ActionAid International

ActionAidInternational

See full menu
 

Ramona Vijeyarasa

Ramona is a human rights lawyer. Prior to joining ActionAid, she worked with the International Organisation for Migration in Vietnam and Ukraine on the trafficking of women and girls.

She has been an advocate for reproductive rights and gender justice at the Centre for Reproductive Rights and the International Centre for Transitional Justice, both based in New York.

Latest blogs

My body is my own

It is incredible how quickly the end of the year comes around and we find ourselves on the eve of 16 Days of Activism and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Last...
by:
Ramona Vijeyarasa

The right not to live on the margins of society

Together with our partner Casa da Mulher do Nordeste and thanks to the support of Comic Relief, for the last 3 years, we have been running a programme with Afro-Brazilian girls aged 10-18 who live in...
by:
Ramona Vijeyarasa

The city is ours: Occupy it!

Reclaiming their right to the city is something social movements in Brazil know well. After only 12 hours in the city of Recife, I was already hearing of the latest occupation by the social movement...
by:
Ramona Vijeyarasa

"I wish I could live without fear"

“I wish I could be free and live without fear; I wish we had well lit streets in my neighbourhood; I wish the neighbourhood was well patrolled, and I didn’t need to be afraid of the police. It would...
by:
Ramona Vijeyarasa

Small gestures in the big fight to end violence against women

I cannot believe another year has disappeared. It is November already? For most women’s rights activists, this naturally brings to mind 16 Days of Activism. This year, I am privileged to find myself...
by:
Ramona Vijeyarasa

Life is complex!

So often the development sector tries to respond to single issues.But the Cambodia migrant worker living in the outskirts of Phnom Penh does not only face fear of robbery and perhaps even rape when...
Bopha, a garment worker
by:
Ramona Vijeyarasa

Righting Wrongs on International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is a time of celebration, when activists, feminists and women’s movements appreciate the many advances that we have helped to bring about worldwide.In many ways, the world...
by:
Ramona Vijeyarasa

Do governments care about the safety of women in their cities?

Today I’m in Dublin for the 8th World Alliance of Cities against Poverty Forum. This international meeting has brought together over 500 leaders and activists from all around the world, including UN...
by:
Ramona Vijeyarasa

Standing up against violence - One Billion Rising

As millions of women and men around the world rise today to demand an end to gender-based violence, I wanted to reflect on our safe cities initiative, a programme that ActionAid has been running for...
by:
Ramona Vijeyarasa

Violence against women: the most ignored obstacle for development?

Several weeks ago a colleague was surprised when I wrote to him that violence against women is an integral component of poverty reduction. “Is this an ideological position or literally true?” he...
by:
Ramona Vijeyarasa
Senior Programme Manager for Women’s Rights
International
Follow Ramona on Twitter

I’m based in Managua, Nicaragua, and work to demand accountability for women’s rights to control their bodies, livelihoods, time and resources.