Our Right To Safety: Women Human Rights Defenders’ Holistic Approach to Protection
In addition to the threats and attacks that WHRDs experience directly, they are also confronted with threats and attacks against their family members and people close to them. These attacks against WHRDs’ family members are often reflective of traditional gender stereotypes that equate ‘women’ as synonymous with ‘mothers’ and caregivers.48 These actions are a control mechanism used to “intimidate, generate terror and force women defenders to stop their work.”49
“My children were threatened with death and torture by six armed soldiers for having helped women victims of sexual violence to fill in forms to take part in proceedings at the International Criminal Court.”50 Despite this, many protection programs and measures do not take into consideration the needs of WHRDs’ family members. For example, many relocation schemes do not include family members or cover expenses related to them. As a WHRD interviewed for this initiative explained:
“I am a single mother and had to leave my home with my daughter and be relocated. I had to look for a job in my new place of residence and could not take care of my daughter, so I requested the state if they could cover these expenses as part of the relocation scheme. But the state did not understand that this should be part of the protection measures.”51 The fact that the work of WHRDs may cause danger to family members does not only create stress and fear for WHRDs, but can also have devastating consequences for them. WHRDs may be re-victimized and stigmatized when they are accused of putting their family members in danger.52 These types of attacks can lead to WHRDs being “labeled either implicitly or explicitly as ‘bad’ mothers; since a mother’s job is seen to be the protection of her children and not exposing them to harm. For male defenders, threats against their families do not equate to them being ‘bad’ fathers, threats are instead seen as a result of their work.”53 A WHRD explained “we are vulnerable because of our culture. The husband’s family will reject the wife who is responsible for the lack of safety experienced by their son.”54 In these circumstances, the WHRDs explained, divorce is nearly unavoidable. These realities must be taken into account in the design of protection schemes. To ensure that WHRDs are able to benefit from protection measures, they must include support
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Sekaggya, Margaret. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders (A/HRC/16/44). 20 December 2010, para. 54. Corporación Sisma Mujer, Colombia: Human Rights Defenders under Threat, p. 11. September 2011. Web. January 2014. http://www.defendingwomen-defendingrights.org/pdf/columbia_report2011.pdf. Justine Masika Bihamba, Synergie des Femmes pour les Victimes des Violences Sexuelles, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Personal interview. Valentina Rosendo Cantú and Centro de Tlachinollan, Mexico. Personal interview. Martin Quintana, Maria. Herramienta para la Proteccion de Defensoras de Derechos Humanos. Guatemala: UDEFEGUA, p. 85. 2012. Web. January 2014. Corporación Sisma Mujer, Colombia: Human Rights Defenders under Threat, p. 9. September 2011. Web. January 2014. http:// www.defendingwomen-defendingrights.org/pdf/columbia_report2011.pdf Julienne Lusenge, Head of the Fund for Congolese Women and Chairperson of Solidarité Féminine pour la Paix et le Développement, the Democratic Republic of Congo. Personal interview.
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