Women's Declaration International

{{cquote|Did [[Freemason|Freemasonry]] have a role in the roots of the trans movement?|||A lecture by WDI<ref name=WDIFeministLegalClinic>Women's Declaration International (WDI): "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foi7fFKx-kI Did Freemasonry have a role in the roots of the trans movement?]"</ref>}}
[[File:WDI-USA.jpeg|thumb|right|165px|The logo for the US branch of WDI]]
{{gender}}
'''Women's Declaration International''' (WDI), originally named '''Women's Human Rights Campaign''' (WHRC), is a [[British]] far-right [[TERF]] group with branches in several other countries, including the [[United States]], where it is closely aligned with [[Trump]]ist, [[alt-right]] and [[fascist]] movements. It has been described as "one of the key players of [[Transphobia|anti-trans]] [[feminism]] at a global scale"<ref>Grinspan, Mauro Cabral; Eloit, Ilana; Paternotte, David; Verloo, Mieke (2023). "[https://doi.org/10.21825%2Fdigest.90008 Exploring TERFnesses]". ''Journal of Diversity and Gender Studies''. 10 (2). doi:10.21825/digest.90008.</ref> and one of the "most important 'gender critical' groups",<ref>Beck, Dorothee; Habed, Adriano José; Henninger, Annette. ''Blurring Boundaries – ‘Anti-Gender’ Ideology Meets Feminist and LGBTIQ+ Discourses''. Verlag Barbara Budrich. p. 29. ISBN 9783847418573. "Among the most important 'gender critical' groups [...] are [...] the Women's Declaration International (WDI), formerly known as the Women's Human Rights Campaign (WHRC), Fair Play for Women (FPFW), Women's Place UK, Filia, Re-sisters, Sex Matters"</ref> and is part of the broader [[anti-gender]] landscape internationally.<ref name=tgeu/> The group has enthusiastically supported [[Donald Trump]]'s transphobia and claimed credit for inspiring his assault on trans rights.<ref name=Dansky>Kara Dansky: [https://karadansky.substack.com/p/ffs-friday-may-mailman FFS Friday: May Mailman]</ref> It is one of the founding members of [[Women's Platform for Action International]], a new international umbrella organization for the TERF movement that claims to oppose the "[[queer agenda]]".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250223085805/https://www.womensplatformforaction.org/who-we-are/ Who we are]</ref>

The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] states WDI is part of "the anti-[[LGBTQ+]] [[pseudoscience]] network" that engages in narrative manipulation.<ref>"[https://www.splcenter.org/captain/timeline-building-pseudoscience-network Timeline: Building a Pseudoscience Network]". ''[https://www.splcenter.org/captain Combating Anti-LGBTQ+ Pseudoscience]''. Southern Poverty Law Center. 2023.</ref><ref>"[https://www.splcenter.org/captain/defining-pseudoscience-network Group dynamics and division of labor within the anti-LGBTQ+ pseudoscience network]". ''[https://www.splcenter.org/captain Combating Anti-LGBTQ+ Pseudoscience]''.Southern Poverty Law Center. 2023. "Table 5.2: Networked Groups by Typology [...] Narrative Manipulation: [...] Women's Declaration International"</ref> WDI focuses on harassing individual trans people in social media and promoting [[conspiracy theory|conspiratorial thinking]].<ref name=tgeu/> It is noted for its open collaboration with the [[far right]] and pro-[[Donald Trump|Trump]] [[Republicans]], and is described by mainstream feminists as "an extreme anti-trans group"<ref name=awid2/> and "anti-trans [[bigot]]s disguised as feminists."<ref name=now/>

The group's directors as of 2024 were [[Sheila Jeffreys]] (a [[political lesbian]] activist), Heather Brunskell-Evans, Jo Brew, and Mary Ann O'Hara.<ref>(August 9, 2024). [https://web.archive.org/web/20240809203056/https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12039415/officers "WOMEN'S DECLARATION INTERNATIONAL LTD / Company number 12039415 / People"]. GOV.UK, via the Wayback Machine.</ref> In 2021, Brew wrote a polemic asserting [[George Orwell]]'s book ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' is [[misogynist]], and seeming to argue that the arch-villain of ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'', Big Brother, should be viewed more sympathetically.<ref>Jo Brew (December 30, 2021). [https://archive.ph/HOlDt "Big Sister is Watching You!: A Radical Feminist Analysis of Nineteen Eighty-Four"]. ''Substack'', via archive.today.</ref> In 2024, WDI released an analysis about whether "[[lesbian]] culture" constitutes "[[political lesbianism|political potential]] consistent with [[radical feminist]] principles".<ref>(August 2, 2024). [https://web.archive.org/web/20240805134106/https://womensdeclarationusa.com/to-what-extent-is-lesbian-culture-consistent-with-radical-feminism/ "To What Extent Is Lesbian Culture Consistent With Radical Feminism?"]. ''Women's Declaration International'', via the Wayback Machine.</ref>

==Anti-trans activism==
WDI openly and extensively collaborates with the far right.<ref name=rose>[https://rosecityantifa.org/articles/WDI-USA/ WDI-USA: Anti-Trans Hate Group Event in Portland] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20240110173413/https://rosecityantifa.org/articles/WDI-USA/ Archived]). "One of the most concerning aspects of WDI-USA and WoLF’s organizing processes is their deliberate and consistent collaboration and crossover with the far-right. WDI-USA president Kara Dansky, who has appeared on white nationalist Tucker Carlson’s former Fox News talk show “something like 10 times”, claims that this strategy is both harmless and necessary to advance their cause, because (as she admits) so few non-conservatives are willing to work with them. During the time Dansky served on their board, WoLF accepted funding from the ADF—a conservative Christian legal advocacy group that is virulently homophobic and misogynist. The ADF was instrumental in overturning Roe v Wade, and has successfully litigated numerous other Supreme Court cases that have had devastating material consequences for women and the LGBTQ+ community — all in direct opposition to WoLF’s supposed values. Both WDI-USA and WoLF have filed amicus briefs in multiple ADF court cases."</ref><ref name=allornone/><ref>Studnik, Joane (24 January 2023). "[https://www.freitag.de/autoren/joane-studnik/was-bedeutet-terf-wie-linke-transfeindlichkeit-rechtsextreme-staerkt Was bedeutet TERF? Wie linke Transfeindlichkeit Rechtsextreme stärkt]" [What does TERF mean? How left-wing transphobia strengthens the far right]. ''Der Freitag''.</ref> It has endorsed pro-Trump Republican anti-trans initiatives and has developed model legislation to restrict transgender rights that has been used by Republicans in state legislatures in the United States.<ref>Holcomb, Jamie (26 February 2023). "[https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/state_news/bills-restricting-transgender-rights-circulate-across-the-country/article_b56b9422-ae3f-11ed-9c88-bb587e5209d3.html Bills restricting transgender rights circulate across the country]". ''Columbia Missourian''.</ref> A 2023 report by Transgender Europe described WDI as one of the main [[anti-gender]] actors targeting trans people in [[Germany]], and stated that WDI's tactics include fostering open hostility towards individual trans people, encouraging [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy thinking]], building connections with the far right and promoting "shitstorms" against selected targets.<ref name=tgeu>''[https://tgeu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/tgeu-agm-landscape-analysis-2023.pdf Landscape Analysis: What we know on anti-gender movement measures and actors targeting trans people across Europe and Central Asia]'' (PDF). Transgender Europe. 2023. pp. 28–29.</ref> Per Koch, a [[historian]] of ideas, noted that WDI "spends almost all of its time persecuting trans women," including by "[[trolling]] trans people in social media."<ref>Koch, Per (2023). "[https://www.fpol.no/ulver-i-akademiske-fareklaer/ Ulver i akademiske fåreklær]" [Wolves in academic sheep's clothing]. ''Forskningspolitikk'' [Research Policy].</ref> In 2020 Sarah Clarke and Mallory Moore of the Trans Safety Network described WDI (WHRC) as "a key point of convergence" between transphobic feminism and far right activism.<ref name=Clarke>Sarah Clarke and Mallory Moore (18 February 2020). "[https://transsafety.network/posts/gcs-and-the-right/ Transphobic Feminism and Far Right Activism Rapidly Converging]." ''Trans Safety Network''.</ref> The 2023 report ''Rights For Me, Not For Thee: How Anti-Trans Feminists Took Their Advocacy to the United Nations'' described WDI as "a goliath of anti-trans activism with nearly 50 regional chapters worldwide" with a "deep involvement with the [[Religious Right|Christian Right]]."<ref name=allornone>''[https://allornone.world/2023/05/26/rights-for-me-not-for-thee-how-anti-trans-feminists-took-their-advocacy-to-the-united-nations/ Rights For Me, Not For Thee: How Anti-Trans Feminists Took Their Advocacy to the United Nations]''</ref>

[[Fascism]] scholar {{wpl|Simon Strick}} noted that WDI’s "extremist" positions have "isolated the WDI from wider international feminism and brought them into strategic coalitions with [[conservative]] and extreme right organizations".<ref>Strick, Simon (30 August 2022). "[https://newfascismsyllabus.com/contributions/trans-panic-comes-to-germany/ Trans Panic Comes to Germany]". ''New Fascism Syllabus''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20221203092903/https://newfascismsyllabus.com/contributions/trans-panic-comes-to-germany/ Archived from the original on 3 December 2022].</ref> The largest U.S. feminist organization, the {{wpl|National Organization for Women}} (NOW), described WDI as "anti-trans bigots disguised as feminists" and said WDI has a focus on "sex fundamentalism and hostility towards trans people."<ref name=now>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20230802172153/https://now.org/blog/even-if-bigots-insist-it-is-waging-a-hate-campaign-against-trans-people-is-not-feminist/ Even if Bigots Insist it is, Waging a Hate Campaign Against Trans People is Not Feminist]". National Organization for Women. 25 July 2023. [https://now.org/blog/even-if-bigots-insist-it-is-waging-a-hate-campaign-against-trans-people-is-not-feminist/ Archived from the original] on 2 August 2023.</ref><ref>"[https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/wdi-convention-18361033.php Anti-trans group, advertising as feminists, descends on S.F. for annual convention]". ''San Francisco Chronicle''.</ref>

The {{wpl|Association for Women's Rights in Development}} (AWID) described WDI (WHRC) as a Trojan Horse in [[human rights]] spaces and said that it "engages in [[sensationalism]] and [[FUD|fear-mongering]]" to "undermine and water down the progressions of human rights standards that protect the rights of trans and gender non-conforming persons,"<ref name=awid/> and that it promotes "extreme anti-trans misinformation" and is "an extreme anti-trans group."<ref name=awid2/> WDI has been described by scholars as part of a "complex threat to [[democracy]]" that "represent[s] a [[reactionary]] [[populist]] backlash to basic human rights principles," and that seeks to "demonize the very basics of trans existence".<ref>Engebretsen, Elisabeth L. (2022). "[https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97535-7_9 Scientizing Gender? An Examination of Anti-Gender Campaigns on Social Media, Norway]". In Eslen-Ziya, H.; Giorgi, A. (eds.). ''Populism and Science in Europe''. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 185–206. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-97535-7_9. ISBN 978-3-030-97534-0.</ref>

There is a significant overlap between WDI and some other TERF groups, including [[Women's Liberation Front]] (WoLF) and [[FiLiA]]. WDI USA President Kara Dansky has also served as co-chair of WoLF, an [[astroturf]] group pretending to be feminists, but actually funded by [[evangelical Christian]] hate group [[Focus on the Family]] and to some extent by [[Alliance Defending Freedom]] (ADF), which is designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. As President of WDI USA, Dansky has also been a regular guest on white nationalist [[Tucker Carlson]]'s show. WDI's willingness to work with the far right has even been criticized by some other TERFs. Dansky has defended WDI's work with religious and far-right groups, stating that few other people are willing to work with them.<ref name=rose/> Both WDI and WoLF have filed amicus briefs in multiple ADF court cases.<ref name=rose/> In September 2023, WDI hosted an anti-trans conference in San Francisco, that also featured a panel on "working with the right." The conference was opposed by feminists and pro-LGBTQ+ demonstrators.<ref>"[https://itsgoingdown.org/san-francisco-hits-the-streets-to-oppose-far-right-anti-trans-conference/ San Francisco Hits The Streets To Oppose Far-Right Anti-Trans Conference]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20231014114724/https://itsgoingdown.org/san-francisco-hits-the-streets-to-oppose-far-right-anti-trans-conference/ Archived])</ref> WDI members frequently share and promote articles from [[Reduxx]], a far-right website that has become one of the main organs of the TERF movement.

In August 2024, WDI joined a number of [[Italian]] groups (RadFem Italia, Feminist Post, Rete per l’Inviolabilità del Corpo Femminile, SeNonOraQuando Sisters, and I-Dee) to create a petition calling for the [[Sex and gender in sport|reintroduction of sex testing by the International Olympic Committee]].<ref>Mariarachele Accettura (August 5, 2024). [https://archive.ph/MJxPU "Salva lo sport femminile, firma per sostenere la proposta di Reem Alsalem"]. Change.org, via archive.today.</ref> This immediately followed a then-recent [[manufactroversy]] at the 2024 Summer Olympics in which athletes {{w|Imane Khelif}} and {{w|Lin Yu-ting}} were falsely accused of being male,<ref>Emma Guinness (August 2, 2024). [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/imane-khelif-olympics-boxer-trans-debate-gender-carini-b2590229.html "Inside the tough childhood of Olympic boxer Imane Khelif as she faces groundless accusations of being male"]. ''The Independent''.</ref><ref name="DLImane">Melanie Goodfellow (August 2, 2024). [https://deadline.com/2024/08/international-olympics-committee-witch-hunt-boxing-gender-row-1236029886/ "International Olympics Committee Decries 'Witch Hunt' As Boxing Gender Row Continues: 'This Is A Minefield'"]. ''Deadline''.</ref><ref name="TIMELin">Koh Ewe (August 2, 2024). [https://time.com/7006869/taiwan-olympics-boxer-lin-yu-ting-gender-controversy-jk-rowling/ "Taiwan Turns Against J.K. Rowling for Stirring Olympic Boxing Gender Controversy"]. ''TIME''.</ref> and dubiously accused of being [[intersex]].<ref name="WaPoOlympics">Les Carpenter (August 1, 2024). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2024/08/01/imane-khelif-algerian-boxer-gender-paris-olympics/ "Olympic woman boxer who faced gender-eligibility claim wins, igniting outcry"]. ''The Washington Post''. Quote: "The IOC, which is overseeing the boxing competition in Paris, does not test for gender, and there never has been evidence that either Khelif or Lin had XY chromosomes or elevated levels of testosterone. They have competed for years, including at the Tokyo Olympics and several world championships."</ref><ref name="IOCReut">Karolos Grohmann (August 5, 2024). [https://www.reuters.com/sports/olympics/iba-gender-tests-two-boxers-were-flawed-illegitimate-says-ioc-2024-08-04/ "IBA gender tests on two boxers were flawed and illegitimate, says IOC"]. ''Reuters''.</ref><ref name="Beacham">Greg Beacham (August 3, 2024). [https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-khelif-russia-boxing-b53b1edda21139d14a572bd35ca440e6 "Banned governing body that’s fueling outcry on Olympic boxers has Russian ties and troubled history"]. ''The Associated Press''.</ref> WDI shared a slew of derogatory posts about the athletes.<ref>(August 5, 2024). [https://ghostarchive.org/archive/B0rUC "WDI.USA"]. ''Twitter'', via GhostArchive.</ref> The (denied) accusations that Khelif is intersex stem, under strange circumstances, from the International Boxing Association (IBA), a Russian-run sports body known among other things for its ties to Russian organized crime, drug trafficking, and the Russian state-run gas company Gazprom.<ref name="Beacham"/> The IBA began claiming that Khelif was intersex after she defeated an until-then undefeated Russian competitor.<ref name="Beacham"/> The International Olympic Committee expelled the IBA,<ref name="Beacham"/> and accused it of fueling a "disinformation campaign against the Olympic movement."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carpenter |first=Les |date=2024-08-05 |title=Russian boxing chief fuels Olympic turmoil in bizarre news conference |url=https://archive.ph/mz8UB |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> The IBA has contradicted its own claims about Khelif, once stating she did not fail a testosterone test, and another time claiming that she did.<ref>Sean Gregory (August 5, 2024). [https://time.com/7008028/iba-boxing-gender-controversy-paris-olympics/ "The IBA Held a Press Conference About Boxing’s Gender Controversy. It Was a Chaotic Mess"]. ''TIME''.</ref>

In 2024 WDI along with the [[Women's Liberation Front]], [[European Network of Migrant Women]] and other TERF groups published an open letter attacking UN Women for "demonizing and vilifying women who know that men are not women, and never will be."<ref>[https://www.womenforwomensrights.org/open-letter-un-women/ Open Letter to UN Women]</ref>

In Sweden, Fanny zu Knyphausen, known under the pseudonym “Fanny Berg” in anti-trans circles, was the Swedish "country contact" of WDI, while also making anti-trans "documentaries" for the state-owned broadcasting companies {{wpl|Sveriges Radio}} and {{wpl|Sveriges Television}}. Knyphausen/Berg is also a member of GENID, another anti-trans hate group.<ref>[https://bsky.app/profile/phindus.bsky.social/post/3lgpuhlvchk26 Så WDI’s tidigare Sverige-kontakt (och GENID-medlem) hade ändå med Transkriget att göra!</ref>

=="Declaration on Women's Sex-Based Rights"==
WHRC/WDI was originally created to promote a manifesto against transgender rights titled "Declaration on Women's Sex-Based Rights". In 2019 ''PinkNews'' noted that the group "primarily exist[ed] as the organisation behind the declaration".<ref>Parsons, Vic. "[https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/11/20/trans-day-remembrance-anti-trans-joan-mcalpine-sheila-jeffreys-scottish-parliament-snp-labour/ MSPs invite academic who brands trans women 'parasites' to speak on Transgender Day of Remembrance]". ''PinkNews''.</ref> The {{wpl|Association for Women's Rights in Development}} said the declaration co-opts the "{{wpl|Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women}} (CEDAW) framework to claim that '[[sex]]' is an immutable category and '[[gender]]' is not a legitimate concept",<ref name=awid2>"[https://awid.org/sites/default/files/2022-08/Final%20EN%20Web%20-%20Gender%20Ideology%20Brief%20-%20July%202022.pdf 'Gender ideology' narratives: A threat to human rights]". {{wpl|Association for Women's Rights in Development}}. 2022. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230203233735/https://awid.org/sites/default/files/2022-08/Final%20EN%20Web%20-%20Gender%20Ideology%20Brief%20-%20July%202022.pdf Archived] (PDF) from the original on 3 February 2023.</ref> and that the "[[Sex-based rights|'sex-based']] [[rhetoric]] misuses concepts of sex and gender to push a deeply [[Discrimination|discriminatory]] agenda".<ref name=awid>"[https://www.awid.org/news-and-analysis/trojan-horses-human-rights-spaces Trojan horses in human rights spaces: anti-rights discourses, tactics and their convergences with trans-exclusionary feminists]". {{wpl|Association for Women's Rights in Development}}. [https://web.archive.org/web/20211129053832/https://www.awid.org/news-and-analysis/trojan-horses-human-rights-spaces Archived] from the original on 29 November 2021.</ref> Legal scholar and human rights expert Sandra Duffy described the declaration's concept of "sex-based rights" as "a fiction with the pretense of legality".<ref>Duffy, Sandra (26 October 2021). "[https://sandraduffy.wordpress.com/2021/10/26/an-international-human-rights-law-analysis-of-the-whrc-declaration/ An International Human Rights Law Analysis of the WHRC Declaration]". [https://web.archive.org/web/20220616105029/https://sandraduffy.wordpress.com/2021/10/26/an-international-human-rights-law-analysis-of-the-whrc-declaration/ Archived] from the original on 16 June 2022.</ref> The declaration has been described as "a smoke and mirrors act void of any legal grounding" that relies on "a cherry-picked interpretation of CEDAW [...] ignoring decades of advancements in human rights law."<ref name=allornone/> Leading feminist organizations in the [[United Kingdom]] united in condemnation of the event that launched the declaration, with {{wpl|Scottish Women's Aid}} describing WDI (WHRC) as a group "seeking to stigmatise and discriminate against trans women."<ref>Logan, Caitlin. "[https://sourcenews.scot/feminists-warn-of-blurred-lines-between-free-speech-and-hate-speech-on-trans-people-ahead-of-parliament-event/ Feminists warn of blurred lines 'between free speech and hate speech' on trans people ahead of parliament event]". ''Source''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20211204221505/https://sourcenews.scot/feminists-warn-of-blurred-lines-between-free-speech-and-hate-speech-on-trans-people-ahead-of-parliament-event/ Archived] from the original on 4 December 2021.</ref>

==Inspiring Trump's transphobia==
The group has enthusiastically supported [[Donald Trump]]'s transphobia. Trump's Orwellian anti-trans executive order, "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government," was written by [[Stephen Miller]] and hard-right anti-abortion activist May Mailman, who has collaborated with WDI's Kara Dansky in the past. According to Dansky, Mailman has stated that she was inspired by Dansky "explaining that ‘transgender’ as a category is (...) absurdly flimsy." Dansky also wrote that "I have to imagine that American TERFs have played a role in informing May’s thinking."<ref name=Dansky/>

==See also==
*[[Women's Platform for Action International]]
*[[Women's Liberation Front]]
*[[FiLiA]]
*[[European Network of Migrant Women]]
*[[LGB Alliance]]
*[[Reduxx]]
*[[Sheila Jeffreys]] — one of the co-founders of WDI (then WHRC)

==External links==
*{{wpa|Women's Declaration International}}
*[https://transdatalibrary.org/organization/womens-declaration-international/ Trans Data Library on Women’s Declaration International]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Denialist organizations]]
[[Category:Fascism]]
[[Category:Hate groups]]
[[Category:Misnomers]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoting organizations]]
[[Category:TERFs]]
[[Category:Transphobia]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]

Categories: Denialist organizations, Fascism, Hate groups, Misnomers, Pseudoscience promoting organizations, TERFs, Transphobia, United Kingdom