United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Gloria De Piero, who is stepping down after nine years as a Labour MP, is urging women to “come into parliament and change it,” despite the proliferation of threats and abuse faced by many female MPs.

One of 58 MPs who have announced that they will not be standing in the 12 December general election, De Piero, who represents Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, said she hoped women would not be deterred from entering frontline politics.

A growing number of female British lawmakers have quit ahead of the UK general election, with some citing vicious abuse and intimidation as reasons for stepping down.

With another election on the horizon, parties are busy selecting their candidates for seats up and down the country.

Most sides have made pledges to make their candidates more representative, including bringing more women into the race.

However, with the deadline for selections just two weeks away on 14 November, the parties' record in selecting women is mixed - with Labour picking more women, while the Conservatives choose more men.

Diane Abbott has spoken out about how she deals with online vitriol after a growing number of female MPs announced they would not be standing in the general election, with some citing the abuse they faced in public office.

MPs have increasingly become the target of abuse - and some women politicians say they are bearing the brunt of it.

Labour MP Rachel Reeves - who has written a history of women in Parliament - recalls how the first female MP to take up her seat, Nancy Astor, had to push past jeering male colleagues in the chamber to get there.

Boris Johnson on Wednesday night sparked a tide of criticism by dismissing suggestions that his rhetoric was dangerous in the current climate and claiming the best way to honour the memory of murdered MP Jo Cox was to “get Brexit done”.

Lisa Cameron is a member of the British Parliament. She's also a victim, and survivor, of online trolls.

Cameron was new to politics in 2015, when she was elected in East Kilbride, Scotland. She'd been a clinical psychologist, a wife, a mom, and a trade union representative — the kind of political newcomer democracies want to run for office.