Women in prominent positions in politics are more exposed to hate and harassment than men, says Sandra Håkansson, researcher at Uppsala University.
And they are more exposed to another type of threat, for example, threats of sexual violence and sexualizing derogatory comments. So the perpetrators seem to be targeting women and expressing a lot of sexist opinions.
Silenced in the debate
So far, however, it is unusual for politicians to leave their assignments for that reason, she says.
What is common is that politicians are silenced in the debate, choose to avoid certain topics or deliberately participate less in the public debate.
From a democratic perspective, it is of course very serious, says Sandra Håkansson.
We have researched how the parties address this problem. I think that one generally needs to think about this a bit broader, not just focus on what is purely criminal, but also look at how one can strengthen politicians' ability to exercise their assignments, free from all forms of intimidation tactics.
Worse during election years
The Swedish Crime Prevention Council (Brå) also sees in its investigations that female politicians are more exposed than male politicians.
What we can also see is that the exposure is higher during election years compared to the years in between, says Anna Frenzel, investigator at Brå.
Why women are more exposed, Brå has no answer to, but Anna Frenzel points to Sandra Håkansson's research, which has shown that men are more likely to be downgraded after a political decision they have made.
When women are exposed, it is more about attacks on them as a person, says Anna Frenzel.
Even if it is relatively unusual for elected officials to leave politics due to hate and threats, it is one-fifth of those exposed who consider leaving.
An effect in the long run can be that it becomes very difficult to get new people who want to engage. In the long run, it becomes a threat to democracy, says Anna Frenzel.
Brå is publishing a new report on politicians' exposure on November 6.
Marc Skogelin/TT
Anna Lena Wallström/TT
Facts: This is what Brå's investigation shows
TT
Some results from Brå's mapping of elected officials' exposure to harassment, threats, and violence during the election year 2022:
29 percent of politicians in the Riksdag, municipalities, and regions reported that they had been exposed to harassment, threats, or violence, vandalism, or theft in 2022.
A total of 31.0 percent of the female elected officials and 28.3 percent of the male elected officials reported that they were exposed to at least one incident during the year.
The proportion of exposed individuals was largest within the Green party (48 percent) and smallest within the Christian Democrats (24 percent).
The most common incident was threats and harassment via social media.
5.3 percent of the elected officials reported that they had been exposed to some form of violence, vandalism, or theft due to their assignment.
In most cases, the perpetrator was unknown or anonymous.
Source: Brå's Politicians' Safety Survey 2023
