Sexism, harassment and violence against women are rife in parliaments across the Asia-Pacific region, according to a damning report published on Tuesday that lays bare the scale of abuse faced by women in politics.
Based on interviews with 150 female MPs and parliamentary staff across 33 countries across the region – including Australia, Mongolia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Fiji and Micronesia – the study found that 76% of MPs and 63% of staff had experienced psychological gender-based violence, with 60% of MPs saying they had been targeted online by hate speech, disinformation and image-based abuse. An equal number of women were interviewed from each country.
One in four women reported having experienced sexual violence, with more than half of the harassment against female MPs taking place on parliamentary premises and committed by male parliamentarians. Two respondents said they had been sexually assaulted.
Such acts were often used to delegitimise women’s presence in politics and force them into silence or invisibility, the report concluded.
The MPs questioned – all of whom were guaranteed anonymity – described an environment permeated by misogyny and routine harassment. One MP recalled a male colleague telling her: “If you show me your underwear, I’ll vote for you.”
Another woman said her superior “tried to force me into his hotel room, whispering in my ear, ‘I can touch you, can’t I?’” A third woman was asked by a male colleague: “Why don’t you stay at home and in the kitchen with the children?”
A parliamentary staff member also reported that women in her office kept an unofficial list of “weird male parliamentarians” to warn one another about repeat offenders.
“Violence and sexism against women in politics is a direct assault on democracy,” said Martin Chungong, secretary general of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Geneva-based global organisation of legislatures that published the report, adding that “parliaments must be sanctuaries for healthy debate and law-making”.
Brigitte Filion, the report’s author, said she was troubled by the serious risk faced by women in parliament. “The level of threats, online and offline psychological trauma, sexual harassment and other offences has many consequences for their safety […] and their ability to fulfil their roles.
“The dangers for the future generations are obvious: this can discourage young women from getting involved in politics.”
Younger women and those from minority backgrounds reported disproportionately higher rates of abuse.
Filion said that while some parliaments in the Asia-Pacific region had introduced confidential reporting systems and support services to address gender-based violence, none of the countries surveyed had adopted legislation specifically addressing violence against women in politics. Only 16 out of 37 countries in the region have laws in place to tackle wotkplace harassment, according to the World Bank.
“Policies or codes of conduct on harassment – including sexual harassment – are becoming more common; however, progress is slow and measures mainly concern parliamentary staff,” Filion said. “Parliaments need to ensure that both members of parliament and parliamentary staff are fully included and protected.”
A previous IPU study revealed that more than 80% of MPs worldwide have experienced psychological violence, including humiliating sexist remarks, while 20% of global participants reported they had been subjected to sexual violence.
