Women in politics - threats and intimidation

[ArabellaScott]

www.holyrood.com/inside-politics/view,a-growing-threat-is-the-rising-tide-of-intimidation-towards-our-politicians-harming-democracy?fbclid=IwAR0ngMTh4p20ktZgoT28m1enNoOjVYncT15EuUSkWqj5jAMnLsPNOjza3jI

A worrying article in 'Holyrood', that suggests threats towards politicians - especially female politicians - seem to be becoming accepted and more common. Mentions recent 'credible' threats towards Joanna Cherry, and others.

The impact of this, often misogynistic, abuse, directly affects all of us through its effects on our political systems.

But you see - it's justified when they're hateful bigots

Ach, not sure that link is right.

Damn. Clicking on this should take you somewhere you can get through to the article:

www.holyrood.com/inside-politics/

Also, this quote:

'....according to Mona Lena Krook, a US academic who has studied political violence directed towards women.

“There is this idea that hostility is just normal in politics,” she said. “That people are aggressive and there’s conflict. That just normalises it.

“There’s a growing awareness that this isn’t normal. It’s harming democracy and it’s harming democratic discourse.”

Krook, a professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, said there was growing evidence that politicians are shying away from discussing controversial subjects, knowing there will be a backlash.'

It's depressing as well as dangerous. What is also reprehensible is the amount of threats and violence aimed at women (and some men) from members in political parties. And the failure of party leaders to condemn this and get rid of the culprits.

Apparently so, Hubert.

My husband was a politician until a few years ago.

We had to get CCTV on the house. We had a police marker on the house. We both had to carry personal alarms. The kids schools were on alert. We used to get rubbish dumped in our garden. We had Special Branch round quite a few times to discuss specific threats. Twice me and the kids had to move out for a few weeks for safety reasons.

As for social media....,

It was bloody awful.

So glad he's out of it.

Christ, Ginty. That must have been terrifying. How on earth can we have a functioning democracy if people are too scared to even stand?

That's awful GintyMcGinty. We forget that the family are also affected by all this. Were you able to 'protect' your children or were they badly affected by it? (if that's not too intrusive to ask?)

I know my local councillor had to leave the area because her kids were targeted.

It's horrendous. I cannot believe this is the state of things.

My children fortunately were you enough at the time (early primary) to be quite unaware

It's very common. Nearly everyone I know it elected politics (at parliamentary level) experiences this.

@persistentwoman

Thanks. Yes at times I was affected. The worst time was when the police told me one of my neighbours was involved in some of the threats. That was really upsetting.

Just waving @GintyMcGinty as my DH is in politics.

We have similar- CCTV etc.

The abuse is bad for the men, but a thousand times worse for women. Several female MPs from all parties have stopped using Twitter because of the threats & abuse. Then they get more abuse for not being ‘available’.

If I were a female MP I wouldn’t read any of it- they can ask for accounts to be monitored so the MP & staff don’t have to read all the awfulness.

And it is from both sides- far left and far right are both horrible.

I wouldn’t advise my daughter to get involved in national politics.

You only have to look at local politics pages to see it. I can well imagine the sustained vitriol and the amount of truly unbalanced people who see you as a legitimate target takes a massive toll.

Fucking hell.

How will we ever be able to get equal representation if female people are abused like this in return to them doing a massive civic duty?

Does this mean we'll have to rely on women who are male to represent us?

It's all so depressing.

I wouldn’t advise my daughter to get involved in national politics.

The mask of anonymity is an invisibility cloak for these spineless creeps. Facebook, Twitter, and the rest, you have to answer for your lack of safeguarding and the destruction of democracy - sorry, a bit over the top but feeling a bit sensitive today

Try being a Conservative councillor in Scotland:www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1129810/conservative-councillor-tory-house-firebombed-graeme-campbell-lanarkshire

Holy moly, dotoall, that's appalling. I didn't hear about that!

Jenny Mara has lodged a motion on the subject of threats of violence in the Scottish parliament.

I wonder if the Scotgov will actually come out and say that threats of violence are not okay, or if this is another subject they'll demur on.

@ArabellaScott

Holy moly, dotoall, that's appalling. I didn't hear about that!

I don't know if people have forgotten but in the NE of Scotland during the 2014 campaign a lot of brave farmers had big VOTE NO signs in their fields. All were vandalised over and over. YES signs were left alone. Lots of YES stickers on cars (some not many still on cars and lamp-posts now) ..very few 'NO' stickers on cars and yet 'NO' won. Why was that do people think...the intimidated silent majority spoke at the ballot box. Time will tell whether Scottish voters are sensible enough to reduce the SNP's 'Green-reliant' majority further at the next Holyrood election by using their 2 votes tactically to send a message to taxpayers in the rest of the UK that not everyone wants IndyRef2 and that even we did, now is really not the time in the midst of a pandemic/Brexit etc.