Violence against women in politics through the eyes of Brazilian federal legislators (2018-2022).

The paper presents an exploratory case study on Brazilian federal legislative branch, with the objective of furthering our knowledge on the concept of violence against women in politics. Drawing on the latest developments around the importance of assessing the gendered power dynamics which take place within political institutions, the research case focuses on office holders’ perception of the phenomenon in order to explore in which ways violence against women in politics affected the distribution of key political resources within the Brazilian lower chamber between 2018 and 2022. The study relies on original data collected through semi-structured interviews with women and men legislators conducted through September 2023 and May 2024. Qualitative methodology will allow to examine an in-depth assessment of the specific ways violence against women in politics takes shape in Brazil. First, the conceptualization of the phenomenon in the Brazilian federal context will be explored through interviewees’ insights. Then, women and men’s perceptions over the magnitude of its impact over power dynamics within the chamber will be assessed and compared. Appointment in leadership positions and committee membership will be taken into consideration. Results finally contributed to put light on the heavy implications violence against women in politics has over political representation in a democratic regime (Martinez and Garrido 2013; Freidenberg and Del Valle Pérez 2017; Krook 2020; Matos 2021). Keywords: violence against women in politics, political representation, horizontal and vertical segregation, Brazil.