Welcome

Key explanation points:

• this integrated security workshop is grounded in years of collaboration with women human rights defenders from all over the world;
• this has been part of the Defending the Defenders Project, a partnership between Front Line, the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation and Urgent Action Fund;
• during the second phase of this project, the integrated security workshop method was tested and developed through a series of workshops run from 2007–11;
• more than 300 women human rights defenders from over 50 countries in Africa, Asia, the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, Latin America and the Middle East have participated in these workshops;
• this workshop is a continuation of this process;
• these are not your typical security workshops. Instead, they embody feminism in action, meaning that they are challenging, flexible, and full of surprises. They are about partnership, dialogue, respect, responsibility, and creating our own safe space together; and
• this is a space in which to make time for ourselves, for our worries, our thoughts, and our hopes – and come away with new ideas and strategies for staying safe and well.