Gender-based violence against women politicians in the Western Balkans

In the Western Balkans, all six countries are committed to preventing and combating gender-based violence against women through the ratification of the Convention on Preventing and Eliminating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention). The region has a major problem with domestic violence, especially femicide. On average, 26 women out of every one million were killed by their (ex-)partner in the Western Balkans between the years 2020 to 2023. However, the Convention does not directly deal with violence against women politicians, therefore, it is up to each country to ensure a safe political environment for everyone. Furthermore, all Western Balkan countries have legalised gender quotas to increase women´s participation in local, regional, and national politics. 

However, with increased women´s participation in politics, and most importantly, with the rise of the use of social media, we can detect increased instances of violence against women politicians. The majority of research across the Balkans reveals that around half of women politicians have experienced some form of violence during their political careers. For example, a study conducted by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in 2019 revealed that 60 per cent of interviewed women politicians from Bosnia and Herzegovina have experienced some form of gender-based violence during their political career. This research has also found that 96 per cent of respondents think that violence against women in politics most commonly takes the form of verbal and emotional abuse. On the internet, psychological violence, in the form of misogynistic and sexualised threats, is most prevalent, according to Radičević. Therefore, the majority of women politicians in the Western Balkans experience almost daily a broad range of gender-based insults, comments on physical appearance, unwanted touching, inappropriate forms of communication, and sexist jokes. Often, families, and especially children of the women politicians, are targeted through violence, leading to increased fear of the family´s well-being and safety.

The perpetrators are often male party colleagues and opponents (see Babović et al.; Ohrid Institute et al.; or Radičević). The party opponents usually use gender-based violence against women politicians to discredit them by spreading false rumours, targeting their physical appearance to degrade them and employing gender stereotypes to denote them as incompetent in politics. Because of the still highly accepted notion that such violence is the “cost of doing politics”, the vast majority of women politicians do not talk about their experiences with other people, as they fear they would be seen as weak or not competent enough for the world of politics. If they choose to speak about their experiences, they largely turn to their close friends and family. Reporting to the police is very low, as the women politicians think they will be further humiliated and victim-blamed by the police. In a 2020 research by Ohrid Institute and others, only 3 percent of respondents have reported the violence of police. 

The impact the violence leaves on women, as reported by women politicians in the Western Balkans, ranges from health problems (headaches, sleep disorders, panic attacks, depression), work problems (reduced performance, increased sick leave or increased pressure), fear about family´s safety, to leaving the political sphere altogether. Indeed, men politicians can experience such impacts on their lives, too, however, women are disproportionately targeted by gender-based harassment and gender-based violence.