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Ghénia Avril de Sainte-Croix (born Adrienne-Pierrette-Eugénie Glaisette; February 10, 1855 – March 21, 1939) was a prominent French author, journalist, feminist, pacifist, and philanthropist.

Born in Carouge, Switzerland (near Geneva), she came from a Protestant high-society background (haute société protestante) which heavily influenced her philanthropic outlook. Early in her career, she published children's stories and journalistic pieces under the pen names "Savioz" and "de Sainte-Croix".

For decades, she led the French branch of the International Abolitionist Federation (IAF), dedicating her work to abolishing state-regulated prostitution and fighting against the trafficking of women and children. In 1901, she founded Œuvre Libératrice (Liberating Work), a halfway house providing education, job training, and long-term counseling to young women leaving prison and prostitution.

She served as the secretary-general (and later president) of the National Council of French Women (Conseil National des Femmes Françaises — CNFF) and became vice-president of the International Council of Women (ICW) in 1920.

In April 1922, she was appointed to the League of Nations' Standing Advisory Committee on the Traffic in Women and Children, alongside roles in the commission for child protection and as a delegate for international women's organizations.

As noted in the historical reports from the International Alliance of Women (IAWSEC, 1926):

Avril de Sainte-Croix worked alongside key international reformers—such as Dame Rachel Crowdy (head of the League’s social and moral section), Eleanor Rathbone, and Paulina Luisi—within the League of Nations.

Together, these women targeted systemic issues that challenged the automatic acceptance of male conjugal rights. They focused on raising the legal age of marriage, addressing cross-cultural instances of early age of consent, and combating the premature sexualization and trafficking of children as universal threats requiring immediate legislative action.

References:

• International Alliance of Women (IAWSEC): Report of the Tenth Congress, Paris, 1926 (specifically referencing collaborative findings on the legal age of marriage, child welfare, and traffic legislation, page 82).
• League of Nations Official Documentation: Records and advisory committee reports from the Standing Advisory Committee on the Traffic in Women and Children and the Commission for the Protection of Children (1922–1930s), detailing the participation of Avril de Sainte-Croix, Dame Rachel Crowdy, Eleanor Rathbone, and Paulina Luisi.
• Offen, Karen. "La plus grande féministe de France : pourquoi a-t-on oublié l'inoubliable féministe internationale française Ghénia Avril de Sainte-Croix ?" in Christine Bard (dir.), Les Féministes de la première vague, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2015.
• Bard, Christine, and Chaperon, Sylvie (dir.). Dictionnaire des féministes. France XVIIIe-XXIe siècle, Presses Universitaires de France, 2017 (Entries on Avril de Sainte-Croix, pp. 104–110).
• Poujol, Geneviève. Un féminisme sous tutelle : G. Avril de Sainte-Croix (1855-1939), Les Éditions de Paris, 2003.

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