Gendered Hierarchies and Violence Against Women in Politics in Brazil

Violence is a matter of increasing alarm in political life. Violence against women in politics is especially concerning as it operates with the specific intent of maintaining gender hierarchies and excluding women from the male-dominated public sphere. Using original data on political violence targeting Brazilian politicians (2018-2025), we address two questions: (1) How do gendered power relations shape expressions of political violence, particularly against women? and (2) How do racial hierarchies and ideologies intersect with gender to produce differentiated experiences across groups? We argue that violence against people (perceived as) threats to the status quo due to their gender identity, race, or ideology is more prevalent in contexts where gender hierarchies are likewise more pronounced. Furthermore, we expect the forms and timing of violence directed at Black women to differ from violence targeting other groups. Departing from traditional typologies concerning political violence which focus on physical harm, our study adopts Krook’s (2020) violence against women in politics framework to capture a broader spectrum of political violence in our dataset, including psychological and semiotic forms. This approach allows us to better identify and analyze the gendered dimensions of political violence, which are often obscured in conventional studies. Our findings highlight the need for more inclusive frameworks to understand the complex dynamics of violence in politics.