Peter Steudtner is a German documentary filmmaker, photographer, political scientist, and human rights defender based in Berlin. Peter lived and worked for a time in Mozambique focusing on the psychosocial reintegration of child soldiers into local communities.  

Since 2003 Peter works as a conflict resolution trainer for the NGO "gewaltfrei handeln" (acting without violence) in Berlin. Peters's expertise includes the processing of trauma and stress in conflicts, anti-discrimination work and focuses on the Do-No-Harm approach. In his training sessions, human rights defenders learn to analyse conflicts and exercise possible resolving non-violent strategies. In those workshops, human rights defender can broaden their strategic understanding of digital technology in the context of human rights work. 

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During a workshop on digital security in Turkey on the island of Büyükada in 2017 Peter, along with nine other human rights defenders, was arrested by Turkish security forces. Among them was also the director of Amnesty International Turkey. The Turkish government accused Peter and the others of having supported a terrorist organization. The detention of these human rights activists sparked international outrage. After several months in prison and tough negotiations between the German and the Turkish government, Peter was released from prison and able to return home to Berlin.  

Together with other human rights defenders, Peter has written a handbook on “holistic security” that deals with the links between physical, psychosocial and digital security aspects in the field of human rights work.