One woman
A contract was not renewed after maternity leave. A bank refused a loan to a woman over 50 with a good credit history. A clinic told a woman to bring her husband's written permission.
Submit a case
Describe what happened and find out whether it is a systemic failure.
Go to form If you need help now, start hereIf you are in danger right now
If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number first. Womafreesm does not replace emergency services.
The Assembly is not an emergency service, not a rescue service and not a hotline. The answer to a case submitted here does not come right away.
The Leave this page button in the corner switches this tab to a neutral search page at once. On a phone that others use, a private browser window keeps this visit out of the history.
To get help now, use the help finder on the Womafreesm Women's Protection Pathway page. It picks help services that are working today, to fit your situation and where you are. Womafreesm's own route of help is still being built, and its opening will be announced separately.
For you this means: this page is for recording what happened and working to change it, and the help finder is for getting help now. You can use both, and one does not cancel the other.
What counts as a case: examples of discrimination and harmful rules
The Womafreesm World Women's Assembly is an international alliance of women, women's organizations, experts, lawyers, researchers and institutions that help each other seek changes in the laws, standards and decisions that shape women's lives. It accepts cases from women, organizations and institutions in any country, for free and in any language, and you decide what becomes public.
A case is an event, a situation, a practice, a policy, a decision or a systemic problem that affects the rights, safety, opportunities or position of women. A case about one woman is accepted when it shows a systemic pattern; finding that pattern is the Assembly's job, not yours. You do not need legal words or a legal category: describe what happened, and the Assembly will decide the type of case.
You write down what happened, in your own words. Next to similar cases from other women, it becomes evidence that the problem is bigger than any one of you.
Many women
Every woman in a department is paid less than the men at the same grade. A city has no shelter bed for a woman with a child over 12. A pension formula counts years of care as zero.
A rule that is lawful and still harms
No law is broken, and still the outcome for women is systematically worse: a benefit that ends exactly when a woman needs it most, or a standard that was written only for a male body.
A problem nobody has counted
You see it in many lives, and there is no data anywhere. That is a research case: it is recorded as a gap, and this type of case connects to the Women's Life-Cycle Economy Index.
What matters: reliable information, public significance, how systemic the problem is, the change the case could bring, the safety of everyone involved and the fit with the Assembly's mission. How well known you are, or how many followers you have, plays no part.
If you are unsure whether your situation is a case, submit it: you will receive the answer with the reason.
Go to formWhat happens after you send your case
1. You get a number
The case number appears on your screen as soon as the case is saved. A confirmation with the number goes to the contact you gave, and every later message from us carries that same number.
2. Sorting and first review
First, your case is sorted and marked by its main topic. Then the Executive Director of the Assembly reads it in full and checks if it fits, if it shows a pattern and if anyone is at risk.
3. You get a first answer
Accepted for review; more information needed, with the exact questions for you; redirected to a partner or to a service that fits better; or declined, with the reason for the refusal stated.
4. The case is checked and decided
The facts and the evidence are checked, and then a decision is made: action, a record in the evidence base, referral to a partner or waiting for data. Some cases reach the Founder & President.
5. You can always ask
Reply to any of our messages, or write with your case number from the address or channel you gave. At any time you can add information, change the publicity level or withdraw the case in full.
Most cases go into the evidence base, where each one makes every similar case stronger. Direct action goes to the cases chosen by severity, scale and urgency. Either way, you receive the decision and the reason for it: whether this is a systemic failure, whom it concerns and what the Assembly will do.
Who sees your case and how long it is kept
Privacy is the default. Nothing about you is published unless you choose a level that allows it, and safety ranks above publicity: where naming anyone could create a risk, the case is handled in anonymized form.
Who sees it
It is sorted first. Then only the people whose role requires it see it: those who read, check and decide on your case and, in research work, those responsible for it. A partner organization sees it only when your case is referred there, with your agreement.
How long it is kept
Personal details are kept while the case is handled and for five years after it is closed, then deleted. If a case is declined, they are deleted 12 months after the refusal. Anonymized records stay with no time limit, since nothing in them points to you.
Three levels of publicity
Fully confidential is the default: never published, and only an anonymized record can enter the evidence base. Anonymized: mentioned with nothing that identifies you. Named: with your name or your organization's. Each publication is agreed with you first.
Withdrawing consent
Send your case number from the email or channel you used. Within 30 days your personal data is deleted or anonymized; records that cannot identify you stay. Publicity is lowered this way at any time and raised once we have confirmed the request comes from you.
For you this means: you decide what can ever become public, and you can change that decision at any time by writing from the contact you used in the form and giving your case number.
The World Organization of Women Nations Womafreesm Inc., registered in the United States, is responsible for your data. To ask to see, correct or delete your data, or with any question about it, use the contact form and choose the topic Data and privacy request. Complaints about the handling of your data go to info@womafreesm.com. You can also complain to the data protection authority in your country.
FAQ
Can I submit anonymously?
Yes. Leave any name or a pseudonym, and one safe contact: an email address nobody else reads, or another channel you trust. Without a contact, the Assembly cannot tell you the decision or ask you a question. When an anonymous case is used outside the Assembly or in research, it carries nothing that identifies you.
Can my employer or the other side find out that I submitted a case?
Not from the Assembly, unless a law or a court requires it. Only those who work on your case see it, and nothing is published above the level you chose. We check facts with anyone outside the Assembly only with your separate consent. Unless you allow it in the form, the name Womafreesm stays out of the sender name and subject line of our messages.
I am not sure my situation is systemic. Should I still submit?
Yes. Whether a case shows a systemic pattern is for the Assembly to decide, not for you. One case can be the first record of a pattern nobody has counted yet. If the case is declined, you receive the reason, and if a partner or a service fits better, the answer says where to turn.
Will I get a lawyer?
We cannot promise this. For some cases, a legal assessment and a route to a legal partner are possible; this is decided after we study the facts, the law of the country and the expertise available. The Assembly does not act as a law firm, so it cannot guarantee a lawyer or money for a court case.
How do I change my mind or withdraw?
Send us a message from the email or channel you used in the form, and include your case number. You can change the publicity level, add information or withdraw the case. When you withdraw consent, your personal data is deleted or anonymized within 30 days. What is already anonymized stays in our evidence base, since it no longer leads to you.
I am an organization. Is the route different?
The route is the same, and so is the form. An organization can add documents and figures later, when asked, and a practice that repeats is looked at as a systemic case. Regular work with the Assembly runs through partnership, which is free; the terms and admission steps for partner organizations are set out on a separate page.
Where can I report discrimination against women that keeps happening?
The Womafreesm World Women's Assembly takes cases of repeated discrimination against women, from any country, through the form on this page. A case can be an event, a situation, a practice, a policy, a decision or a systemic problem that affects women's rights, safety, opportunities or position. Each case gets a number, it is read and checked, and you receive a decision with its reason.
How do I find out what is happening with my case?
Reply to any message from us, or write to us from the contact you chose and give your case number. The number alone is not enough: answers about a case go only to that contact, which protects you. There is no personal account to log in to. What each of the eight statuses means is explained on the Assembly's main page.