"Twitter threats, abuse, murder: what women face defending the environment", 10 Jan 2019

Isabel Cristina Zuleta is a human rights activist in Antioquia, northern Colombia, where she works for the Ríos Vivos - Movimiento de Afectados por Represas (movement of people affected by dams)... Since 2010, Zuleta has opposed the construction of the Hidroituango hydroelectric dam on the river Cauca... Because of her activism, Zuleta has faced threats, harassment, attempted forced disappearances, criminal charges as well as sexual violence... [W]hen Zuleta reported this treatment to the Attorney General, she was told that it “was not the important thing”, and instead...was accused of promoting attacks against the company building the dam... “[L]and and environmental defenders, we confront capitalist interests, and this means [our work] involves a higher level of risk”, Zuleta told 50.50... According to Global Witness, at least 207 human, land and environmental rights activists were murdered around the world in 2017 – 60% in Latin America... While most of these recorded murders were of men,...women activists also “faced gender-specific threats including sexual violence”... Fondo de Acción Urgente [FAU] is calling for the UN resolution 68/181, which...focuses on protecting women human rights defenders, to be enforced and respected,...and for more thorough, independent investigations into threats against women defenders of land and human rights.