Vita Activa - Support Centres

Vita Activa works as a helpline and a solutions laboratory for women journalists, activists and women’s rights defenders who are facing online violence and want to change the ways they face and combat perpetrators and attacks. Responders trained in psychological first aid, conflict resolution and strategic thinking work with women journalists who have faced harassment to build solutions tailored to their cases.

E-mail: apoyo@vita-activa.org

EU Human Rights Defenders Relocation Platform - Support Centres

We are a global platform of national, regional and international organizations involved in programmes for the temporary relocation of human rights defenders at risk. Our activities are diverse and include identifying HRDs in need of relocation through our close work with them, providing temporary shelter within the same country, hosting HRDs in countries in their region or outside it, providing services or capacity-building opportunities to relocated HRDs, and contributing to the protection of HRDs on the ground.
Our website is a portal for members of the platform, as well as a source of information for actors interested in knowing more about HRDs, temporary relocation, and getting involved involved in temporary relocation programmes.
An initiative of the European Commission, the development and coordination of the platform is currently in the hands of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders mechanism.

Shelter City - Support Centres

Shelter City is a nationwide initiative of Justice and Peace Netherlands to protect human rights defenders, in cooperation with a growing number of Dutch cities and local organizations.

Human rights defenders defend the rights of themselves and of others. Through their work they play an important role in the promotion of democratic values, political freedoms, and civil rights. This is a challenging and dangerous fight: they are often silenced, threatened, arrested, tortured and sometimes they disappear.

Justice and Peace established Shelter City in 2012 on the request of their network of international human rights defenders. After the first Shelter City in The Hague, Middelburg joined in 2014, followed by Nijmegen, Maastricht, Utrecht, and Amsterdam in 2015, Tilburg and Groningen in 2016 and Zwolle and Haarlem in 2017. In 2018 Deventer also joined the Shelter City network. Rotterdam followed in 2020. Tbilisi & Batumi (Georgia), Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), Cotonou (Benin) and San José (Costa Rica) have joined the network as International Shelter City Hubs. The expectation is that other cities (in or outside the Netherlands) will join in the future as well. The growing number of applications from Human Rights Defenders under threat shows that new Shelter Cities are strongly needed.

In every Shelter City the municipality, local organizations, universities, and Justice and Peace provide the shelter and take care of the program for the human rights defender. Together with the human rights defenders they organize meetings and workshops that contribute to the raising of awareness about human rights issues among the inhabitants of the Shelter Cities.

Shelter City is affiliated with the EU Human Rights Defenders Relocation Platform

Civil Rights Defenders - Support Centres

A support centre that partners with and supports human rights defenders who work in some of the world’s most repressive regions on four continents.

Through advocacy, litigation, and public campaigns, CRD advance people’s rights globally and also act as Sweden’s watchdog civil rights group.

Among the support activities, there are security training, emergency support, expertise, organisational development, and long-term financial support.

Protect the Protest. Stopping SLAPP. Defending Dissent - Support Centres

A task force of nonprofit organizations that have long dealt with SLAPP threats (threats coming from strategic lawsuits against public participation).

The organizations of "Protect the Protest" have combined their expertise and collective power to protect the free speech of public interest advocates in the United States.

They declare: "An attack on one is now an attack on all".

The task force includes experienced lawyers, journalists, communications professionals, and activists, in order to stand together as one to expose courtroom bullying, and protect the right to boldly speak the truth.

The approach is threefold:

● Building Resilience to SLAPPs - providing resources and training for civil society organizations, community leaders, journalists, and the broader public on how to best protect themselves from SLAPPs and what to do if they’re targeted. This includes a network of attorneys to defend those facing SLAPPs, especially individuals and small organizations with extremely limited resources.

● Exposing SLAPPs and Those Who File Them - drawing on their own organizations’ campaigning, communications, and legal expertise to support public interest advocates and watchdogs targeted by SLAPPs. This includes campaigning against the biggest SLAPP offenders, as well as legal defense where resources allow.

● Campaigning on Strategic Issues - When a specific SLAPP poses a broader threat to civil society or to democracy, they mobilize their collective resources to protect the rights to free speech and peaceful protest. Likewise, when opportunities arise to advance anti-SLAPP policies or laws, we engage in close collaboration with other stakeholders.

GIJN Help Desk - Support Centres

The Global Investigative Journalism Network, an international association of journalism organizations, offers the access to a network of experts and resources able to help reporters around the world.

The helpdesk integrates hundreds of tip sheets, how-to stories, conference videos, in a sort of library, mirroring the aim of the network which is the training and sharing of information among investigative and data journalists—even in repressive regimes and marginalized communities.

GIJN helpdesk is presented as "a space designed to help investigative journalists around the world".

GIJN Guide: Resources for Women Journalists - Support Centres

Women journalists often face unique challenges while doing their jobs. The Global Investigative Journalism Network GIJN has gathered resources to help our female colleagues around the world find networks, resources and tools to handle issues such as online harassment, workplace discrimination and gender-based violence, as well as easily locate opportunities and support designed specifically for women journalists.

The topics:

Networks (international and regional), Safety, Discrimination & Harassment, Mentors, Grants & Fellowships, Awards, Female Experts, Investigative Journalism

Free Press Unlimited (FPU) - Support Centres

Free Press Unlimited is a foundation based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which supports local journalists in war zones and conflict areas in over 43 countries. 

The organization offers several support programmes for journalists at risk:

1. Emergency support: Journalists and media organisations in distress can apply for emergency support from Reporters Respond. Through this fund, Free Press Unlimited enables them to resume their work as quickly as possible when faced with obstruction, vandalism, or intimidations. More info here .
2. Legal support: With the Legal Defense Fund, Free Press Unlimited provides financial support to journalists and media organisations worldwide, giving support to journalists who face prosecution or imprisonment and who are unable to afford a lawyer or trial costs. More info here .
3. Safety trainings & tools: In collaboration with international partners, Free Press Unlimited supports (media) organisations and media workers with safety training. More info here .
4. Advocacy: Independent media and press freedom cannot exist if safety for journalists isn’t guaranteed. Therefore, Free Press Unlimited actively lobbies for a safe work environment for journalists. An environment which enables them to work free of fear and danger. More info here .

Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) - Support Centres

The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) is a Turkish non-profit (registered as Medya ve Hukuk Çalışmaları Derneği) founded in late 2017.

The main goals of the association, as stated in its website, are:

• offering legal protection to journalists who are punished for expressing their thoughts
• promoting the public’s right to information, particularly by supporting good finance and science journalism
• promoting rights of minority groups, with a concentration on refugees and the LGBTI community.

Digital Defenders Partnership - Support Centres

The Digital Defenders Partnership (DDP) was formed in 2012 by the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC). The aim of the DDP is to protect and advance internet freedom, and to keep the internet free from emerging threats, specifically in repressive environments. DDP coordinates emergency support for individuals and organizations such as human rights defenders, journalists, civil society activists, and bloggers. The DDP affirm to have "a people-centered approach, focusing on our core values of transparency, human rights, inclusivity & diversity, equality, confidentiality, and freedom".

The DDP has three different types of funding that address urgent emergency situations, as well as longer-term grants focused on building capacity within an organization. Furthermore, DDP coordinates a Digital Integrity Fellowship where organizations receive personalized digital security and privacy trainings, and a Rapid Response Network program.