“It’s part of the job” says yet another woman politician on her experiences of receiving digital abuse – from sexist slurs to ‘deep fakes’ to rape and death threats.
As part of my work at The Jo Cox Foundation, I hear from politicians at all levels of government across the UK and the world about their experiences of abuse. We campaign to address violence, abuse, harassment and intimidation towards all elected representatives through the Jo Cox Civility Commission.
We work to address such abuse not only because of the way Jo was killed – while carrying out her public duties as a MP – but because of the values by which she lived. Jo believed passionately in robust political debate and a representative, gender-equal democracy. We believe that abuse in politics harms democracy.
While abuse can and does impact anyone in public life, growing evidence shows that the nature and impact of abuse towards women is distinct. Women are often attacked because they are women with the intention and/or effect of limiting women’s political participation.
The stories I hear from women about their experiences are reflected in a growing body of research about the prevalence and nature of gendered digital abuse. A recent Westminster parliamentary survey found that 96% of current MPs have personally experienced threatening behaviour, with threats of sexual violence disproportionately experienced by women and disabled MPs. In a 2025 survey , 84% of women councillors in England and Wales reported experiencing abuse or intimidation. Between 2023 and 2024, abuse towards women Members of the Scottish Parliament increased more than a hundred-fold. Even so-called ‘low-level’ incidents and “digital microaggressions” can be harmful because they normalise abuse.
Studies in other countries tell a similar story. The Inter-Parliamentary Union’s (IPU) research regularly finds that a high number of women parliamentarians across the world experience abuse. A 2024 study of Italian politicians found that women were targeted more than men, even when they made the same decisions. A New Zealand study using a 2022 survey found that 98% of MPs had experienced harassment with women more likely than men to face most forms of abuse, including being twice as likely to receive death threats.
Such abuse can impact women’s ability to fully and freely participate in politics. Necessary efforts to deal with abuse – from reporting to social media platforms and implementing security precautions – take up time and resources. In a political environment where abuse is expected, women may ‘self-censor.’ Research carried out by academics and the UK Electoral Commission find that many women candidates avoid certain political activities, such as participating in hustings or discussing certain issues. Abuse clearly affects these individuals and groups, but it also impacts their professional and personal networks, and ultimately undermines the functioning of the wider political ecosystem.
Diverse political representation strengthens democracies. Study after study shows that better policy decisions are made when political institutions are inclusive of women leaders. Progress towards gender-equal political participation is not guaranteed. Even if current rates of progress are maintained, the UN estimates that gender parity in national legislative bodies globally will take another 38 years and another 130 years for gender parity among heads of state. Here in the UK, the campaign group 50:50 Parliament recently warned that if current opinion polling is translated into seats in the next General Election, the number of women in parliament could fall for the first time in 100 years.
Digital abuse risks further undermining efforts for equal political representation. Women, especially those with disabilities or from ethnic minority backgrounds are already chronically under-represented in politics and are disproportionately impacted by abuse. With the rise of abuse in public life, we as a society risk further marginalising women and creating a politics in which only certain demographic groups feel comfortable participating. This lack of diversity would damage the integrity of our political institutions. In order to strengthen our democracy, we must address digital abuse towards women in politics.
“It shouldn’t be part of the job” is also what many women tell me when they share their experiences of abuse. We believe that we can change political institutions to address abuse and strengthen democracy. And we are not alone.
Globally, addressing digital abuse, including in political spaces is increasingly seen as a priority. Today, 25 November, is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and this year’s theme calls on unity to end digital abuse. The 16 Days of activism calls on individuals, civil society and governments to unite to address digital abuse towards women.
Since we launched the Jo Cox Civility Commission in the UK, we have seen important progress to tackle abuse in politics. Coordination is improving across the Government through the Defending Democracy Task Force. Each local police force now has a specific officer responsible for supporting local politicians, building on the structure to protect MPs, with increased training for police officers to deal with digital harms. The UK Online Safety Act is being implemented to address digital harms.
Dealing with online abuse must not only be the responsibility of individuals. Addressing this problem demands organisational action and societal culture change. Efforts to address digital abuse in politics must be accompanied by efforts to make political institutions more equal, such as the ongoing implementation of the Scottish Parliament’s Gender Sensitive Audit.
We continue to make comprehensive but achievable recommendations to a range of institutions including political parties and local governments. Many aspects of our call to action are shared by other organisations including the Electoral Commission, campaign groups like Centenary Action, Elect Her and the Online Safety Act Network, academics including Susan Watson in a recent book on the topic, and the UK Parliament’s Speakers Conference on the security of candidates, MPs and elections.
We believe that digital abuse need not be inevitable. We can work towards a society and politics in which diversity is celebrated and everyone can freely and safely participate in public life in the spirit of Jo’s message that we have “more in common than that which divides us.”