Urgent Action Fund researches questions of critical importance to women’s human rights activists, then publishes the results. These publications are used to inform our Advocacy and Alliance Building.
Each research project undertaken by Urgent Action Fund is grounded in our experiences as a grantmaker through the review of our grants and requests, and engagement with our activist Board of Directors, grantees and key advisers around the world. We make experimental or exploratory grants around a particular issue in order to better understand and support women defenders work in that area. Each publication is designed to be used as an advocacy tool in the hands of activists and their allies and is distributed in local languages whenever possible.
The following publications, issue papers, conference proceedings and annual reports may be downloaded free of charge. All documents are in pdf format and require Adobe Reader. If you need to download Adobe Reader, you can do so here.
If you have a slow Internet connection or have trouble printing large documents, please contact Urgent Action Fund for a paper copy at: urgentact@urgentactionfund.org.
Small orders will be provided free of charge; large orders will require the recipient to cover the cost of shipping.
Global Report on the Situation of Women Human Rights Defenders (2012) A report created by the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD International Coalition) to articulate the challenges faced by women human rights defenders and how best to respond to them.
ICTM Report (2012) Impacts of ‘Counterterrorism Measures (ICTM) on Women’s Human Rights Activism in Asia: Risks, Responses & Recommendations
Urgent Responses for Women Human Rights Defenders at Risk: Mapping and Preliminary Assessment (2011) This mapping of resources for women human rights defenders was developed by Inmaculada Barcia and facilitated by the Association for Women’s Rights In Development (AWID) as part of its work as Chair of the Working Group on Urgent Responses for WHRDs at Risk of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition.
Integrated Security Manual (2011) The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation and the Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights translated the research for Insiste, Persiste, Resiste, Existe: Women Human Rights Defenders Security Strategies (Resiste) into practical tools to support women human rights defenders in developing and deepening strategies to stay safe and well. During this phase, "Integrated Security: The Manual" was designed and tested through a series of around 30 integrated security workshops for more than 300 women human rights defenders, as well as human rights defenders of other genders from over 50 countries worldwide. An interactive, online version of the manual is available here: www.integratedsecuritymanual.org
Insiste, Persiste, Resiste, Existe (2008) This document shares the voices of women human rights defenders (WHRDs) from all over the world. Each woman speaks of her experience combating violence and discrimination in complex contexts, such as situations of overt or hidden conflict, organized armed violence and rising fundamentalisms in Iran, Colombia, Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Algeria, Tunisia, Bosnia, Serbia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
What’s the Point of Revolution if We Can’t Dance? (2007) This book shares the experiences of more than 100 activists from around the world regarding the sustainability of their activism. Topics include their fears, hopes, exhaustion, exaltation, grief, loss, pain, pleasure, humor, spirituality, funding crunches, backbiting and burnout, self-worth, desire, selfishness, and selflessness. The book played a critical role in the development of Urgent Action Fund’s Sustaining Activism concept and helped to draw attention to this critical issue in funding and activist circles alike.
Philanthropy at Risk (2007) Outlines how the nonprofit sector has been saddled with major restrictions in spite of a complete lack of evidence that nonprofits are the source of any systematic or widespread violations of law or connections with terrorism.
Rising up in Response (2005) A synopsis of Urgent Action Fund’s efforts to establish a deeper understanding of the work and obstacles facing women’s human rights activists within the international advocacy community.
Voices of Solidarity (2005) International women activists share their perspective on the Hurricane Katrina Disaster in the United States.
Gender Focused Rapid Response Teams (2003) This document offers an in-depth analysis of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) concept, provides a framework for exploring various options of how an RRT could be made active, and points out the traps and potential obstacles.
Gender Focused Rapid Response Teams Summary (2003) This summary highlights key points of the Rapid Response Teams concept and the expert discussion that UAF convened in London, England in November 2002.