International Women's Day 2016

Across the world, women human rights defenders (WHRDs) face extreme risks - and highly gendered violence - to promote and protect the rights of their communities. The attacks they face are often more sexualised and stigmatised than those faced by male defenders. When women human rights defenders are killed, local authorities and media outlets tend to dissociate their murder from their human rights work. WHRDs also encounter severe barriers to justice following attacks.