The Cost of Doing Politics? Analyzing Violence and Harassment against Female Politicians

• Published in: Perspectives on politics Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 740 - 755
• Main Authors: Krook, Mona Lena, Restrepo Sanín, Juliana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.09.2020
• Subjects: Assassinations & assassination attempts; Bias; Contours; Criteria; Democracy; Gender; Harassment; Hate crimes; Impeachment; Intersectionality; Intimidation; Members of Parliament; Murders & murder attempts; Negative campaigning; Offenses; Political participation; Political violence; Politicians; Politics; Semiotics; Sexism; Special Section: The Uses of Violence; State role; Threats; Underreporting; Violence; Violence against women; Women and politics; Bolivia; Western Europe; Latin America
• ISSN: 1537-5927; 1541-0986
• DOI: 10.1017/S1537592719001397

Violence against women in politics is increasingly recognized around the world as a significant barrier to women’s political participation, following a troubling rise in reports of assault, intimidation, and abuse directed at female politicians. Yet conceptual ambiguities remain as to the exact contours of this phenomenon. In this article, we seek to strengthen its theoretical, empirical, and methodological foundations. We propose that the presence of bias against women in political roles—originating in structural violence, employing cultural violence, and resulting in symbolic violence—distinguishes this phenomenon from other forms of political violence. We identify five types of violence against women in politics—physical, psychological, sexual, economic, and semiotic—and three methodological challenges related to underreporting, comparing men’s and women’s experiences, and intersectionality. Inspired by the literature on hate crimes, we develop an empirical approach for identifying cases of violence against women in politics, offering six criteria to ascertain whether an attack was potentially motivated by gender bias. We apply this framework to analyze three cases: the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, and the murder of Jo Cox. We conclude with the negative implications of violence against women in politics and point to emerging solutions around the globe.