The Advocates seeks to promote women’s human rights in the United States through research, education and advocacy. Since the Women’s Program began in 1993, staff and volunteers from The Advocates have worked to ensure the United States upholds its international obligations to protect women from violence both at home and abroad. Delegates from The Advocates participated in the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in September 1995, refining the document that would reflect the issues and concerns of the world’s women at the end of the 20th century, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
In recent years, The Advocates has participated in national conferences and seminars on the issues of domestic violence and sex trafficking. The Advocates' human rights reports on domestic violence against refugee and immigrant women and on sex trafficking have been distributed across the United States. The Advocates also monitors national coalitions that address violence against women, particularly as it relates to legal reform and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA). The Advocates recently published a toolkit on Women’s Human Rights, which highlights the United States’ obligations to promote and protect women’s human rights.