Who should read and use this manual

Experienced, participatory facilitators

This manual is primarily designed as a tool to be used and adapted by experienced facilitators who are trained in working with participatory facilitation methods and are familiar with human rights defence in various contexts.

Human right defenders

This manual has been created with women human rights defenders who are defending women’s human rights around the world, and has been designed to address security and well-being challenges that are specific to their contexts and methods of working. Human rights defenders of all genders, working on all forms of human rights protection, are encouraged to use this manual to gain a deeper sense of the methods available to explore security in their organisations and movements.

International human rights organisations and supporting donors

Any international or regional organisation interested in supporting the security and well-being of women human rights defenders should review the manual to assess ways to engage with their partners on their security and well-being.

Organisations working in emergency and development context

Any organisation that interacts with human rights defenders in the course of their work, such as aid and development agencies, would benefit from reading this manual and many of the companion resources on the work of human rights defenders listed below. National non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in these contexts are often perceived by aid and development agencies as ‘humanitarian’ actors, yet in reality, they are engaged in human rights work. Particularly as agencies adopt increasingly a rights-based framework, it is important to recognise the risks that national NGOs and individuals face – as well as the risks faced by national staff of international agencies.