The issue is not getting, but keeping women in politics’: The impact of violence against women in politics in the Belgian context

Violence against women in politics (VAWIP) is a large-scale problem. Worldwide, female politicians face violence, targeted specifically at them because they are women, engaging in politics. Research shows that VAWIP severely hinders the advancement of political gender equality, as high levels of violence aimed at female politicians pose an important barrier for women entering politics. The impact of VAWIP on the advancement of political gender equality however, has mainly received attention in violent settings and in countries where women are traditionally largely underrepresented in politics. This study argues however, that it is important to address the issue as well in countries with a high presence of female politicians, as political gender equality is not only brought about by having a significant number of women in politics. These women also need to be able to substantively contribute to the political decision-making process. If and how VAWIP prevents female politicians from doing so however, remains understudied in these supposed gender equal democracies. This study therefore, analyses how VAWIP affects female politicians and which consequences this has for the political gender equality in Belgium, a longstanding democracy with a high representation of women in politics. The study is based on semi-structured interviews, conducted with seven female politicians sitting in the different Belgian parliaments and municipal councils. They were selected through a combination of a (social) media search and snowball sampling. The results of the thematic analysis applied to the interview data show that VAWIP restricts female politicians from participating in politics in multiple ways. First of all, VAWIP complicates female politicians’ work as it creates a hostile work environment for them. Second, VAWIP has a silencing effect on female politicians as well, both in the workplace and on social media. Third, the study shows that VAWIP hinders female politicians in carrying out their actual work, since they have to spend a significant amount of their working and spare time on dealing with these issues. Finally, VAWIP keeps women out of politics as well, as it causes some female politicians to consider leaving or actually leave politics. The study therefore concludes that also in countries with a high number of women in politics, like Belgium, the political gender equality is harmed by VAWIP, as it prevents female politicians from performing their job as representatives to the fullest and from contributing to an equal extent to the political decision-making process.