred and the multiple forms of threats that women human rights defenders encounter, the key motivation is undoubtedly power. Questioning power relations triggers hatred. The work of a vocal woman activist is about challenging norms and overthrowing structures. It is about changes that ultimately imply that people in positions of power will have to take a step back.

What kind of threats do outspoken women rights activists encounter?

Our research shows that harassment in general is most common, while smear campaigns and false accusations are in second place, followed by threats of physical violence and even death threats. 1 in 10 femdefender has experienced sexual harassment or sexual abuse due to their activism.

Who is behind?

Traditional or community leaders and religious actors are the largest group mentioned by the respondents in our most recent report. The second largest group is government and authorities.

There is a tendency of governments becoming more authoritarian, and of societies becoming more conservative, with an increased focus on traditional values and norms. Right-wing and nationalist groups and politicians are also frequently mentioned, along with anti-gender trolls and non-identified social media users.

How can we support women human rights defenders?

The international community must step up its support to women human rights defenders and acknowledge how the threats against them are gendered. Here are a few suggestions:

  • Recognise the unique and gendered risks and threats faced by women human rights defenders.
  • Support the organising and work of local protection and emergency organisations and networks, and mechanism such as networks of safe houses.
  • Facilitate and fund women’s rights activists’ presence in regional and international fora (such as the EU, AU and the UN) in order to strategically push back anti-gender forces’ presence in these spaces. It is important to form strategic coalitions to strengthen the space for independent civil society.
  • International and regional organisations, such as EU and UN, should always meet with women’s organisations, urban and rural, when visiting a country, making sure that there are no anti-gender organisations or GONGOs present that might silence the voices of independent women’s rights organisations.
  • Publicly condemn and investigate smear campaigns and online harassment against women human rights activists.
  • Build capacity on how to arrange safe online meetings and consultations that allow for meaningful and safe interaction with women’s rights organisations.
  • Social media companies, in consultation with women human rights defenders, should establish easy to access and rapid response mechanisms to remove threatening context from social media, as well as to close down accounts that threatens activists or spread false information.

Publications

The state of women human rights defenders 2023

They came together not to be silenced—gender-based violence in conflict & the role of women’s rights organisations

Solidarity is our only weapon

The Fierce and the Furious (2019)

Suffocating the movement—shrinking space for women’s rights (2018)

Femdefenders: The hatred against women human rights defenders – online and offline (2014)

Insiste Persiste Resiste Existe (2008)

Discover our organisation

Who we are

We are one of the world’s leading feminist women’s rights organisations, working directly in areas affected by war and conflict to strengthen the influence and power of all women.

Where we work

We work in both conflict-affected and humanitarian contexts, currently in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region), the South Caucasus and sub-Saharan Africa.