Online Culture Shift

Women engaged in political life benefit from using social media. But characteristics of these platforms—specifically ease of communication, high volume of interactions, and anonymity—can lead to negative outcomes including cyber-harassment and the spread of misinformation, disinformation and harmful gender tropes.

Why is cyber harassment against women in public life an important issue?

Which organizations need to be a part of the solution?

What are some concrete actions that can be taken to prevent or mitigate cyber-harassment?

Digital platforms and interactive websites have tremendously impacted political life. Candidates, political parties and constituents now have access to a wide range of tools, which allow for greater interaction and debate. Individuals can easily share their concerns and opinions with their representatives, and elected officials can access a vast network of volunteers and campaigners who are politically active online.

While women engaged in political life do benefit from using social media, characteristics of these platforms can and do produce negative outcomes. Cyber-harassment of women in politics, like democracy itself, is not a partisan, nor even a gendered issue. It is everyone’s problem and, in turn, everyone’s responsibility to solve. However, the ease of communication, high-volume of interactions and anonymity facilitated by social media platforms can lead to the spread of misinformation, disinformation and harmful gender tropes.

There are no quick solutions to the problem of cyber-harassment against women who openly voice their political opinions. Instead, a clear framework of short-, medium- and long-term actions are required to enact lasting social and cultural change.

For the purpose of this report, we have created the following framework:

Short-Term: Stronger training at the level of political parties and in civil society;
Medium-Term: Stronger laws and legislation; and
Long-Term: Social and cultural change.

Short-term requirements for change are opportunities that can be actioned within the next year and continue to progress over time. Medium-term requirements for change demand legislative efforts, and therefore, may take longer to implement at around three to five years. Long-term requirements point to a need for greater societal change, which only happens gradually, likely taking a decade or more. The opportunities for change outlined in this report are by no means exhaustive, but are intended to offer various approaches to bring about solutions to the cyber-harassment of women in politics.

About the Authors

Katherine Feenan & Kathleen Donovan

Katherine Feenan is a Policy Lead at PPF. Her professional career began on Parliament Hill. Over the years she spent on “The Hill”, she was fortunate enough to work in various capacities for a number of political leaders, including the prime minister of Canada and the member of Parliament for Vancouver Centre. After spending a few years working in the private and non-profit sectors in Toronto and Vancouver, her passion for politics and interest in international affairs led her overseas to work with the National Democratic Institute, where she served as an election analyst, observer and trainer in the country of Georgia and in Algeria. Katherine holds an MA in Comparative Ethnic Conflict from Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Kathleen Donovan is Research Assistant at PPF. She brings an international perspective to public policy after spending two years completing a Masters of Human Rights and Humanitarian Action from the Paris School of International Affairs, Sciences Po. She is passionate about public policy research, particularly in the fields of good governance and democratic disruption. She also holds a degree in international relations and history from the University of Toronto. Kathleen has previously worked as an intern for the United Nations Operations and Crisis Centre and a Division Research Manager for the Canadian Centre for the Canadian Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.