- - 2.3 on how and where a petition can be filed, as well as the addresses of the institution which is closest to the home of the petitioner. Similarly, the NHRI of Portugal provides women in rural areas with information on their rights, on the existing judicial and quasi-judicial procedures, as well as on free legal assistance. Personalized information may also be received through telephone help lines and the local offices in the Azores and Madeira receive verbal complaints. The Canadian NHRI travels to remote and rural communities in order to mediate complaints and attempt to bring about settlements to disputes. IDENTIFIABLE GROUPS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS LIVING IN RURAL AREAS For some women and girls who already face intersectional discrimination, such as Indigenous and Roma women, rurality exacerbates the situation and renders them ever more vulnerable to violations of their fundamental rights. Several respondent NHRIs have reported about their work in relation to minorities who tend to live in rural or remote areas. The Mexican NHRI, between 2015 and 2017, held training sessions for women and girls in rural regions with Indigenous populations. The Canadian NHRI also offers in-person training on various human rights issues for Indigenous communities. Some of the institution’s materials are translated into Indigenous languages and the NHRI has undertaken large-scale mailouts of human rights materials to Indigenous communities and organizations across the country. Specifically with respect to women and girls, the NHRI has published the report “Honouring the Strength of our Sisters: Increasing Access to Human Rights Justice for Indigenous Women and Girls” following a series of roundtable meeting with Indigenous women (including from rural and remote areas) that were held in 2013 and 2014. Some of the activities organized by NHRIs aim to provide an exchange and empowerment platform for Indigenous communities and their representatives, including women, for example the National Inquiry into the land rights of Indigenous peoples held by the Malaysian NHRI. The Australian NHRI currently runs the Wiyi Yani U Thangani (Women’s Voices) Project which aims to exchange with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls, including from rural, regional and remote areas, about their needs, challenges and aspirations. It is also a member of the “Close the gap” campaign which aims to close the gap in health and life expectancy that currently exists between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians. Over the last years, it has become increasingly clear that women defending their lands, communities, and the environment not only face all the hardships of human rights defenders, but also cope with gender-specific violence and risks. They are targeted both as defenders of rights, land and natural resources, and as women defying gender norms19. The NHRI of Guatemala conducted activities in Quetzaltenango, San Marcos and Huehuetenango to denounce the criminalization of Indigenous leaders, including women, who fight for their land and territorial rights. While not specifically tailored towards women and girls, the NHRI of Serbia prepared a Special Report on the Implementation of the Government’s “Strategy for the Improvement of the Status of Roma” with a particular emphasis on employment, education, social and health services, amongst other issues. 19 Association for Women’s Rights in Development and Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition, Women Human Rights Defenders Confronting Extractive Industries, An Overview of Critical Risks and Human Rights Obligations (2017), online: https://www.awid.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/whrdsconfronting_extractive_industries_report-eng.pdf, p. 5. 7