THE SITUATION OF WOMEN ENVIRONMENTAL & HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS ACROSS AFRICA

The document highlights the disproportionate risks faced by women environmental and human rights defenders (WEHRDs) in Africa, including gender-based violence, criminalization, and digital attacks. It notes a significant gap in data and reporting, with women often excluded from official statistics and protection mechanisms. The brief identifies the Democratic Republic of Congo as the deadliest country for environmental defenders and calls for gender-responsive funding, legal protections, and the formal recognition of WEHRDs' leadership within UNFCCC processes and national policies.

• The Democratic Republic of Congo is the most dangerous country for environmental defenders in Africa, with 78 killings recorded since 2012. Other countries with six killings each during this period include Liberia, South Africa, and Kenya, while Uganda and Chad each had five.
• Data from the Alliance for Land, Indigenous, and Environmental Defenders (ALLIED) shows 261 attacks across Africa since 2022, with Uganda accounting for nearly one third (94 attacks), followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (35) and Tanzania (34). Only 18 of these attacks were reported as being against women.
• Women defenders face gender-specific violence used as a tool to silence them, including sexual violence, misogynistic insults, and smear campaigns targeting their private lives. They also face heightened risks of intimate partner and family violence, such as threats of divorce or separation from children, when their activism disrupts traditional gender roles.
• Digital threats against WEHRDs are increasing, encompassing online surveillance, hacking, trolling, and the distribution of fake pornographic images to humiliate and silence activists, particularly those who are LGBTIQ.
• Environmental harm disproportionately affects women due to biological factors; higher oestrogen levels and body fat can cause toxins like mercury and dioxins to accumulate more in women, potentially affecting fetuses and infants through breastfeeding.
• In Africa, poaching was linked to approximately half of the killings of environmental and human rights defenders since 2012 (61 cases), while land and mining each accounted for about a fifth (28 and 24 respectively). Regarding non-lethal attacks, the fossil fuel industry was linked to nearly a third of cases.
• There is a severe lack of gender-disaggregated data on attacks against WEHRDs due to under-reporting driven by fear of defamatory attacks on personal lives, distrust of police, and a lack of awareness of the term "human rights defender."
• In Kenya, the conservation and carbon credit industries are specifically linked to land violations, environmental degradation, and subsequent threats against women defenders, particularly in the north of the country.

APA

Hines, A., & Schornick, E. (n.d.). THE SITUATION OF WOMEN ENVIRONMENTAL & HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS ACROSS AFRICA. Natural Justice. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/COP30-Policy-Brief-Recommendations_WEHRDs-in-Africa.pdf

Chicago

Hines, Ali, and Eryn Schornick. THE SITUATION OF WOMEN ENVIRONMENTAL & HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS ACROSS AFRICA. Natural Justice, n.d. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/COP30-Policy-Brief-Recommendations_WEHRDs-in-Africa.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hines |first1=Ali |last2=Schornick |first2=Eryn |title=THE SITUATION OF WOMEN ENVIRONMENTAL & HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS ACROSS AFRICA |publisher=Natural Justice |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/COP30-Policy-Brief-Recommendations_WEHRDs-in-Africa.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hinesndsituation, author = {Hines, Ali and Schornick, Eryn}, title = {{THE SITUATION OF WOMEN ENVIRONMENTAL \& HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS ACROSS AFRICA}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/COP30-Policy-Brief-Recommendations_WEHRDs-in-Africa.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }