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Tag: Political violence

  • Silenced Voices: How Violence Marginalizes Women and Immigrant Politicians in Policy Debates

    Silenced Voices: How Violence Marginalizes Women and Immigrant Politicians in Policy Debates

    Does political violence silence certain voices in public debates? Håkansson and Josefsson (2026) show that violence pushes women and immigrant politicians out of policy discussions, reinforcing the political dominance of hegemonic men.

    Free and open public discussion is essential for democratic representation, yet many politicians choose not to take part in policy debates. In this study, the authors explore how political violence contributes to this silencing and whether it disproportionately affects historically marginalized groups. Using a Swedish politician survey spanning five waves and 43,000 responses, Håkansson and Josefsson examine whether violence lowers debate participation among marginalized politicians and whether it silences discussions that challenge hegemonic male interests.

    The authors find that women and politicians from immigrant backgrounds are significantly more likely than their peers to report stepping away from public debates due to violence, and they avoid a wider range of topics. Specifically, women are particularly likely to avoid debates on gender equality, whereas politicians with an immigrant background are not more likely to avoid immigration debates. Ultimately, Håkansson and Josefsson conclude that these chilling effects narrow the variety of voices in policy discussions, potentially weakening the ability of marginalized groups to represent their constituents and reinforcing hegemonic men’s dominance in politics.

    Learn more about this article here:

    Håkansson, S., & Josefsson, C. (2026). Silenced Voices: How Violence Marginalizes Women and Immigrant Politicians in Policy Debates. British Journal of Political Science, 56, e23. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123426101380

  • Attacking Women or their Policies? Understanding Violence against Women in Politics

    Attacking Women or their Policies? Understanding Violence against Women in Politics

    Are women mayors targeted for their identity or their political actions? Daniele, Dipoppa, and Pulejo (2026) provide causal evidence that women mayors are systematically more likely to face political violence than men, driven by discrimination.

    Drawing on fourteen years of data, the authors show that marginally elected female mayors—who are similar to men and elected in comparable towns—are three times more likely to be attacked. Importantly, they find no differences between men and women in the actions they take before elections, such as their campaign platforms, or while serving in office, including their policies, performance, or corruption. Because this violence is unrelated to women’s political choices, the authors suggest that discrimination, rather than political influence, is an important driver of this violence gap. Lastly, Daniele, Dipoppa, and Pulejo find that women who suffer attacks are less likely to run for reelection, pointing to a possible link between political violence and ongoing gender gaps in political representation.

    Learn more about this just accepted article here:

    Daniele, G., Dipoppa, G., & Pulejo, M. (2026). Attacking Women or their Policies? Understanding Violence against Women in Politics. The Journal of Politics, 743456. https://doi.org/10.1086/743456

  • Violence against women active in politics in the EU: A serious obstacle to political participation

    Violence against women active in politics in the EU: A serious obstacle to political participation

    Why does violence disproportionately push women out of the political arena? The European Parliamentary Research Service (2025) examines how intersecting political and gender-based violence creates a severe barrier to women’s political representation in the EU.

    Women continue to be underrepresented across EU member states at every level of decision-making and within political parties. While this underrepresentation stems from multifaceted causes, violence against women active in politics stands out as a decisive factor that discourages women from entering public service. Female political figures navigate two overlapping forms of aggression: political violence, which undermines fundamental political rights amid rising polarization in liberal societies, and gender-based violence. The briefing stresses that violence against women in politics is far more than an incidental consequence of polarization; it targets women specifically because of their gender, manifests in sexualized and sexist abuse, and systematically functions to deter women from taking part in public life.

    The impact of this hostility has tangible consequences on political diversity and governance. Surveyed women report substantial repercussions from these experiences, noting a decreased willingness to defend specific policy stances and a reluctance to sustain their political careers. In response, ensuring the safe participation of women in political life has become a priority within EU gender equality policy frameworks. The European Parliament has formally addressed the issue across multiple resolutions, amended its internal rules of procedure to prohibit sexist rhetoric and hate speech during parliamentary debates, and put dedicated reporting and support mechanisms in place to tackle harassment.

    Learn more about this policy brief here:

    European Parliamentary Research Service. (2025). Violence against women active in politics in the EU: A serious obstacle to political participation (PE 759.600). European Parliament https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2024/759600/EPRS_BRI(2024)759600_EN.pdf

  • The Gendered Representational Costs of Violence against Politicians

    The Gendered Representational Costs of Violence against Politicians

    How does violence against politicians weaken gender equality? Håkansson (2024) shows that harassment directed at female politicians harms descriptive, substantive, and symbolic representation, silencing women and pushing them out of public life.

    While women face more harassment and intimidation as politicians than men do, we know very little about how this mistreatment shapes political representation. To address this issue, Håkansson builds a framework to study the costs of political violence across descriptive, substantive, and symbolic representation. Testing this model with interview and survey data from Swedish male and female politicians, the author finds clear empirical evidence of harm across all three areas.

    In terms of descriptive representation, violence causes women to consider leaving politics more often than men and reinforces male-coded traits for candidates, which hurts the chances of achieving gender-diverse representation. For substantive representation, violence causes harm by silencing feminist debates and disrupting women politicians’ ability to participate in policy discussions. Lastly, symbolic representation is threatened because violence forces women to reduce their public visibility.

    Learn more about this article here:

    Håkansson, S. (2024). The Gendered Representational Costs of Violence against Politicians. Perspectives on Politics, 22(1), 81–96. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592723001913

  • Harassment and Intimidation of Parliamentary Candidates in the United Kingdom

    Harassment and Intimidation of Parliamentary Candidates in the United Kingdom

    How common is harassment among political candidates in the UK? Collignon and Rüdig (2020) show that four in ten candidates faced harassment in the 2017 election, with women and younger candidates facing the highest risk.

    Using political violence to reach political goals has long been a serious concern. While people once thought this problem only happened in countries with high levels of violence overall, recent evidence shows that the harassment and intimidation of political figures in the UK is far more common than previously assumed.

    Drawing on survey data from candidates who ran in the 2017 general election, Collignon and Rüdig found that four out of every ten candidates experienced at least one form of harassment. The evidence also indicates that women and young candidates are more likely to deal with harassment and intimidation. To close, the authors lay out a roadmap for future research, pointing especially to the need to examine how people perceive harassment and how it shapes political careers.

    Learn more about this article here:

    Collignon, S., & Rüdig, W. (2020). Harassment and Intimidation of Parliamentary Candidates in the United Kingdom. The Political Quarterly, 91(2), 422–429. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.12855