who we are
“We think sexuality is really at the frontier of women’s rights. It is a huge area through which control is wielded over our lives. It is about all of us—every woman. How I see who I see; whether I marry; how I spend my money; can I be who I really am; can I make choices; do these choices mean that I face discrimination, stigma, inequality, violence?”
Geetanjali Misra | Executive Director, CREA
Founded in 2000, CREA is a feminist human rights organization based in New Delhi, India. It is one of the few international women’s rights organisations based in the global South, led by Southern feminists, which works at the grassroots, national, regional, and international levels.
Together with partners from a diverse range of human rights movements and networks, CREA works to advance the rights of women and girls, and the sexual and reproductive freedoms of all people. CREA advocates for positive social change through national and international fora, and provides training and learning opportunities to global activists and leaders through its Institutes.
CREA is a feminist international human rights organization based in the Global South and led by women from the Global South. CREA’s work draws upon the inherent value of a rights-based approach to sexuality and gender equality.
CREA promotes, protects, and advances human rights and the sexual rights of all people by building leadership capacities of activists and allies; strengthening organizations and social movements; creating and increasing access to new information, knowledge, and resources; and enabling supportive social and policy environments.
‘The sexy, fearless, madly-creative, edgy, colourful, interrogative and elegant flock of birds flying in formation.’
vision
CREA envisions a more just and peaceful world, where everyone lives with dignity, respect, and equality.
mission
CREA builds feminist leadership, advances human rights, and expands sexual and reproductive freedoms.
theory of change
Building the self-confidence, leadership, and knowledge of women and girls about their sexuality and human rights, and creating feminist platforms to challenge oppressive norms and power structures will enable women and girls to make their own decisions, exert control over their bodies, and demand their rights.
strategies
CREA believes in building the self-confidence, leadership, and knowledge of women, girls, transgender individuals and other traditionally excluded groups about their gender, sexuality and human rights. CREA addresses individual harms, violence, stigma and discrimination but also looks at the affirmative rights of people to work towards a world we want to build.
knowledge:
Access to information and knowledge about political, economic and social and cultural structures increases control people’s control other their own lives. CREA develops knowledge resources on sexuality, and reproductive, sexual and human rights that reflect the experiences and perspectives of Global South feminists.
capacity building:
CREA brings women, girls, and other invisible and silenced people, as well as feminist activists and organizations to decision-making tables, equips them with knowledge, resources and skills to negotiate effectively to make their own decisions, to exert control over their own bodies, and demand their rights.
advocacy:
CREA creates feminist platforms to challenge power structures that normalize and justify the marginalization of women and girls, lesbians, women and girls with disabilities, sex workers and trans people. CREA links local and global advocacy efforts to effectively challenge policies, laws and practices that undermine the rights of people whose realities are invisible or silenced.
public education:
CREA influences and shapes discourse in the public domain through art and media to change the way people think and act on issues of gender, sexuality and rights.
what we believe
All people, irrespective of their status, have the inherent capacity to take responsibility for and make choices about their lives.
There is a recognized and direct corollary between access to information and control. Creating and increasing access to new information, knowledge, and resources is essential to challenging power and demanding rights.
Creating a culture of questioning strengthens an individual’s ability to challenge and change the structures that keep them silent.
Building the world we want to live in, requires a collective and collaborative process that connects individuals and organizations with each other. Partnership enhances learning and action in a mutually beneficial way.
history
CREA was founded by Geetanjali Misra and Pramada Menon, development professionals who had been working in the diverse fields of reproductive health, sexuality, violence against women, media, and women’s rights in India for more than fifteen years. After noting the troubling lack of prominent feminist voices in India, CREA was established to address the need for a radical organization focused on developing the leadership capacities of young women in addressing issues of sexuality and reproductive health and rights, violence against women, and social justice.
CREA was registered in April 2000 in New Delhi, where it is headquartered, with the long-term vision to create a strong Global South-based organization.
CREA has grown in size and scale in recent years, and its evolution has been informed by its experiences and learnings as well as reflections on and persistent questioning of its positioning, approaches and methodologies. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, CREA along with its Board and advisors has initiated a bold, feminist intersectional process to rethink, reimagine, and reboot our work, approaches and strategies.