Gender-Specific Election Violence: The Role of Information and Communication Technologies

Abstract

Substantial gains have been made worldwide in enhancing women's participation in public life in the past two decades. In 1995, women comprised at least 30 per cent of parliamentarians in only five countries (2 per cent of the total), while today thirty-one states have reached that threshold.1 Constitutional revisions and electoral reform have enfranchised women and facilitated their political participation by entrenching their rights, offering incentives and/or imposing sanctions on political parties and other public bodies to protect against gender-specific threats. Nonetheless, women generally remain acutely under-represented in parliaments (only 21.2 per cent of parliamentarians worldwide are women) and face deep-rooted obstacles to participation as voters and in other civil and public roles. Barriers range from inadequate or nonexistent legal protections, traditional cultural stereotypes and gender roles, lack of access to resources and civic education and generally lower levels of self-confidence in pursuing public office. Of all of these barriers, gender-specific election violence is perhaps the most insidious, affecting and compounding other obstacles.Women's experience of election violence is fundamentally different from that of men (Bardall 2010a). Firstly, women are far more likely to be victims of election violence (defined as ' any harm, or threat of harm, to any persons or property involved in the election process, or the election process itself, during the election period' (Kammerud 2011) than perpetrators (Bardall 2010a). Violence against women in elections (VAWE) refers to any random or conspiratorial act to discourage, suppress, or prevent women from The rising influence of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) has paralleled the rapid development of women's political participation worldwide. For women entering political life or holding public positions, new ICTs are frequently used as tools of genderspecific electoral and political violence. There is evidence of ICTs being used to perpetrate a broad range of violent acts against women during elections, especially acts inflicting fear and psychological harm. Specific characteristics of ICTs are particularly adapted to misuse in this manner. Despite these significant challenges, ICTs also offer groundbreaking solutions for preventing and mitigating violence against women in elections (VAWE). Notably, ICTs combat VAWE through monitoring and documenting violence, via education and awarenessraising platforms and through empowerment and advocacy initiatives.

An Unrepresentative Democracy: How Disinformation and Online Abuse Hinder Women of Color Political Candidates in the United States

“…Online GBV received by female politicians is predominantly directed against them as women rather than criticizing their political views or policies (Barker & Jurasz, 2019) and is aimed at undermining their political careers by controlling how the public views them. Also, researchers have argued that women candidates are subject to more violent forms of abuse than men (Bardall, 2013;Krook, 2018).…”

“…A s noted, online harassment and abuse based on gender expression can include verbal abuse, threats of violence, nonconsensual image/video sharing, doxxing, gaslighting, etc (Kee, 2005). There is an important body of research and advocacy that addresses the problem of online GBV targeted at women of color (Amnesty International, 2018;Madden et al, 2018;Turner et al, 2021), as well as women in public life such as politicians and journalists, often with the aim of undermining their careers and silencing them (Bardall, 2013;Norwood et al, 2021;Posetti et al, 2021).…”

Election Related Violence in Nigeria: Perspectives, Policies and Prospects

“…Further use of technology as prescribed in the Electoral bill awaiting assent will further reduce the current challenges such as election result manipulation while ensuring the full digitization of the electoral process thus increasing the speed of result compilation and computation. (Martin-Shields, 2013 ;Mancini et al,2007;Bardall, 2013).…”

Cyber Elections in the Digital Age: Threats and Opportunities of Technology for Electoral Integrity

“…Some research on the impact of online campaigning, for example, has considered its effect on the participation of women in elections. Bardall (2013) has documented the rise of violence against women in elections via new technologies. (Bardall, 2013) She explains that a woman's public image may be easily degraded, they may be intimidated or disproportionately the target of direct attacks, silencing or media bias.…”

“…Bardall (2013) has documented the rise of violence against women in elections via new technologies. (Bardall, 2013) She explains that a woman's public image may be easily degraded, they may be intimidated or disproportionately the target of direct attacks, silencing or media bias. However, she also acknowledges that new technologies can likewise facilitate the monitoring and documentation of violence against women and be a key tool of female empowerment when used appropriately.…”