A/HRC/16/44 33. In addition, the Special Rapporteur has used the information received in the form of replies to the questionnaire sent to Governments and relevant stakeholders. In this connection, she wishes to thank all those stakeholders that have cooperated with this initiative. In this section of the report, in order to avoid duplication, the information provided through the questionnaires has been explicitly highlighted when it was deemed that it provided additional insight. Where it is deemed necessary, numbers of communications and States to which they were sent have been mentioned. 34. The data used and trends identified herein are necessarily partial as they are based on the allegations received and acted upon by the mandate as well as on the information provided in the replies to the questionnaires received, thus it does not represent the full reality of the situation of women defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues worldwide. Furthermore, it is acknowledged that some of the communications have been responded to by Governments. While the Special Rapporteur wishes to thank those Governments who replied to the communications sent, she remains concerned regarding the allegations referred to in this report, including in cases wherein the facts may have been disputed. 35. Between 2004 and 2009, the Special Rapporteur sent an average of 350 communications to Governments per year, including allegation letters and urgent appeals. Of these, about one third of the communications concerned women defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues (target group). Table: Communications concerning women defenders Year Total communications sent Target group Percentage of total 2004 315 93 29.5 2005 315 95 30.2 2006 370 144 38.9 2007 372 110 29.6 2008 489 179 36.6 2009 270 113 41.9 2,131 734 34.4 Total Source: Communications reports 2004-2009 36. In this regard, the communications sent by the mandate during the 2004-2009 period concerning this group of defenders are analysed below. Figures provided in the different sections are the result of a multilayered analysis which has unfolded different elements of the communications sent, including the activities of the alleged victims, the reported violations suffered as well as the alleged perpetrators. 1. Most common activities of those who face violations 37. A large number of communications sent during the period (196) concerned alleged violations against defenders, including males, working on women’s rights or gender issues, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual issues (LGBT). This group is thoroughly heterogeneous, including women and men carrying out a vast range of activities related to women’s rights, including those working on issues related to sexual and reproductive rights; organizations dealing with violence against women, rehabilitation and impunity related to violence, rape and sexual violence, women’s shelters caring for victims of the above; and journalists and bloggers writing on women’s rights issues. 38. The largest number of communications sent (72) concerning defenders working on women’s rights and gender-related issues was sent to countries in the Asian region, most 8