20 December, 2019
Chiang Mai, Thailand/Manila, Philippines
APWLD, together with the undersigned organisations, express our solidarity with Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay and all Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) who are subjected to the relentless and sexist attacks by a government which disregards its commitments to respect and uphold women and people’s rights. This is a worrying trend that WHRDs from across the globe experience, and it is intensified under the banner of authoritarian governments.
Cristina is the current secretary general of Human Rights Alliance Karapatan, and a convener of Tanggol Bayi-Philippines. She is likewise a Regional Council member of the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), a regional feminist, membership-based organisation.
On 10 December 2019, hours after demonstrations commemorating the 71st International Human Rights Day, Cristina received a call and a series of texts threatening her with death and the “worst possible things.” In a follow-up text message, the caller, using the number +63 9275704471, threatened Cristina with rape. In the context of intensifying hostility against human rights defenders in the Philippines, this incident is another alarming concern.
We condemn these threats against Cristina, a Woman Human Rights Defender, who has consistently stood for the defense of women and people’s rights. Cristina as well as her organisation Karapatan, have been the subject of continuous and intensified threats and slanderous campaigns, including a series of red-tagging by military officials in February 2019[1], a separate incident of death threats against Cristina in April 2019[2], trumped-up perjury case against Karapatan and its officers in June 2019[3] and surveillance against Karapatan’s staff in October 2019[4]. Such attacks are meant to harass and intimidate Cristina and other members of Karapatan, which is a common tactic present in all repressive and macho-fascist regimes in the world, but these only serve as a sign of insecure ‘leadership’ that is afraid of the voices of women and rights defenders.
The rise of sexist threats, including messages that incite rape, are indications that women’s rights remain a consistent battleground, especially when our own governments perpetuate and tolerate such attacks against women human rights defenders. We are gravely concerned about Cristina’s safety and demand a stop to these attacks against her.
As Cristina was labelled a “prostitute” for her work as a human rights defender, we assail attempts to reduce women as mere sexual objects, and to erase what they have been fighting for: equality, human rights, justice and accountability.
We denounce the President for perpetuating this misogynistic culture that has subjected women to harassment since he took office in 2016. We also call out the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Chief-of-Staff for Civil Military Operations Brig. General Antonio Parlade, Jr. for insinuating that the threats against Cristina are “made up” or that it is “her fault,” following their latest statement on the incident[5]. This is exactly the typical narrative of victim-blaming that State officials have adopted to discredit and deny justice for victims of gender-based violence; in defense of the patriarchal and militarist system targeting defenders who continue to resist.
We call on all women and human rights advocates to speak out against the worsening objectification and intimidation of women and women human rights defenders. In this time of rising patriarchal authoritarianism, it is time for us to assert our space, demand our rights, stand in solidarity with each other, and continue to build movements to make our governments accountable.
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[1] https://www.karapatan.org/STOP+THE+ATTACKS+AGAINST+HUMAN+RIGHTS+DEFENDERS%21
[2] https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa35/0273/2019/en/
[3]https://www.karapatan.org/Reprisal+perjury+charge+against+Karapatan+and+Gabriela+dismissed%2C+but+QC+court+continued+to+lodge+said+case+vs.+80-year+old+nun
[4]https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/10/07/1958184/karapatan-say-rights-workers-under-surveillance-being-harassed
[5]https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1088653?fbclid=IwAR2ZCQqT7OcJLyrb6kv5qAP-DyJW1Q2ioHv751CPj1wiCy45NHB6kDR5Y7s
Signatories
Organisation | Country/Region |
Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) | Bangladesh |
Alay Sining | Philippines |
Alliance for Future Generations – Fiji | Fiji |
AMIHAN National Federation of Peasant Women |
Philippines – Southeast Asia
|
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development | Thailand |
Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact | Thailand |
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development | Asia Pacific |
Asia Resource Foundation (ARF), | Thailand |
Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM) | Pakistan |
Association for Women’s Rights in Development | Global |
Association pour la Conservation et la Protection des Ecosystèmes des Lacs et l’Agriculture Durable | Democratic Republic of Congo |
ATHENA Network | Kenya |
Awaz Foundation Pakistan – Centre for Development Services, | Pakistan |
Bai Indigenous Women’s Network | Philippines |
Balay Alternative Legal Advocates for Development in Mindanaw (BalaodMindanaw | Philippines |
BanglarManabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) | India |
Bayan Muna | Philippines |
BAYAN-Philippines | Philippines/Asia Pacific |
BirDuino | Kyrgyzstan |
Bytes for All (B4All) | Pakistan |
Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) | Cambodia |
Center of Regional Science and Development” | Kyrgyzstan |
Centre d’appui aux Philippines | Canada |
Centre for Disability in Development (CDD) | Bangladesh |
Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines | United Kingdom |
Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN) | Afghanistan |
Comite Cerezo | Mexico |
Community Self-Reliance Centre (CSRC) | Nepal |
Covenants Watch (CW) | Taiwan |
Dalit Foundation | India |
Dignity – Kadyr-kassiyet (KK) | Kazakhstan |
Federation for Women and Family Planning | Poland |
FEIM | Argentina |
Feminist League | Kazakhstan |
Fiji Women’s Rights Movement | Fiji |
FOKUS – Forum for Women and Development | Norway |
Fundación para Estudio e Investigación de la Mujer | Argentina |
Gabriela | Nueva Ecija, Philippines |
Gabriela – Southern Mindanao Region | Philippines |
GABRIELA Washington, D.C. | USA |
Global Network of Sex Work Projects | UK |
Globe International Center | Mongolia |
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) | Pakistan |
Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) | Indonesia |
INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre | Sri Lanka |
Innabuyog-Gabriela | Philippines |
KABAR BUMI | Indonesia |
Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR) | Kazakhstan |
Korean House for International Solidarity (KHIS) | South Korea |
Kyabaan Inc | Philippines |
L’Associació. Drets Sexuals i Reproductius | Catalonia |
Love Care Home | India |
Madaripur Legal Aid Association (MLAA) | Bangladesh |
Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) | Maldives |
Malyea Foundation | Bangladesh |
MenEngage Global Alliance | USA |
Migrante | Philippines |
Mom Loves Taiwan Association | Taiwan |
MONFEMNET National Network | Mongolia |
Naireeta Services Private Limited | India |
National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), | Pakistan |
National Indigenous Women’s Federation (NIWF) | Nepal |
National Indigenous Women Forum | Nepal |
National Open University of Nigeria | Nigeria |
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers Women and Children Committee | Philippines |
Odhikar | Bangladesh |
Osan migrant’s center | South Korea |
Panday Sining | Philippines |
Peace Track Initiative | Canada/Yemen |
People’s Empowerment Foundation (PEF) | Thailand |
People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) | South Korea |
People’s Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) | India |
PEREMPUAN AMAN | Indonesia |
Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) | Philippines |
Philippines Australia Solidarity Association (PASA) | Victoria, Australia |
Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI) | India |
PROGRESS | Indonesia |
Purple Action for Indigenous Women’s Rights (LILAK) | Philippines |
Pusat KOMAS | Malaysia |
Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) | Bangladesh |
Regional Center for International | Uganda |
Rights Now Collective for Democracy (RN) | Sri Lanka |
Right to Life Human Rights Centre (R2L) | Sri Lanka |
RITES Forum | India |
Roots for Equity | Pakistan |
Roshni Tariqiyati Tanzeem | Pakistan |
Rural Area Development Programme (RADP) | Nepal |
Rural women’s association Alga | Kyrgyzstan |
Sabokahan Unity of Lumad Women | Philippines |
Samahan ng Manggagawang Kaagapay sa Pag-unlad | Philippines |
Serve the People Association (SPA) | Taiwan |
SFBSP-Burundi | Burundi |
Sindh Community Foundation | Pakistan |
Sisterhood Network (SN) | Nagaland, India |
Somos Defensoros | Colombia |
Strategic Initiative for women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network) | Horn of Africa |
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) | Malaysia |
Sukaar Welfare Organization | Pakistan |
Tanggol Bayi-Karapatan | Philippines |
Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) | Philippines |
TDJ-Burundi | Burundi |
THE CENTRE FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT | Vietnam |
UNITE HERE Local 2 Hotel & Restaurant Employees Union | USA |
University of Jaffna | Sri Lanka |
Vietnamese Women for Human Rights (VNWHR) | Vietnam |
We Women Lanka | Sri Lanka |
Womankind Worldwide | UK |
Women Educators Association of Nigeria | Nigeria |
Women Empowerment Against Poverty of Nepal (WEAPoN) | Nepal |
Women Engage for a Common Future | Netherlands |
Women Forum for Women in Nepal | Nepal |
Women’s Rehabilitation Centre (WOREC) | Nepal |
Women’s March Global | USA/Global |
Individuals | Country/Region |
Lenin Raghuvanshi | India |
Nancy Brown | Canada |
Robie Halip | Philippines |
Esther Bangcawayan | Hong Kong |
Marianna Leite | Portugal |
Mariana Winocur | Argentina |
Daniela Fonkatz | Argentina |
Carole Straughn | USA |