Violence against women in politics is an intolerable violation of women’s rights, which poses fundamental challenges to democratic values and electoral processes.
To tackle this issue, the Kofi Annan Foundation commissioned Carmen Alanis, the first female Chief Justice at the Superior Chamber of the Electoral Court of Mexico, and member of the Kofi Annan Foundation’s Electoral Integrity Initiative, to produce a policy paper which highlights the barriers women face in their attempts to access political spaces, as well as the challenges they encounter if elected to public office.
In attempts to shed light on the extent of the problem, the paper addresses three vital questions:
- Why do women face barriers in exercising their political and electoral rights?
- If violence against women in politics is a global phenomenon with a negative impact on democracies, why is the problem still not being adequately addressed by states?
- Do current models of access to justice effectively engage with the issue?
The paper demonstrates that violence against women in politics undermines electoral integrity by disregarding the principles of universal suffrage and political equality. These principles are not being fulfilled in both newer and older democracies worldwide, due to various barriers to equal and universal political participation.
For a long time, women’s interests, voices and opinions were not represented. Although this began to change with the advent of women’s suffrage, affirmative measures (such as quotas and reserved seats) and parity, concrete measures still need to be put in place and adopted to build truly inclusive democratic societies.
The paper provides a series of recommendations to eliminate violence against women in politics, including actions by States, civil society actors, academics and others. By mobilising the necessary resources and political will to implement the recommendations, we can help bolster electoral integrity and uphold the values of equality and inclusivity at the heart of democracy.
On Wednesday, 25 November 2020, the International Day to End Violence against Women, we also held an online discussion “Eliminating violence against women in politics: what works and what doesn’t?”, featuring experts in the field. More information about the event can be found here.