Local Insights71

Tackling gendered violence against elected women and staff

The issue of increasing incivility, harassment abuse and violence directed at elected representatives is not a new one. However, it is a threat that continues to grow along with the disenchantment and mistrust many citizens feel towards government and institutions.

While quite a few studies and surveys examine the issue faced by public figures, the gendered dimension of the harassment and violence that elected women face at all levels, including the local and regional, must not be ignored.

Along with the increase in women’s participation in political life, comes increasing exposure to a continuum of abuse, violence, and sexist attitudes. Some studies suggest that while women may not encounter more abuse online, the abuse that women receive is gendered in its content.

A 2020 report for the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities on Fighting Sexist Violence against women in politics at local and regional levels takes stock of the increase of incivility, insults and attacks from both peers and citizens against women who become visible in the political arena. It also gives hints as to how local and regional governments should tackle this disturbing phenomenon. If nothing is done, it may be driving women out of public life and undermining the roots of the democratic process and equal participation and representation.

Recommended actions include:
• “Raising awareness among elected representatives, council staff and citizens on violence against women in politics and its negative impact on the exercise of democratic rights;”
• “Introduc[ing]or revis[ing] codes of conduct in national assemblies, governmental bodies and institutions, explicitly prohibiting sexist speech and sexual harassment, introducing effective complaint and sanctions mechanisms and assist local and regional governments with the implementation of measures regarding sexist violence against women in politics;”
• “Conduct [ing] periodical surveys and studies and establish official statistics, at all levels of government, on the issue of violence against women in politics, including attacks perpetrated in the private sphere;”

Other tools and resources are available to women politicians to help them engage safely with social media. The UK-based non-partisan organisation Elect Her works to motivate, support and equip women in all their diversity to stand for political office in Britain. As part of their mission, they partnered up with Glitch, a charity seeking to end online abuse. Together they offer an online learning course to equip women in public office with the skills to be safer, more resilient and more confident in online spaces.

Finally, a useful guide to security on Facebook and Instagram for women in politics was produced by Meta in collaboration with the Elues Locales network. It provides practical tips on prevention and protection (passwords, pirated accounts, etc.) as well as how to moderate content and report abuse.

Additional resources

• Report Fighting sexist violence against women in politics at local and regional level, Jelena Drenjanin (2020, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities)
• Démocratie au féminin 2022 – Guide des conseils de sécurité sur Facebook et Instagram pour les femmes en politique

2023 International Women’s Rights Day series: “Five new Charter articles illustrated through local actions”

This article is part of a series published by CEMR to celebrate 2023 International Women’s Rights Day. This series informs on impactful initiatives carried out by local and regional governments to promote gender justice.
These projects embody the updated European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life as they show how five of its nine new articles can be put into practice. Together, they represent an inspiring step towards a more gender-equal Europe.

The updated Charter is available currently in English, French and easy-to-read English versions.

Any questions regarding the update or the actions highlighted in this series can be directed to contact@ccre-cemr.org or the relevant national coordinator for the Charter in your country.

BORDELOT Federica

Director – Policy & Impact

The City of Munich takes on digital violence

In an effort to proactively tackle online forms of violence, the City of Munich has set out specific actions in its 2020-2024 Equality Action Plan.

The high incidence of gender-based violence that girls and women encounter in face-to-face interactions translates increasingly into the digital realm. According to EU-wide surveys carried out by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency 33 % of women have suffered physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15 years; and 1 in 10 women have already experienced a form of online violence from the age of 15 onwards (EIGE 2017)

Munich has been quick to recognise that as digital media and digital communication are naturally integrated into everyday life, particularly among younger people, the distinctions between digital and physical violence is becoming less pertinent.

As part of its project on digital violence, Munich is organising a series of events bringing together experts from different fields and with various approaches to the subject in order to take stock of and understand the existing forms of digital violence. The target audience includes professionals from specialised institutions in Munich, including social services, women’s shelters, schools, police and hospitals.

The experts are invited to exchange on different topics, among which an analysis of gender and violence in the digital space, legal aspects of digital violence, prevention and intervention possibilities in terms of technical aspects and in police work.

These events, which are attended by 20 to 30 professionals, offer space to explore possibilities for prevention and intervention and to identify areas for action. It also contributes to spreading knowledge and awareness of the phenomenon which is still relatively poorly understood and not adequately measured. This is what Munich is hoping to change for the better with their actions.

The next steps following the events will be to develop strategies for preventing and addressing digital violence. One possibility to be explored is the creation of a special counselling centre at the municipality. As Munich shows the way, other municipalities will hopefully soon follow and help make the digital world safer for everyone.

Additional resources

• City of Munich 2020-2024 Action Plan
• Dial 116 016: The EU-wide helpline for women victims of violence to be launched in April 2023
• European Parliament Research Service brief: ”Combating gender-based cyber-violence”
• European Parliament resolution of 14 December 2021 with recommendations to the Commission on combating gender-based violence: cyberviolence

2023 International Women’s Rights Day series: “Five new Charter articles illustrated through local actions”

This article is part of a series published by CEMR to celebrate 2023 International Women’s Rights Day. This series informs on impactful initiatives carried out by local and regional governments to promote gender justice. These projects embody the updated European Charter for Equality of Women and Men in Local Life as they show how five of its nine new articles can be put into practice. Together, they represent an inspiring step towards a more gender-equal Europe.

The updated Charter is available currently in English, French and easy-to-read English versions.

Any questions regarding the update or the actions highlighted in this series can be directed to contact@ccre-cemr.org or the relevant national coordinator for the Charter in your country.

BORDELOT Federica

Director – Policy & Impact

Frankfurt’s Mixed Leadership Academy

Studies have testified that despite incomes being above average in Frankfurt, women are still under-represented in top positions and with top incomes. There is still a lot of work to be done concerning career choices and the work-life balance when re-entering the workforce. Furthermore, women with immigrant backgrounds have even fewer opportunities to participate. 

Change urgently required

For this reason, over 100 experts from local government, urban society, politics, and academia came together to form a so-called “Community of Practice” – initiated and coordinated by the Women’s Office Frankfurt. More than 80 organisations and companies from business, the service sector, research, local government, and institutions from the social sector took part in drawing up the action plan, which was adopted by the city council in 2015. 

The Thomas phenomenon

Companies staff their management according to a principle of similarity. As a result, there are more members of management boards called “Thomas” than there are women overall, which the AllBright Foundation once described as the Thomas Circuit. Whereas, companies do not benefit at all – as studies confirm – from the Thomas monoculture, but from diversity. Especially in boardrooms. 

This means that work and corporate cultures, predominating role stereotypes and mentality patterns that impede women’s career paths are not only unfair but also inefficient. 

A study by the International Labour Organisation (“Women in Business and Management, 2019”) for example has proved that more women in management positions, and gender diversity in boardrooms, improve business performance. Further, employees were more satisfied and productive. These facts led to the idea of building up a management academy. 

Academy to accelerate change through diversity

Over the years, the working group, composed of professors, city councillors, representatives of companies, associations and educational institutions, have worked out a to-do list for the academy.

The objective is to make it a centre of excellence to strengthen management expertise, contribute to diversity in management, break down stereotype role models and pursue the principles of gender sensitivity, diversity and innovation. For this purpose, it should empower women and support them to take on additional management tasks and drive forward change in organisational and leadership cultures. 

The Mixed Leadership Academy would be located precisely where top executives of the future will be trained and thus where the future of the working world will be decided: at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences. Now, the benefits of diversity will be communicated there – which means not just the benefits of a higher proportion of women, but also those of a general openness to gender-diversity. 

The academy is equally financed by the Women’s Office of the City of Frankfurt am Main and the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences to become self-financing in about five years. It is a result of the work done by Frankfurt since signing the Charter for equality of women and men in local life in 2012.

BORDELOT Federica

Director – Policy & Impact