Claiming Rights, Claiming Justice: A Guidebook on Women Human Rights Defenders

Claiming Rights, Claiming Justice: A Guidebook on Women Human Rights Defenders is designed to support the ongoing process of enhancing the understanding of, and sensitivity to, the specific issues and situations confronted by women human rights defenders.

It was written in response to calls for a documentation system on violations and abuses against women human rights defenders, in order to develop protection mechanisms that are more responsive to their needs.

This guidebook is intended to be of primary use to women human rights defenders themselves as part of a continuous process of acknowledging, validating, and transforming their practical experiences and insights into a body of knowledge, theories and tools for use by them and by others. It is intended to complement current human rights documentation manuals and training, and to further a gender perspective in many of the existing human rights documentation and monitoring systems.

The publication reflects the rich perspective of activists working from different areas of expertise and backgrounds – including women human rights defenders from women’s rights, human rights, and gay, lesbian and transgender groups. any of the insights and examples used in this book are drawn from their stories.