Consequences of political violence for gendered representation

Violence and intimidation against politicians can damage democracy and representation in myriad ways. Previous studies have highlighted the impact on elected politicians’ and potential candidates’ exit and entry decisions (e.g. Daniele 2017; Herrick and Franklin 2019; Pinotti 2012). When specifically directed at women in politics, violence can create a heightened sense of vulnerability among women as a group (Krook & Restrepo Sanín 2016). This paper explores the gendered impact of political violence on politicians’ effective participation and representation. Building on theories of feminist institutionalism, representation, and parliamentary workplace perspectives, I develop a typology of gendered consequences consisting of four areas: political survival, political voice, representative functions, and costs to office. I analyse the gendered impact of violence in these areas using a mixed methods approach combining survey and interview data on Swedish women and men politicians. I find that gender conditions the impact of violence in various ways in each of the areas. Although women and men largely react and respond similarly to violence exposure, more women are affected in each area related to the fact that more women experience violence. In terms of political voice, a pronounced gendered consequence is that women silence themselves in political debates hence decreasing their agenda-setting power. Political survival becomes still more gendered as violence against politicians enforces masculine norms on ideal characteristics for political representatives. Furthermore, women’s opportunities to carry out representative functions such as being available for direct interactions with constituents are circumscribed by violence. This violence accordingly exacerbates barriers for women in politics. The findings have important implications for understanding the personal price paid for holding positions of political power, and consequences of violence for gender and representation.