The Cost of Speaking Out: The Brutal Price Female Politicians Pay Online
We spend millions of pounds telling young girls that they can grow up to change the world, become world leaders and shatter glass ceilings. What we don’t say, however, is that the moment they step into the political arena, they will need to brace themselves for a relentless digital gauntlet of misogyny, threats and harassment.
The recent exposure of Reform UK candidates using deeply misogynistic language is just the tip of a very toxic iceberg. New data from Parliament reveals that a staggering 76% of female parliamentarians globally face intimidation or violence online. This isn’t just “rough and tumble“ politics, it is a coordinated digital eviction notice aimed at women.
In recent years, the number of women within the parliamentary sphere has increased significantly. We have witnessed barriers of discrimination being broken down by female party leaders and electoral candidates, but this progress often comes with persistent, cruel online torment. Online trolling of women is rooted in attacks on their sexuality or safety, designed to humiliate them into silence. This results in women leaving politics due to safety concerns at a rate our political system can ill afford. As a result, women globally are not only losing their foothold in politics, but society also loses their representative perspectives on healthcare, education, childcare and the economy.
When we look at the women actually being pushed out, a pattern emerges. It spans from the local level, with Glasgow Deputy Mayor Annette Christie being forced to completely delete her social media profiles for her own safety. This abuse is highly calculated. As research from the University of Basel shows, while men are primarily criticized for their policies, women are often targeted with sexual threats designed to embarrass them into resignation. We are watching a systematic digital eviction of female voices.
This is not an environment young girls want to walk into. We face everyday challenges in overcoming the misogynistic values of society, and we are not willing to let faceless attackers damage our reputation or subject us to humiliation. As a society, this is something we can overcome, this is something we need to overcome.
By Lauren Berwick
