In an era of growing youth uprisings, there is an increased need to support this latest indicator of active citizenship in the countries in which they erupt. Large-scale protests against corruption, nepotism and excessive taxation of populations already struggling economically, flared up in Kenya, Uganda and Bangladesh over June and July this year. Protestors in all three countries faced brutal crackdowns by government police and security forces resulting in arrests, intimidation, violence and death. 

While young democracy and human rights defenders do take steps to secure their safety, there is a need for more support. Mahera Musharrat, a young democracy and human rights defender from Bangladesh, shared some of the efforts her organization has made towards safety including focusing on digital security, organizing in small, safe groups online, and calling for international solidarity to grow a network of support which would bolster safety through proximity to other movements. However, the strong clampdowns on protestors require much more robust support, especially given that many protestors are not traditional democracy defenders.

In general, traditional democracy defenders used to be part of smaller, more tight knight groups who were familiar with each other and – more importantly – were more likely to have established networks of resources including emergency funds, lawyers and the knowledge of how to either stay protected in risky situations or to access protection when the need arose. With the democratization of tools and access to information, has come the democratization of participation. From self-publishing storytellers who are not affiliated to official journalism structures, to ordinary citizens-turned activists affiliated only to the groundswell of shared struggle, the evolution of who is a defender of democracy is fast taking place, and protections need to evolve with them.

For good reason democracy defender funds were established and maintained in secret to protect both the facility and those who benefit from it. Those in the know heard about them from others in the know and even with word of mouth the threshold to access was still quite high to ensure access was properly adjudicated. But as the profiles of democracy defenders change and the sector moves towards greater inclusion, so too must thresholds be adjusted. By meeting a new generation of democracy defenders where they are – largely organic movements mobilized by young people – supporters can continue to effectively bolster active citizens even though they’re not legacy activists, and in so doing expand the definition of safeguarding at least from a funding perspective.

While there are challenges to funding movements that seemingly expand and contract at will, have no discernible permanent leadership, or similar structures, these qualities are also where their power lies. And insisting on that structure can make them lose their essence and deflate them. Young changemakers from Uganda and Kenya participating in Accountability Lab’s accountability incubator referred to the protests in both their countries as “tribeless, leaderless, and partyless”, and that level of unified momentum is worth facing the complexities that might arise when trying to fund them. 

By recognising such protest movements – and those who organize and participate in them – as vital participants in strengthening democracy and ensuring accountability, supporters of democracy defenders can help ensure these shared needs are met as they arise and be a partner in people reaching the aims of the movement so they might return to their lives – whether those be as activists or not. 

“How do we change the definition of who a democracy defender is? To provide support to somebody who runs an education NGO in Kenya, for example, who has been badly affected by the government’s new tax regime and who’s not a traditional democracy defender and will go back to doing their education work?” asks Accountability Lab co-CEO, Jean Scrimgeour.

“They’re not going to stay in this democracy, anti-corruption, defending space forever. They’ve been called to do this now, but that doesn’t make them any more or less legitimate democracy defenders today. Nor does it make them less legitimate recipients of funding”.

Choosing to support peace-building and democracy, especially internationally, is good work. But for it to be the best work, it needs to be adaptable enough to ensure that whoever is on the front lines demanding good governance and accountability is protected.

Samina Anwary