‘Boiling frogs’ and ‘waterproof ducks’: intersectional narratives of politicians’ experiences with violence

How do politicians perceive violence directed at them? Existing studies, often relying on predefined understandings of what constitutes violence, show that politicians are confronted with various online, offline, physical, and psychological forms of violence. Violence, however, is a contested concept and how and what people do (not) perceive as violence is highly subjective, situational, and grounded in their own intersectional experiences with it. Few studies have explored, from the perspective of politicians themselves, how they interpret and navigate violence. Yet, we argue, the narratives politicians rely on to talk about their experiences, reveal insightful information on what they consider (un)acceptable forms of (violent) behaviour, as well as what are considered (un)acceptable ways for them to deal with the issue, and how these may differ among politicians. Drawing on 34 in-depth interviews with a diverse sample of federal and regional politicians in Belgium, we analyse the narratives they employ to speak about violence, in order to understand how they make sense of it. Adopting an abductive and intersectional approach, the paper explores intersectional patterns both within the narratives and among those who produce them, in how violence is perceived and navigated. The findings of this paper contribute to the literature on (gender-based) violence against politicians by offering a more nuanced and intersectionally sensitive understanding of how politicians experience violence.