Main Findings
- Overall, 71% of all respondents, both globally and in the five countries, reported having experienced violence from the public, whether online, offline or both.
- Violence is heavily concentrated online, with between 65% and 77% of MPs in the five countries reporting online abuse.
- The most common forms of public intimidation overall reported by MPs are insults and degrading language, the spread of false or misleading information, and threats.
- Most respondents believe that the situation is deteriorating. In Argentina and the Netherlands, 8 out of 10 MPs reported an increase in violence over the past five years.
- Online violence is frequently triggered by elections, high-profile legislative debates or polarizing political or cultural issues.
- Women are more affected than men: 76% of women MPs across the case studies reported exposure to violence, compared to 68% of men.
- Women are disproportionately affected by gendered and sexualized forms of violence, especially online.
- MPs who belong to minority or disadvantaged groups – including racial minorities, people with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ communities – face even greater exposure to online violence.
When the public turns hostile: Political violence against parliamentarians
Well, yeah. They didn’t fear us, so they leaned into corruption. Now they realize that they’ve gone too far, and they’ll be LUCKY to only get a long prison sentence, and that will be in the best of circumstances. If things get really ugly, they’ll wish for a long drop at the end of a rope.