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 collection, where official statistics underrepresent the scale of violence against women compared to men. The report identifies the extractive industry, poaching, and state security forces as primary sources of threats, particularly in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Kenya. It argues that WEHRDs face unique intersectional vulnerabilities based on race, class, and disability, and calls for flexible, long-term funding and gender-sensitive legal and psychosocial support to protect these activists.

• Data on lethal attacks in Africa since 2012 shows a stark gender disparity; while 126 defenders were killed, only five were women. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the deadliest country for environmental defenders, with 78 killings in that period.
• Non-lethal attacks are heavily concentrated in specific countries, with Uganda accounting for nearly one-third of the 261 attacks reported by ALLIED since 2022. Gender gaps persist in reporting, with only 18 attacks reported against women compared to 88 against men.
• Women defenders face gender-specific violence used as a tool for silencing, including sexual violence, misogynistic insults, and smear campaigns targeting their private lives. They also face increasing digital threats such as hacking, doxxing, and the distribution of fake pornographic images.
• WEHRDs experience intersectional vulnerabilities; Black and Indigenous women are often the most invisible in global power hierarchies, and those with disabilities face heightened risks of sexual violence and isolation from feminist movements.
• The extractive industry is a primary driver of attacks, with poaching linked to approximately half of the killings in Africa since 2012. Non-lethal attacks are frequently linked to the fossil fuel, mining, and energy sectors.
• State actors and the justice system are used to criminalize defenders, particularly in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. In Kenya, the conservation and carbon credit industries are specifically linked to land violations and threats against women.
• There is a critical lack of gender-disaggregated data and under-reporting of threats due to fear of defamation, distrust of police, and a lack of awareness of the term 'human rights defender'.

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/Executive-Summary_The-Situation-of-WEHRDs-in-Africa_Natural-Justice.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/Executive-Summary_The-Situation-of-WEHRDs-in-Africa_Natural-Justice.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/Executive-Summary_The-Situation-of-WEHRDs-in-Africa_Natural-Justice.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/Executive-Summary_The-Situation-of-WEHRDs-in-Africa_Natural-Justice.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }