International Women’s Day: The Struggle of Women Human Rights Defenders in Exile

For organisations working to combat torture and other grave human rights violations, this message carries particular weight. Around the world, women human rights defenders play a crucial role in exposing abuses, supporting victims and survivors, and challenging impunity. Yet the cost of this work remains extraordinarily high. Many face harassment, detention, smear campaigns, threats, and gender-based violence. Increasingly, these pressures force them into exile.

Women Human Rights Defenders on the Front Line

Women human rights defenders operate at the intersection of political repression and gender discrimination. Their work is often perceived by authorities not only as political dissent but also as a challenge to gender norms. As a result, women defenders are frequently targeted with gender-specific forms of intimidation and violence. Threats of sexual assault, campaigns questioning their morality, or attacks directed at their children or families are commonly used to silence them. These tactics seek to undermine their credibility and isolate them from their communities.

In many countries, the shrinking of civic space has intensified these risks. Governments increasingly criminalise human rights work, expand surveillance, and rely on intimidation to suppress criticism. In such contexts, exile becomes a last resort for survival. Yet it often does not bring the safety that women defenders need, as OMCT recently highlighted in a side event at the UN Human Rights Council that brought together exiled Women Rights Defenders from Kenya, El Salvador, Afghanistan and Belarus as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.

When Escape Does Not End the Threat

Women human rights defenders who continue their advocacy from abroad often remain exposed to various forms of pressure. Governments may monitor them through spyware, place them on international wanted lists based on fabricated charges, or use smear campaigns to discredit them. Family members remaining at home are sometimes targeted as a form of pressure.

At the same time, exile often brings profound instability. One defender described how political exile differs fundamentally from other forms of migration. Unlike economic migration, it happens abruptly, often overnight, leaving women responsible for navigating complex asylum systems while trying to protect their children and rebuild their lives.

The Human Cost of Exile

One journalist and human rights defender described how persecution forced her to leave her country and seek refuge in Europe. The persecution she faced in her home country ultimately led to the loss of custody of her children; she has not seen them for nearly five years. This separation remains one of the most painful consequences of her activism.

Her arrival in Europe did not bring immediate relief. She was initially placed in a temporary reception centre with poor living conditions, overcrowded spaces, limited privacy, and low standards of hygiene. Already deeply traumatised from persecution and threats, she found herself in an environment that offered little dignity or stability. When she raised concerns, the response she received was blunt: the conditions were “still better than in your country.”

For defenders who have already faced threats, harassment, and violence, such responses can deepen feelings of abandonment. As she explained, trauma does not disappear when someone crosses a border. The emotional burden is often compounded by the expectation that defenders will continue their advocacy from abroad. Many feel a strong sense of responsibility towards their communities back home, even while struggling to rebuild their own lives.

Gendered Dimensions of Repression

Repression often takes gender-specific forms. Violence is frequently directed not only at women defenders’ political work but also at their bodies, reputations, and roles within families. Defenders have described how activism as a woman is framed as disobedience requiring punishment. Sexual violence is used as a threat to silence them and deter others from speaking out. Smear campaigns target their personal lives rather than their human rights work. Even in exile, these dynamics continue. Women defenders face stigma linked to experiences of sexual violence, barriers to employment, and threats concerning their safety or the safety of their children. For those who flee with their families, access to education and providing stable living conditions for children becomes a constant struggle.

Continuing the Struggle from Abroad

Despite these obstacles, many women human rights defenders continue their work from exile. They document violations, support victims, and advocate internationally for accountability. Some adapt their methods by collaborating with civil society organisations in host countries. Others build networks with fellow exiled defenders, creating spaces of solidarity and sisterhood that help counter isolation and fear. But solidarity alone cannot replace structural protection.

What Must Be Given So Justice Can Be Gained

If the theme of “Give to Gain” is to carry real meaning, it must translate into gender-responsive support for women human rights defenders, including those forced into exile. States should ensure accessible pathways for safety, including humanitarian visas and emergency relocation programmes that extend to defenders’ families. Reception and asylum systems must also account for the specific realities women defenders face, including childcare, risks of family separation, and the need for trauma-informed rehabilitation services. This is essential so that women human rights defenders can rebuild their lives and continue their human rights work.