Advocacy may be defined in a variety of ways, but at its core, advocacy is “the exercise of power by the citizenry in the face of the government’s power.”  Advocacy is a tool for real participation by citizens in decision-making by government and other powerful bodies. (See: Manual for Facilitators of Advocacy Training Sessions, Washington Office on Latin America, 12, 2001)

At the same time, advocacy must go beyond engaging the citizenry to engaging both citizens and non-citizens, particularly in the context of the instability in the world which internally displaces and causes citizens to flee their homes and countries in search of safety and security.  Women and girls who have experienced gender-based violence may find themselves in foreign countries as a result of war, having been trafficked for labor and/or sexual exploitation; or fleeing abusive spouses and partners or harmful practices which compromise their safety and lives. (See: International Human Rights Training Program Resource Manual, Equitas:  International Centre for Human Rights Education, 317, 2009)   

Advocacy may further be defined as:

• The act of giving support to a policy and persuading those with power to act in support of the policy at local, national and international levels.  See:  Women’s Human Rights Step by Step, Women, Law & Development International and Human Rights Watch, 116, 1997; Legislative Advocacy Resource Guide:  Promoting Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Global Rights, 4, 2005.
• Gaining and exercising power to influence a political action.  See: Advocacy & Lobbying, International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics, paragraph 2.
• A set of organized actions aimed at influencing public policies, social attitudes and socio-political process that enable and empower the marginalized to speak for themselves.  See:  International Human Rights Training Program Resource Manual, Equitas:  International Centre for Human Rights Education, 317, 2009.     
• Organized efforts by citizens to influence the formulation and implementation of public policies and programs by persuading and pressuring state authorities, international financial institutions, and other powerful actors. (See: Manual for Facilitators of Advocacy Training Sessions, Washington Office on Latin America, 12, 2001)

Advocacy consists of both strategy and action to achieve an objective.  The objective of advocacy is the engagement of stakeholders in the decisions affecting them.  The actions to achieve the objective typically occur over time, and incrementally.  Rarely do non-governmental organizations achieve success the first time they undertake an advocacy strategy.  Rather, success must be achieved step-by-step through a persistent and long-term commitment to the advocacy goal.