How has the problem representation of gender-based violence against UK MPs evolved in parliamentary debates and why?

This paper will offer a descriptive and explanatory analysis about how and why gender-based violence against MPs is presented as a problem in parliamentary debates. This research is set in a context of an apparent puzzle in the UK policy framework. The UK has made advances in gender equality, including developing a gender-based violence policy framework and implementing ‘gender-sensitive parliament’ policies. There is also some growing political awareness of the ‘continuum’ of violence experienced by MPs, including the intersectional gendered dynamics. Yet, there seems to be lack of specific policies to address the specific phenomenon of gender-based violence against MPs. The paper draws on the emerging theoretical framework of Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP) which argues that there is a specific phenomenon of women experiencing violence because of their gender and political participation (Bardall, 2011; Biroli, 2018; Collier and Raney, 2018; Bardall, Bjarnegård and Piscopo, 2020; Krook, 2020) and the more established theoretical framework of Feminist Institutionalism (FI), which argues that institutions, especially political ones, are gendered (Puwar, 2004; Connell, 2006, 2020; Mackay and Krook, 2015; Collier and Raney, 2018). Feminist Institutionalism would explain Violence against Women in Politics is caused by gender unequal institutions. Using feminist discourse analysis, particularly drawing on the ‘What is the problem represented to be?’ (WPR) approach, (Bacchi, 2012), this paper will identify and trace the discourse of gender-based violence against MPs, paying particular attention to the depiction of (intersectional) gender, types of harassment and the way in which the murder of Jo Cox MP may have changed the way gender-based violence against MPs was represented. It will conduct a unique analysis on parliamentary debates on the specific topic of harassment (or abuse or violence) against MPs, as well as other debates which mention this topic during the 2010-2021. This paper is particularly informed by the sub-theory Discursive Feminist Institutionalism, which theorises that the way in which (policy) problems are defined discursively has power, especially power to define and reformulate institutions. It also draw on the related sub-theory of Historical Feminist Institutionalism which identifies the gendered power dynamics, processes and impacts of institutional change, especially ‘critical junctures’ which are events that lead to institutional (that can be discursive, informal or informal) (Franceschet, 2015; Lovenduski, 2015). In particular, the papers will assess the impact of Jo Cox’s murder on the representation of the problem of gender-based violence in parliamentary debates and in the workplace policy framework. There is some evidence, or assumptions, that the murder led to increased discussion of violence experienced by politicians, especially women MPs (Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, 2020; Krook, 2020). Certainly, there has been an increase in the number of specific parliamentary debates and reports relating specifically to violence, including gender-based violence, towards MPs. However, the evidence or assumption that the murder of Jo Cox had a significant discursive impact, especially in relation to other factors, has not, as far is known, been specifically analysed.