Violence Against Women in Politics in Australia

• In Event: Conflict and Gender

Abstract

There is increasing backclash to women's empowerment, despite the progress that has been made towards gaining women's equal representation in politics. This backlash, alongside structural and cultural inequalities, has caused the number of incidents of abuse targeted towards women in politics to grow. Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWIP) is an emerging area of research which examines this growing trend. It theorises that such violence is aimed at women involved in politics because of their gender, and to prevent them from accessing political power. Although studies have focused on conceptualising the issue, there is limited research measuring the prevalence of VAWIP. Furthermore, there are few studies which consider the effect of this issue on women’s career ambition and their progression to leadership positions. This project aims to address these research gaps by uncovering the prevalence, causes and consequences of VAWIP in Australia, and how that reflects on the progress of women's leadership more broadly. It does so through a mixed methodology. Firstly, a survey of men and women active in politics, such as those working in parliamentary offices and for political parties, is conducted. Secondly, in depth interviews with current and former women parliamentarians at both state and federal levels are undertaken. This approach of collecting evidence across professional experiences in politics provides an innovative contribution to this area of research, by highlighting the flow on effects of violence in early careers to senior public office. This project makes recommendations to strengthen current institutional and organisational responses to VAWIP. Furthermore, it highlights issues of intersectionality and power in VAWIP research.

Author

• Medha Majumdar, Australian National University