The pressure on natural resources, water and territory, has forced an increasing number of people, communities, ancestral organisations and civil society organisations to denounce human rights violations, derived especially from large-scale investments by companies, some of European origin. In 2017, more than 300 Human Rights Defenders were killed and at least 84 %received a death threat. Human Rights Defenders work in an especially hostile environment, vulnerable to actions of criminalisation, prosecution and direct repression. Women are particularly vulnerable. They have stronger relationships with natural resources and suffer from the effects of large investments, which can lead to greater labour exploitation, economic and labour gender inequalities.
