Bystanders, enablers or agents of change? Political parties’ (in)action on technology facilitated gender-based violence in politics

Around the world, democratic governance has been in decline for over two decades. Studies have shown that technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TF-GBV) against women in public life is a significant contributor, hindering women’s meaningful political representation and undermining the principles of fairness and inclusion (Erikson, Håkansson and Josefsson, 2023; Koch, Russo Riva and Steinert, 2025). Despite the growing threat that TF-GBV represents to democratic governance (di Meco, 2023), political parties as key actors in representative democracies have been largely absent from both public and academic discourses seeking solutions to TF-GBV against women in public life. Building on feminist institutionalist analyses of political parties (Verge, 2023; Ahrens and Meier, 2024), this paper asks (1) to what extent political parties seek to prevent and respond to TF-GBV, and (2) what role do gender norms play in explaining their (in)actions. In doing so, it seeks to advance the scholarship on violence against women in politics and contribute to policy debates aimed at strengthening democratic governance. The paper draws on a recent study by ODI Global (Michalko, forthcoming) which uses existing literature on GBV in politics and key informant interviews with gender and politics professionals from countries in the global North and South. It argues that political parties across the ideological and organisational spectrum tend to be mere bystanders to TF-GBV, even though their own politicians and party members are among the frequent perpetrators of TF-GBV. Moreover, it suggests that masculinist norms play a key role in stifling parties’ responses and enabling TF-GBV. However, these norms interact with external political and social factors, such as levels of electoral competition and engagement of civil society, leading to parties’ varied responses. While further research across diverse geographies and political systems is needed to provide a more nuanced understanding of the interaction between norms and external factors, this paper offers preliminary analytical approaches that political parties and practitioners can use to assess strategies for responding to TF-GBV against women in politics.