Authorities across the world are increasingly resorting to unlawful use of force and repressive legislation to crush protests, Amnesty International says, as it launched an interactive digital map that exposes the “shocking rise in the repression of protesters by states across the globe.”

The global map, which is part of Amnesty International’s flagship global campaign Protect the Protest, charts the numerous human rights violations perpetrated against protesters around the world.

It shows how governments treat protests as a threat rather than a right and how law enforcement officials view their role as being to suppress and subdue protesters rather than to facilitate their rights.

As a result, thousands of people are being unlawfully dispersed, arrested, beaten and even killed during demonstrations.

They also face devastating consequences afterwards, just for participating in protests.

The interactive digital map, the first of its kind, reveals how many countries misuse less lethal weapons such as tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and batons to harass, intimidate, punish, or drive away protesters, shutting down their right of peaceful assembly.

Amnesty.