A/HRC/31/55 discrimination they face.9 They emphasize the need for gender-sensitive protection measures that focus on holistic security. B. Developing the knowledge, skills and abilities of defenders 49. There are three areas that defenders have found valuable in developing their knowledge, skills and abilities: recognizing and defending their rights; adapting tactics and strategies in the face of threats and attacks; and managing their personal and collective security. Such support is being provided in a number of ways; through face-to-face and online training courses, workshops, seminars and conferences; accompaniment, mentoring and collaboration; and the development of databases, manuals, handbooks and tools. 50. In some cases, however, there is insufficient information on and analysis of the risks that defenders face and the way protection operates. Research partnerships between scholars, practitioners and defenders can therefore contribute to identifying and filling critical gaps in knowledge on the security and protection of defenders, and to facilitating critical reflection.10 51. Defenders value support in the development of knowledge about their rights and on protecting their rights in the face of evolving risks. This is particularly important for defenders who do not identify themselves as human rights defenders, and do not realize that their work constitutes human rights work and that they have the right to defend rights, as described in the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. 52. Defenders also wish to receive more support in gaining knowledge on monitoring and documenting violations, gaining access to international and regional human rights mechanisms, engaging with the international community to make their concerns heard, and advocating for and strengthening local and national mechanisms for human rights protection. Defenders unaccustomed to interventions in regional and international forums have found the support and technical advice of international non-governmental organizations familiar with these processes to be helpful. 53. Defenders further wish to share and learn more tactics and strategies for performing human rights work in the face of risks. These may include alternative ways of framing issues so that they are less threating, working with different levels of visibility, and continuing to work under restrictions, such as on funding and registration. Defenders also find it useful to discuss and compare the use of different tools, tactics and strategies for advocacy in specific areas of work. 54. Strong civil society organizations help defenders to mitigate the risks they face and to achieve their collective goals. Some Governments undermine the work of defenders by exploiting weaknesses in governance, administrative structures and regulations. Support for defenders in strategic planning, developing governance mechanisms, risk assessment and threat analysis, fund-raising, human resources and financial management contributes to the sustainability of their work. 55. Security management training helps defenders to assess and manage proactively the risks that they face. It helps them to analyse threats, to address their own vulnerabilities and 9 10 10 See Immaculada Barcia, Our Right to Safety: Women Human Rights Defenders’ Holistic Approach to Protection, Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (Toronto, Association for Women’s Rights in Development, 2014). See Special Issue, Journal of Human Rights Practice, vol. 5, No. 3 (2013), and International Journal of Human Rights, vol. 19, No. 7 (2015).