Defenders
of the Amazon

In the Amazon, women endure various forms of violence that leave scars on both their bodies and spirits when they rise up to combat the illegal exploitation of the forest's natural resources, the invasion of their lands, and the expropriation of their communities.

These defenders represent a group of diverse identities and nationalities, often insufficiently recognized in official records of conflicts in the region, and are frequently rendered invisible through the violent normalization of the aggressions aimed at silencing them.

So deeply normalized that not all women fighting for human rights and environmental protection identify themselves as defenders.

Since 2021, the Igarapé Institute has been striving to acknowledge these women, unveil the violence against them, and contribute to their safety. We have initiated research, training, and protection programs with four defenders from the Brazilian Amazon.

Last year, we broadened the project with the full participation of 14 women from Brazil, Colombia, and Peru leading this work.

"It means believing in a cause and trusting that for this cause, it is worth stirring the world from its place!"
Angela MendesAcre, Brazil - Environmental and social activist, coordinator of the Chico Mendes Committee
"To be a human rights defender is to live dangerously every day."
Antonia CariongoMaranhão, Brazil - Quilombola leader and human rights activist
"It means feeling the pain of others, placing oneself in the place of those who suffer. Often, they lack information on how to defend themselves, how to speak up. Being a defender is being welcoming."
Atener WapichanaRoraima, Brazil - Indigenous activist against child violence
"To recognize oneself as a defender is to acknowledge and legitimize one's own life story, struggle, and resistance. It is about sustaining the desire to achieve justice and reparation for all the violence we endure and witness every day."
Celleny ServittaAmapá, Brazil - Popular educator and volunteer communicator at the Pan-Amazonian Social Forum
"When a woman is born in the Amazon, a defender is born."
Claudelice SantosPará, Brazil - Human rights and environmental activist, coordinator of the Zé Claudio and Maria Institute
"We are forged to be defenders. If we don't react, if we don't do something, we are annihilated. And it is only possible to see oneself as a defender within a network of unique protection mechanisms."
Dandara RudsanPará, Brazil - Political organizer for RENFA - National Network of Anti-Prohibitionist Feminists
"It is having the courage to dismantle the corruption embedded in public institutions, benefiting a few with much and thus perpetuating the label of such an unequal Brazil."
Dina CarlaMaranhão, Brazil - Public health activist
"To be an indigenous defender is to be reborn in the face of colonialism, reviving the culture of our people. I will be reborn as many times as necessary."
Elizângela BaréAmazonas, Brazil - Indigenous leader of the Upper Rio Negro
"To be a defender represents an effort and a struggle to seek a balance between nature and human beings."
Maria de los Angéles NavarroMapiripán, Meta, Colombia - Agroecological leader
"It means being the voice of my people, honoring our ancestors and the memory of their struggles and achievements. It is about honoring our history of existence, resistance, resilience, and (re)existence."
Melina Macuxi Roraima, Brazil - Anthropologist working with indigenous peoples originally from Venezuela
"The defender is a courageous fighter who addresses social issues with political conviction, guided by love and the common good for all."
Miluska ElgueraLima, Peru - Anthropologist and feminist activist
"We, indigenous peoples without territory, are destined to disappear. Being a defender is to protect, to defend the common cause, our place. It is to continue maintaining the connection with the spirits of the forest."
Susy Gaby Díaz GonzalesPucallpa, Ucayali, Peru - Indigenous leader, president of the Bari Wesna Intercultural Association
"I defend my territory/land as I defend my territory/body because the interaction we have with nature differs from that of other people. We defend all lives, both human and non-human. We are composed of everything that exists in the natural environment."
Vanuza CardosoPará, Brazil - Quilombola leader, president of the Municipal Council of Racial Equality of Ananindeua
"It is to care for Mother Earth. When you violate a woman, you attack her wisdom, her culture, and her struggle to defend Mother Earth, women, their knowledge, and the care for humanity."
Zulma UlcuePutumayo, Colombia - Indigenous leader of the Nasa people
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Who they are, where they live, the violence they suffer

In this infographic, we present the results of a survey with 287 women from Brazil, Colombia, and Peru who defend the Amazon.

Access the infographic

Double Violence Against Women in the Amazon

A region characterized by conflicts, the Amazon records twice the number of cases of violence against women.

See the data on this Infopage

How they can protect
themselves

In the Guide to Protection for Women Defenders of Human Rights and the Environment in the Amazon, we demonstrate how to carry out a personal risk analysis and propose self-protection and care measures, along with a list of contacts to establish a protection network.

Brazil
Guide
Colombia
Guide
Peru
Guide

Challenges and recommendations
for the Amazon

In this report, we present the perspective of defenders from the Brazilian Amazon basin, edetailing their experiences and proposals for addressing the region’s conflicts. Central to this issue is the violence they face: the study reveals that between 2012 and 2022, women in the Legal Amazon region who are advocating for environmental and human rights suffered 765 attacks, of which 36 were fatal.
Read the publication

Also, get to know

Ecocrime

An immersive experience showing how land grabbing, illegal logging, wildcat mining and the illicit wildlife trade are damaging our climate

EVA

To end violence, we need to know its patterns, who are the victims and the perpetrators

Climate
Security

The program aims to strengthen public and corporate policies to prevent the destruction of the environment and lives

Claudelice dos Santos

 Brasil

Ouça
Samela Sateré Mawé

Brasil

Ouça
Valéria Carneiro

Brasil

Ouça

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