Over 95% of female politicians threatened with physical violence online study finds

ireland
Over 95% Of Female Politicians Threatened With Physical Violence Online Study Finds
Share this article
claireporter
Over 95 per cent of Irish female politicians have been threatened with physical violence on social media or in an email according to a recent study.

The research carried out by NUIG found that 96 per cent of had been threatened with physical violence, including some who have been threatened with acid and one had who human faeces thrown on her.

The research was carried out among current and former female public representatives.

Advertisement

The study also found that one fifth of Irish female politicians have considered quitting politics due to the level of threats and abusive messages they receive.

Almost a third of respondents said they have been verbally abused in public.

Former Minister and Senator Regina Doherty believes that woman are affected by threats and abuse more so than men because they are "softer" and "take it in more".

"The real reason that we get it more is that we take it more. We don't know how to internalise it or how to ignore it."

Ms Doherty added that the level of abuse experienced by politicians is putting people off pursuing a political career.

"At our last elections, we couldn't get an awful lot of our first time local election candidates in Ireland at the last local election to run for a second term because it just wasn't worth it."

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com