The Gender Equality & Sexual Diversity Committee (GESDC) at the University of Malta (UM), in collaboration with the Gender and Sexualities Department, held a seminar titled Women, Politics, and Violence on 10 April at 10:00, at the Arts Lecture Theatre, University of Malta.
This seminar addressed the violence and harassment experienced by women in political life and explored concrete solutions to ensure their safety and equality.
Her Excellency President Myriam Spiteri Debono opened the seminar with a speech, focusing on violence against women in politics as a specific form of gender-based violence, targeting women because of their political involvement. The President emphasised the need to address the imbalances caused by social structures, pointing out how women’s political career aspirations can be frozen due to sexist and violent remarks, and how at the present time, this is being exacerbated by online harassment and cyber violence, the digital sphere having become the latest platform for abuse of women.
The seminar then proceeded with interventions from Hon. Rebecca Buttigieg Parliamentary Secretary for Equality and Reform, Prof. Carmen Sammut Pro-Rector for Staff and Student Affairs at the University of Malta, and a presentation by Prof. Fiona Buckley, who shared her research on the forms and prevalence of gender-based violence in politics, with a focus on Ireland.
As Dr Buckley noted in her presentation, all around the world, international research highlights that both men and women in politics face significant and increasing levels of threats, harassment, and violence. This is occurring in both democratic and non-democratic settings. Dr Buckley underlined that gendered differences are observed in terms of the form of violence experienced by women in comparison to men in the field of politics. Women are more likely to experience violence with sexual connotations. Young, single women in politics are particular targets of political violence. Although the volume of online threats and harassment is high for both men and women, researchers find that women are more likely than men to receive harassing and uncivil messages (Rhenault et al., 2019; Collingnon and Rudig, 2021) and more likely to be attacked on the basis of their gender and sexuality (Erikson, et al. 2021).
Dr Buckley also stressed that while men are more likely to experience physical violence, women are more likely to experience psychological violence. A recent Australian study found that unlike straight politicians, politicians from the LGBTQ+ community “receive more personal harassment (focused on appearance, sexual identity and gender performance) than political harassment (focused on party or policy issues)”.
In the words of Bjarnegård and Zetterberg, political violence is problematic for two main reasons: (1) it injures the victim and affects their personal integrity, and (2) it poses a challenge to the overall democratic system. Notably, it affects the political pipeline since prospective election candidates are deterred from running when they see what those in politics are dealing with. This is particularly detrimental for candidates from marginalised groups, who are already underrepresented in public life.
Following the presentation, a distinguished panel of political leaders and advocates shared their experiences and proposed strategies for improving safety for female politicians:
- Hon Rebekah Borg, Member of Parliament, Nationalist Party
- Dr Therese Comodini Cachia, Lawyer & Former MEP & MP, Nationalist Party
- Hon Dr Katya De Giovanni, Member of Parliament, Labour Party
- Ms Sandra Gauci, Councillor, St Paul’s Bay Local Council; Party Leader, ADPD
The panel focused on four critical areas where protection measures must be strengthened:
- Political Parties: How can internal party policies safeguard women in politics?
- Parliament: What reforms can make parliamentary settings safer and more inclusive?
- Journalists: How can media practices be more responsible in covering female politicians?
- Social Media Platforms: What role should social media companies play in preventing harassment and abuse?
Dr Helena Dalli, Former European Commissioner for Equality concluded the seminar with her remarks on Addressing Violence Against Women in Politics – From Party Level to the EU. Dr Dalli presented a detailed delineation of the policies, training and other measures which need to be taken at an EU, national and political party basis to ensure that politics is a ‘safer’ space.
This event was free and open to the public as it aimed to foster meaningful conversations about creating safer, more equitable spaces for women in politics.
For more information, please contact Ms Tamara Nesic.
