By Jessica Lee
In the digital age, politicians and the public have never been more accessible to one another. While social media can make it easier for politicians to reach potential voters, platforms such as ‘X’ and ‘Facebook’ have become breeding grounds for trolling and online harassment.
A report by UCD found that 73% of the Oireachtas members are experiencing abuse on social media regularly.
While politicians of every gender identity and background receive hate online, female politicians in particular are targeted the most by sexist and derogatory harassment.
It has been argued by academics such as Daphne Joanna Van der Pas and Loes Aaldering that the difference in the way male and female politicians are framed in the media is a contributing factor for the harassment women are subjected to online.
Research conducted by Utah State University found that media coverage of female politicians is primarily “focused on their background, family life and personality. Media tended to emphasise women candidates’ lack of viability, focusing more attention on the “horse race” or outcome-predicting aspects of their campaigns.”
The study also found that of the articles sampled, 13.6% of them contained reference to female candidates’ physical appearance – such as clothing, age, makeup and weight.
Source: Utah Women and Leadership Project
A 2019 study by Amanda Haraldsson and Lena Wängnerud notes that, “The media agenda follows male candidates’ political agendas more than female candidates and is more likely to question the chances women have of winning. Media frames, including trivialisation framing, and type of media attention – tabloid outlets for women and broadsheets for men – contributed to the media bias against female candidates.”
On the type of online abuse female politicians receive, Social Democrat councillor for Leixlip, Nuala Killeen said that “women are targeted about their looks and their age, it generally has nothing to do with our politics and more to do with misogyny.”
When it comes to male politicians, Councillor Killeen states that “they [men] are criticised for their politics and policies, not their appearance.”
Although she is “thick skinned” and rarely fazed by cruel comments, Killeen notes that negative media coverage as well as the personal nature of online harassment experienced by female politicians has led to women feeling discouraged about getting into politics or rerunning for election. “Women who are confident in their political experience and knowledge, who feel they can make a difference in their communities have seen the abuse other women have been subjected to and second guess if they really want to ensure the same thing.”
People Before Profit Councillor for Ballyfermot-Drimnagh, Hazel de Nortúin, has said that the rise in online misinformation and harassment will “make it very difficult for us to find female candidates willing to run in the future, particularly women of colour and from different backgrounds.”
De Nortúin added that councillors are “lacking resources when it comes to tackling online abuse” and are often subjected to “harassment about governmental issues which are out of our hand. People are angry at the government, which I understand, but we [councillors] in local politics have no say in what goes on in Leinster House… they are letting their frustration out on us.”
The type of political violence faced by Irish politicians based on gender. Source: Chr. Michelsen Institute
Research conducted by the Chr. Michelsen Institute found that female politicians are more prone to being subject to degrading talk and false rumours; in fact, they are 2.3 times more likely to experience this than men. Additionally, the false rumours that female politicians face are more likely to be of a sexual nature.
While male and female politicians across the political landscape experience trolling and abuse online, there has been a rise in incidents of verbal and physical face-to-face harassment taking place in Ireland.
Independent councillor for Fingal, Tania Doyle and her husband, were the victims of a violent attack by a member of the far right whilst out canvassing in their constituency. Doyle was punched in the head whilst trying to shield her husband, who was beaten to the ground and left bloodied and bruised after being kicked repeatedly.
Since the incident, Councillor Doyle has stated that she doesn’t know if she will stay in politics after the attack and has been questioning her decision to run.
With the increase in online and public abuse faced by politicians, a taskforce chaired by the former Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan on safe participation in political life has been established to make recommendations about changes that can be made to ensure the safety of politicians, with a particular focus on protecting female politicians.
These recommendations include personalised security training and advice, and an opt-in social media monitoring service for political figures. Additionally, the taskforce also recommends that election candidates should not have to publish their home address due to safety concerns.
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