Agony of Soul: Violence against Women in Suffrage Movements

Violence against women in politics is increasingly recognized around the world as a significant barrier to women’s political participation. In a recent book, Violence against Women in Politics (Oxford University Press, 2020), I analyze contemporary debates of this phenomenon, drawing on cases around the world – as well as literatures in a variety of academic disciplines – to develop this concept, illustrate what it looks like in practice, and catalogue emerging solutions around the world. This paper analyzes this topic from a historical angle, exploring violence against women in suffrage movements in the United Kingdom and the United States. Existing work on suffrage takes up themes of violence in a limited way, focusing on the strategic use of violence by suffragettes or analyzing anti-suffrage images and rhetoric. Yet, many studies also mention – albeit largely in passing – physical and sexual assaults during suffrage marches, unlawful detention and other prison abuses, and various forms of property damage and psychological intimidation. Applying the lens of “violence against women in politics” to a vast collection of archival material, published firsthand accounts, and secondary sources, this study seeks to contribute both the prevailing research on suffrage as well the emerging literature on violence against women in politics, highlighting the ongoing contested nature of women’s full integration as equal political actors – as well as illuminating how this resistance might be theorized and addressed.