As Attacks on Women Defenders Intensify, so Must Our Support By Reylynne Dela Paz Copyright © 2025 IPS-Inter Press Service.

MANILA, Philippines, Dec 15 2025 (IPS) - A global crackdown on civic freedoms is intensifying – and women are on the frontlines of the attack. CIVICUS’s 2025 People Power Under Attack report analyses the extent to which freedoms of association, expression and peaceful assembly are being respected or violated. The report reveals that people in 83 countries now live in conditions where their freedoms are routinely denied, compared to 67 in 2020. In 2020, 13 per cent of the world’s population lived in countries where civic freedoms were broadly respected; now it’s more like 7 per cent. Among the most documented violations in 2025 were detention of human rights defenders, journalists and protesters, and women human rights defenders (WHRDs) were among the most affected. https://www.ipsnews.net/2025/12/as-attacks-on-women-defenders-intensify-so-must-our-support/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Is_the_UN_Ready_for_a_NonRenewable_YearTerm_for_the_SecretaryGeneral_How_Pacific_Wisdom_Is_Shaping_G Copyright © 2025 IPS-Inter Press Service.