#Gender/Women's Rights

Gender equality is a human right. All people are entitled to a life free from persecution, discrimination, violence and other rights violations on the basis of their perceived or felt sex or gender.

Human rights defenders of all genders working in the fields of gender equality, feminism and women's rights face gendered and sexualised threats. Additionally, women human rights defenders face the same threats as any defender, but, as women, they often experience attacks and threats that are highly gendered, such as sexualised defamation campaigns, gender-based violence, and rape.

Human rights defenders of all genders are active in the struggle for women's rights, but those identifying as women face particular and heightened risks. Sexualised defamation campaigns, gender-based violence, and sexist discrimination affect women human rights defenders working on all issues, and are often compounded if they are active and vocal in fight for women's rights in their communities.

Numerous international conventions and documents aim to promote gender equality, including: the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), often referred to as the “women's bill of rights,” and its optional protocol; the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (PFA), which outlines governments’ commitments to women’s rights; the UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, which in 2000 recognized the particular affects of war on women and reaffirmed the need to increase women’s role in conflict prevention and resolution. In line with efforts to achieve gender equality, UN Women also promotes a “gender mainstreaming” approach to all development activities, which "involves ensuring that gender perspectives and attention to the goal of gender equality are central to all activities".