The UN Country Team released a statement about women human right defenders in Georgia. They noted that, in recent days, the social media has been used to stigmatize the work of these women and have reacted with intense aggression.
“Women Human Rights Defenders” are women who promote or protect human right and all individuals who work to defend the rights of women. In the last few days, we have seen in Georgia an intense stigmatization and aggression of the work of female human rights activists through social media, along with threats and condemnation of individual women human right defenders.
“Women Human Rights Defenders are at forefront of social justice movements and feminist movements that advocate gender equality, women empowerment, and human right for all. The UN Country Team in Georgia wishes to reaffirm their solidarity with women human right defenders who are leading the battle for equal enjoyment of rights and freedoms.
“We emphasize that women human right defenders face the same risks as any other human rights defender. However, as women, they also face gender-specific threats or violence. Women human rights defenders are often viewed as challenging the traditional notions of gender and family roles in society. This can lead to hostility from some groups. Women human rights defenders’ families are also targeted by threats and violence to discourage them from continuing their work. Women human rights defenders face greater risks of violence, discrimination, exclusion and rejection than their male counterparts. All threats of violence against female human rights defenders must be investigated immediately.
“In the time of COVID-19 we see significant risks, and drawbacks in the field gender equality. The rise of misogyny is alarming. In this context, women human rights activists’ work is more important than ever to continue building back better and to collectively contribute to irreversible advances towards gender equality and empowerment of all girls and women, everywhere.
“We condemn any intimidation, threats or violence against women human right defenders as well as attempts at stigmatizing and ostracizing women human right defenders. We call on the government to take appropriate and robust steps to protect these women and to integrate gender perspectives into their efforts to provide a safe, enabling and conducive environment for the protection and promotion of human rights,” the statement reads.
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