Dear iKNOW Politics Members:

The first moderated iKNOW Politics E-Discussion on Eliminating Violence against Women in Politics (10-14 December) elicited contributions from seventeen members of iKNOW Politics’ global network, from Kenya to Ecuador, from Sweden to Iraq, from Southeast Asia to South Eastern Europe. Please see the consolidated response to the discussion, with a summary of the discussion results followed by the full text of all contributions.

In order to further strengthen the knowledge base on violence against women in politics, members are invited to continue to share their responses to the following questions by responding to this thread.

• What evidence has been collected on the dimensions and frequency of violence against women in politics (proportion of women that have been threatened/attacked)? / How can we collect further evidence?

• What are the sources of violence against women in politics? (within political parties, by opposition parties, by members of the public?) What are the causes of violence against women in politics, including root causes, and other contributing factors?

• How can we tell if women are targeted with violence because of their gender or because of their political affiliations/ideologies (i.e. would a man who made the same statement face the same threats)?

• How does violence against women in politics manifest itself in different cultural contexts? In conflict and post-conflict countries?

• Where have effective measures (including legislation, policies, programmes and other effective remedies) been put in place to combat violence against women in politics? Which actors must be involved in implementing these measures?

Unless you wish to contribute anonymously (with only your iKNOW user name displayed), please include your signature at the end of your message, including your full name and organization/affiliation, so that we may appropriately attribute your contribution.

We look forward to your responses, and will periodically update the consolidated response to reflect these.

Best regards,

The International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics Team

Haley Horan, Global Network Facilitator
Rossana Andía, Regional Network Facilitator for Latin America and the Caribbean
Bahar Salimova, Network Researcher