Abuse of female election candidates is becoming worse, say candidates, activists and charities.
One female Labour candidate in the north of England said “the harassment continues apace” in the build-up to the election, with online harassment being a particular problem.
As well as being subjected to hate speech and targeted comments online, she said she had also experienced disinformation being spread about her, and malicious complaints being made against her to public bodies.
“Some days you can put a good face on and go out and face it,” she said. “And other days you just think: ‘Why do I do this? Why do I bother?’
“Your family are saying: ‘It’s not worth it, step down’. And these conversations are happening up and down the country with candidates and their families, and people who are thinking about putting themselves forward think, ‘Well, do I want to open myself up to this?’ It’s corrosive to our democracy.”
Christine Wallace, the Conservative candidate for Lewisham West and East Dulwich, also ran in last month’s Greater London Authority elections.
“I had thousands of comments of people saying the most horrendous things to me,” she said. “I didn’t read them all, my team looked at a lot of them for me.”
Wallace said there would be more vitriol under her posts than those of male colleagues – an experience common among female candidates.
So much of politics and public life was conducted online, Wallace said, that women entering politics “feel they have to be on social media to run now, whereas before you just didn’t have social media.
“They think to get your name out there, to have the same opportunities to do as well … it does put you at a disadvantage not being there.
“I think the difference is, when you were a politician in 2001 people had to sit down, write a letter, go and walk and post it, and in that time people have time to think, and calm down a little … whereas now, people react so quickly.”
Another Labour candidate in northern England said online abuse was often harder to deal with than harassment in public.
“If someone is being abusive on the doorstep I find that easier, because you can obviously walk away,” she said.
She said she felt compelled to warn the police before her campaign launch event, because, although she had not received direct threats, online comments about her family members, the area she lived in, and her workplace had left her concerned for her security.
“Sometimes they make comments that are quite personal,” she said. “That’s a bit upsetting, and that does worry me, to the point where I worry a little bit sometimes about personal safety … it’s enough to scare me a little bit.
“It’s stressful being a candidate anyway, but because of what’s being said I just feel constantly anxious and upset.
“Without a doubt it’s getting worse.”
Claire Reynolds, the director of Labour Women’s Network, said: “Sadly, abuse is now an inevitable part of public life, especially for women. We’re just two weeks into the general election and already we’ve been made aware of candidates’ offices graffitied, candidates’ families targeted, and endless misogynist and often racist abuse online.”
Gabriela de Oliveira, the head of policy, research and campaigns for the online abuse charity Glitch, said its research had found that gender was the most significant factor in terms of risk for online abuse, but that Black women were at disproportionate risk.
She added: “We know that many women have stepped down and cited online abuse. We don’t know how many women have not come forward … because they don’t want to put themselves in that position.”
Research carried out by the Electoral Commission into candidates’ experiences at May’s local elections found that in England, 43% reported experiencing some kind of abuse or intimidation, with 10% describing it as a serious problem.
When candidates were presented with a list of specific scenarios, such as receiving physical threats, or threats towards family, friends and staff, 56% of respondents had experienced abuse.
Female candidates were particularly concerned, with 56% avoiding campaigning alone, compared with 19% of men.
“Campaigning is vital to our democracy and usually carried out respectfully,” said Vijay Rangarajan, the chief executive of the Electoral Commission. “However, our research shows that far too many candidates are facing harassment and abuse.”
