Chapter 7, Selfcare

Exhaustion produced by human rights defense work is not normally viewed as a priority for defenders and their organisations.  Women defenders tend to say they don´t have time or space to look after themselves, many of them work long days at work, exposing themselves to multiple impacts in terms of their physical, emotional, psychological, mental and spiritual health as well as their family relations and friendships.  Selfcare is an individual and collective strategy that invites us to re-think our activism and modify patterns that tire us out so our organisations, struggles and movements can be more sustainable.