Humanists International works to protect humanists at risk all around the world, wherever they are. To fulfil this mission, in 2020 we hired the world's only Humanists At Risk Coordinator, Emma Wadsworth-Jones.

Thanks to Emma's skills and dedication, our casework management capacity has dramatically increased - and the more humanists we manage to assist, the more requests for help we receive. We now need your help to support Emma's work to keep protecting humanists at risk around the world.

We are talking about activists who advocate for human and scientific progress, social reforms, and a culture of tolerance and freedom. In this regard, humanists are often at the forefront of many progressive battles: secularism, democracy, womens rights, LGBTI+ rights, freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, anti-racism, critical thinking, and so on.

But in some countries humanists have their hands tied and their mouths gagged by oppressive forces of all sorts. For this reason, many humanists are forced to censor themselves and to live their lives in the closet, otherwise they risk discrimination, persecution, prison terms, or even death - be it from state-sanctioned punishment or vigilante violence.

When this happens, Humanists International is here to help. Each month, we receive, on average, 16 requests for help from individuals across the globe who are at direct threat for their humanist identity or activism. This corresponds to a request for help every two days.

For example, in the last 12 months alone, we have received 200 requests for help and we have assisted 72 individuals. Many of the requests for help come from Pakistan, Egypt and Iran, followed by many other countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Amongst these requests, we can see the names of activists who are finally free, such as Mahmoud Jama Ahmed (Somalia), Shakthika Sathkumara (Sri Lanka), Josef Moradi (Afghanistan) - but also the names of activists who are still at risk, like Mubarak Bala (Nigeria), Rishvin Ismath (Sri Lanka), or Said Djabelkhir (Algeria).

The paradox is that the better we get at assisting humanists at risk, the more other individuals come to know about our work and contact us. To help them, we need more resources.

That's why we need your help to keep protecting humanists at risk. Without the support of the global humanist community, we would not be able to assist the less fortunate amongst us.

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You are donating to Humanists International, a Scottish (UK) charity no. SC050629 and a company limited by guarantee no. SC682230. Registered address: 272 Bath Street, Glasgow, G4 2JR, UK Principal Office: 17 Oval Way, London, SE11 5RR, UK.

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