With this booklet, HRHF aims to promote and build understanding of international standards and provide clear, accessible, and targeted insight into the standards and the context that surrounds them. It is a tool for defenders to disseminate standards nationally, engage with authorities and hold them accountable to the commitments they make internationally, and initiate national conversations on the importance of defenders and their work. The booklet is divided into 16 standards, inspired by the strong content of landmark resolutions related to human rights defenders and their work. It condenses the main points of each standard as outlined in the resolutions. Also available in Russian.
Human rights defenders work to improve societies and contribute to peace and democracy. Defenders are agents for positive change and development. They are key in protecting against human rights violations and in advancing universal human rights.
Human rights defenders are people who are making the world a better and fairer place by promoting and protecting human rights. They seek to ensure our shared commitment to freedom, respect, equality and dignity is reflected in our laws, policies and practices. We can all be a defender of human rights!
This “Commentary to the Declaration on human rights defenders”, is aimed at building on the efforts to raise awareness about the Declaration and the crucial role of human rights defenders. It maps out the rights provided for in the Declaration, based mostly on information received and reports produced by the two Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights defenders, Hina Jilani (2000-2008) and Margaret Sekaggya (since 2008).
The Declaration on human rights defenders was adopted by consensus by the General Assembly in 1998, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, after 14 year of negotiations. (See General Assembly Resolution A/RES/53/144 adopting the Declaration on human rights defenders).
All kinds of people help make sure that everyone’s human rights are respected. Human rights defenders protect our freedom of expression, our access to health care and clean water, our ability to protest peacefully, and all of our other fundamental human rights. Human rights are increasingly under attack in the United States and around the world. That’s why human rights defenders are needed.
The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders was established in 2000 by the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/RES/2000/61). It was later on extended by the Human Rights Council in 2011 (A/HRC/RES/16/5), 2014 (A/HRC/RES/25/18), 2017 (A/HRC/RES/34/5) and most recently in March 2020 for another three years by the March 2020 HRC decision 43/115 and the June 2020 Human Rights Council resolution 43/16.
“Human rights defender” is a term used to describe people who, individually or with others, act to promote or protect human rights in a peaceful manner. Human rights defenders are identified above all by what they do and it is through a description of their actions (section A below) and of some of the contexts in which they work (section B below) that the term can best be explained. The examples given of the activities of human rights defenders are not an exhaustive list.
The nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.
This website was created by the LGBT Issues Committee of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP) to teach psychiatry residents about caring for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex patients. However, we hope it will also be useful to all health and mental health trainees and practitioners.
Astraea is a public foundation, rooted in LGBTQI communities and movements, and work in strategic partnership with foundations, individuals and governments to ensure that their resources reach the activists who need them most and who are best positioned to make transformational impact over time. The organisation raise and distribute funds to programs and initiatives led by and for diverse constituencies, prioritizing groups led by lesbians and queer women, trans and gender non-conforming people, intersex people, and people of color.
Since 1994, Immigration Equality has been proud to support and represent lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), and HIV-positive immigrants seeking safety, fair treatment, and freedom.
A non-profit, interdisciplinary professional and educational organization devoted to transgender health. Our professional, supporting, and student members engage in clinical and academic research to develop evidence-based medicine and strive to promote a high quality of care for transsexual, transgender, and gender-nonconforming individuals internationally.
Queer World is a Norwegian interest organization for LGBTQ+ individuals with minority backgrounds. The organisation is an independent, non-religious, and non-partisan organization that works diligently towards a society where everyone, regardless of their ethnic or religious background, can freely express their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression without experiencing discrimination.
With extensive lists of information.
The pages in this section contain links to documents, websites, and other resources related to LGBT psychology that are consistent with the mission of Div. 44. These links are provided as resources for our members and visitors to this site. Please note that Div. 44 is not responsible for the content or opinions expressed on other websites or within the linked documents.
AGLP traces its roots to the late 1960s when gay and lesbian members of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) met secretly at the annual meetings. In 1973 the APA removed homosexuality from the diagnostic manual (DSM) allowing a more open association of lesbian and gay psychiatrists, who no longer had to fear for their jobs if they were found out to be gay. Even today, the mission of providing support and a safe space for LGBT psychiatrists to meet continues to be important to many of our members.
A formation of more than 30 organisations in 19 countries in Africa committed to advancing justice for lesbian and bisexual women and transdiverse people.
Taylor & Francis make every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in our publications. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents (including the editor, any member of the editorial team or editorial board, and any guest editors), and our licensors, make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content.
(TvT) is a comparative, ongoing qualitative-quantitative research project conducted by Transgender Europe. The project provides an overview of the human rights situation of trans persons in different parts of the world and develops useful data and advocacy tools for international institutions, human rights organizations, the trans movement and the general public.
The world federation of national and local organisations dedicated to achieving equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people across the globe. Established in 1978, ILGA enjoys consultative status at the UN Ecosoc Council. It speaks and lobbies in international fora on behalf of more than 1,200 member organisations from 132 countries.
In July 2013, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) launched UN Free & Equal – an unprecedented global UN public information campaign aimed at promoting equal rights and fair treatment of LGBTI people. In 2017, UN Free & Equal reached 2.4 billion social media feeds around the world and generated a stream of widely shared materials.
Asylum-seekers, refugees, internally displaced people, stateless people and others of concern to UNHCR have diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). They face a complex array of challenges and threats in their countries of origin, and asylum, including discrimination, prejudice, violence and difficulty accessing assistance. UNHCR and IOM have jointly developed this comprehensive training package on the protection of people with diverse SOGIESC for personnel as well as the broader humanitarian community.
“This guide – prepared by the APT with great attention to the current state of international human rights law, best practices in the field of torture prevention, and the wealth of experience of the extraordinary group of experts that provided its substance – will provide an understanding of the factors of risk and the acts, patterns and extreme manifestations of torture and ill treatment against LGTBI persons, and is an invaluable blueprint for any conceptual understanding of these.”
The role of effective communication and patient-centeredness in providing safe and high-quality health care to diverse patient populations is well accepted. Effective patient–provider communication has been linked to an increase in patient satisfaction, better adherence to treatment recommendations, and improved health outcomes. Patient-centered care “encompasses qualities of compassion, empathy, and responsiveness to the needs, values, and expressed preferences of the individual patient.”2 (p.48) Combining the elements of effective communication and patient-centeredness into care delivery has been shown to improve patients’ health and health care.
UNHCR issues these Guidelines pursuant to its mandate, as contained in the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in conjunction with Article 35 of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and Article II of its 1967 Protocol.
This website gives some overview and help in case of compassion fatigue, burnout and related topics. Created by dedicated people working as psychologists, historians and in other fields.
This is a non-profit organization, its mission is to improve the quality of management and staff support and care in humanitarian and developmental organizations.
The Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support (PS Centre) works under the framework of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC), and supports National Societies in promoting and enabling the psychosocial well-being of beneficiaries, staff and volunteers.
Gift From Within was a nonprofit organization that started in 1993 and closed in June 2022. These are short videos on PTSD. The DVD’s are no longer supplied by GIft From Within. Contact Psychotherapy.net and ProQuest. If you need resources on PTSD and Trauma you may wish to contact the following organizations. The National Center for PTSD, The National Center for Victims of Crime, Sidran Institute and The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. These organizations and their respective websites have resources for survivors, family members and health care professionals.
The Green Cross is an international, humanitarian assistance organization, non-profit corporation comprised of trained traumatologists and compassion fatigue service providers. The organization is oriented to helping people in crisis following traumatic events.
The purpose of this course is to expand health and mental health professionals’ abilities to identify and understand countertransference reactions common in work with trauma survivors, the causes and signs of burnout and compassion fatigue, and factors contributing to vicarious trauma and resilience.
The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study was to explore clinicians’ experience of vicarious traumatization and/or vicarious resilience in working with refugee clients in order to gain a better understanding of vicarious trauma and the ways in which clinicians are effected by vicarious trauma. A second purpose of this study was to determine whether or not clinicians experience vicarious resilience in working with this client population, and what, if any, impact the vicarious resilience has on the clinician’s treatment modalities, practice style, and personal life.
An integrative training framework articulating multiple perspectives on the impact of trauma work is offered with a training/supervision exercise to address the complex and systemic relationships that affect therapists in both positive and negative manners. The concepts of vicarious trauma, vicarious resilience, compassion fatigue, resilience, posttraumatic growth, altruism born of suffering, and reciprocity are reviewed. The paper highlights the importance of vicarious resilience as a dimension of experience that counteracts the normally occurring fatiguing processes that trauma therapists experience.
This essay examines the phenomenon of vicarious trauma, its impact on those who work with traumatized clients and the importance of self-care.
The background material and statistics in a manual (55 p.) for the ProQOL test mentioned above.
This test provides with material to estimate the impact, the possible burnout or compassion fatigue in the helpers in disaster.
The Headington Institute provides also some other very good online training courses to download/do online.
This assessment tool provides an overview of effective strategies to maintain self-care. After completing the full assessment, choose one item from each area that you will actively work to improve. Another example of post month assessment sheet.
Each year more than 10 million children in the United States endure the trauma of abuse, violence, natural disasters, and other adverse events. These experiences can give rise to significant emotional and behavioural problems that can profoundly disrupt the children’s lives and bring them in contact with child-serving systems. For therapists, child welfare workers, case managers, and other helping professionals involved in the care of traumatized children and their families, the essential act of listening to trauma stories may take an emotional toll that compromises professional functioning and diminishes quality of life.
Vicarious trauma refers to the negative reactions that can occur when hearing about someone else’s traumatic experiences. Human rights defenders and officers are at risk of vicarious trauma when they interview victims of human rights violations and hear stories of their suffering.
A new “Caring for Volunteers, a Psychosocial Support Toolkit,” will help National Societies not only prepare volunteers but also support them during and after disasters, conflicts and other dramatic events. The toolkit contains practical tools for preparing for and handling crises, as well as for peer support and communication. In addition, there is a chapter on how to monitor and evaluate volunteers’ efforts. Some of the tools can be printed out for managers in the field and for volunteers.
This workbook (80 p) is together with the workbook mentioned above, to describe the SMID concept. Both workbooks were designed to provide the basic training material for persons who will provide help for the helpers.
Following the programme, staff reported significant reductions in role ambiguity, and improvements in the nature of their work, personal relationships with colleagues and superiors and physical conditions in the workplace. There were no significant differences in reported organisational structure or job satisfaction. This evaluation of a grassroots programme, designed to address the expressed needs of displaced staff, suggests that reductions in daily living stresses can be achieved even in the context of ongoing crisis.
This workbook (26 p) describes the SMID concept (Stress Management in Disasters in the Caribbean), a “comprehensive, peer-driven, multi-component stress management program which is administered on a volunteer basis and was designed to prevent and to mitigate the psychological dysfunction which exposure to traumatic situations like disasters may cause in emergency response personnel. The program is based on the principles of crisis intervention and critical incident stress management and it is not intended to take the place of professional therapy”.
These guidelines outline recommendations for the prevention of, and response to, vicarious trauma in researchers working in the field of sexual and intimate partner violence but can also be of use and relevance to those researching other sensitive topics including other forms of gender based violence.
The article provides with an overview over the problems and psychological consequences helpers are facing, by taking care of clients in very difficult and almost catastrophic situations, with focus on social workers in Child Welfare.
The results of this study imply that supervisors and agencies can impact the amount of self-care their staff participate in, potentially resulting in staff who have higher levels of compassion satisfaction and lower levels of burnout or secondary traumatic stress.
In this webcast Frank Ochberg explains the differences between Compassion Fatigue, Secondary PTSD, burn out, and Caregiver Burden. Our DVD, When Helping Hurts: Preventing & Treating Compassion Fatigue is available for purchase on www.giftfromwithin.org
This article examines the complex relationship between culture, values, and ethics in mental health care. Cultural competence is a practical, concrete demonstration of the ethical principles of respect for persons, beneficence (doing good), nonmaleficence (not doing harm), and justice (treating people fairly)—the cornerstones of modern ethical codes for the health professions. Five clinical cases are presented to illustrate the range of ethical issues faced by mental health clinicians working in a multicultural environment, including issues of therapeutic boundaries, diagnosis, treatment choice, confidentiality and informed consent, and the just distribution of limited health care resources.
This paper discusses the relevance of multiculturalism to professional excellence in counseling. Focus also on multicultural awareness, multicultural counselors.
Roughly 15 million of the 62 million rural U.S. residents struggle with mental illness and substance abuse. Important but little-recognized ethical dilemmas also affect rural mental health care delivery. The authors describe the features of rural mental health care and provide vignettes illustrating ethical issues encountered in the predominantly rural and frontier states of Alaska and New Mexico.
The American Psychological Association, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Fordham University Center for Ethics Education convened a group of national leaders in bioethics, multicultural research, and ethnic minority mental health to produce a living document to guide ethical decision making for mental health research involving ethnic minority children and youths. This report summarizes the key recommendations distilled from these discussions.
In response to the rapid global rise in trafficking and growing demand for information on trafficking by policymakers, donors, service providers, and the media, women who have been trafficked are increasingly being interviewed to discuss their experiences. This article is introduces recommendations that are intended primarily for use by researchers, members of the media, and service providers unfamiliar with the situation of trafficked women. They do not explicitly discuss the different risks and obligations of interviewing females who are minors, although many of the same principles will apply.
This paper reviews recent literature regarding ethical issues in research with children and young people. This is a topic that has seen a significant growth in interest over recent years, in response to developments in both child research and ethics. Whilst acknowledging the clear importance of the issues related to medical and psychological research studies on children, they are beyond the scope of this review which is focused on ethical issues related to research with children, who are actively participating and expressing their views and opinions.
Scattergood Ethics is dedicated to education, research, and resource development for the field of psychiatric, mental, and behavioral healthcare ethics. The program engages in scholarly research, trains and educates clinicians and scholars in mental and behavioral healthcare ethics, sponsors programs and public events, and promotes and advocates for greater attention to the ethical dimensions of diagnosis and treatment.
Globethics is an international non-governmental organisation working for ethical leadership through the integration of academic and public engagements. Registered in Geneva, Switzerland, as an independent, not-for-profit foundation with an international Board, and affiliated centres across the globe, Globethics seeks to be inclusive of diverse cultural, religious, philosophical, and humanist ethical wisdoms, and to be the bridge between the different world views on ethical issues.
The World Health Organization has in 2002 launched its Ethics and Health Initiative, now carried on by the Department of Ethics, Trade and Human Rights. On this website you will find also some links to this topic, as well as information on the work the WHO is involved here.
After WWII, the United Nations formed as a result of the Holocaust. After such a horrific event, world leaders knew it was necessary to formally enshrine universal human rights. The UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948. The 30 articles outline the basic rights and freedoms of all people. The UDHR, the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant for Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights form the International Bill of Rights. What are the ethics – or guiding principles – of human rights? There are five:
The writer explains that every content area in psychology stimulates numerous teachable moments with respect to ethical issues – the raw material is there, and it is simply a matter of casting course content in terms of its ethical dimension. When ethics content is seamlessly integrated across the curriculum, students come to understand that adhering to ethical principles is the responsibility of all members of the profession and they come to expect to be confronted with ethical dilemmas in many professional contexts.