Women should not have to experience violence to actively participate in politics!
Violence Against Women in Elections (VAWE), motivated by gender discrimination or hatred towards women (misogyny), must be recognized as legitimate political violence and understood as a serious threat to the sustainability of democracy, ensuring more inclusive and safe elections for all.
In a democratic life, elections are an important mechanism that individuals must go through to participate in the formal political sphere. However, the intense competition in elections often triggers participating candidates to perpetuate electoral violence, involving both physical violence and psychological intimidation, in order to win the contest. Ironically, such violence can occur throughout the electoral cycle, from the pre-election period, campaigning, voting, to the post-election period.
Many scholars have paid attention to researching electoral violence. However, discussions in these studies often fail to consider (or even ignore) the gender dimension when understanding the occurrence of electoral violence. Indeed, what is the importance of the gender dimension in the analysis of electoral violence?
Schneider and Carroll (2020), in “Conceptualizing More Inclusive Election,” explain that a gender-sensitive conceptual framework is needed to understand the occurrence of electoral violence as an alternative to existing conventional conceptual frameworks. According to them, a gendered conceptual framework can be useful for uncovering types and patterns of violence that might be invisible or overlooked in the literature on political violence. One example is the violence experienced by women when they participate in elections or political life more broadly. So, how can a gender-sensitive conceptual framework explain the occurrence of electoral violence more inclusively? In the literature, Schneider and Carroll (2020) explain: electoral violence can not only occur based on political interests to win a contest, but there is also electoral violence that targets only women due to gender bias/discrimination (misogyny).
To explain this, Schneider and Carroll (2020) divide electoral violence into two categories, as elaborated in more detail in the following chart:
Based on this understanding, an important question that must be asked is: What does VAWE look like in the context of Indonesian elections? How does VAWE contribute to the low level of women’s political representation in Indonesia?
Violence Against Women in Indonesian Elections
Based on study findings, violence against women in elections is often motivated by gender discrimination or bias against politically active women (women electoral candidates, voters, activists, journalists, etc.) as a result of patriarchal culture and misogynistic views towards women.
Examples of Violence Against Women in Elections
From the table, we can analyze that VAWE:
- Is directed at women simply because they are women (gender discrimination)
- Can occur in the form of psychological, physical, symbolic, and even sexual violence
- Can take place in public and private spaces
- Can target not only electoral participants but also women who actively participate in political activities in general (e.g., voters and party officials)
Based on these findings, there is at least one important point worth highlighting, so that we can understand how VAWE still finds a place in our political-electoral system: VAWE occurs as a reaction to masculinity being offended by women who are perceived to have deviated from traditional gender roles due to their active participation in the political sphere. Therefore, perpetrators of VAWE (including political violence) can come from any group, as long as they view women as a threat to male power dominance (Komnas Perempuan, 2023).
Snowball Effect of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Elections
GBV against women in elections indirectly impacts and creates a snowball effect on women’s political representation. This violence reduces women’s courage to participate in politics and results in minimal women’s representation. Masculine perceptions in politics further exacerbate this barrier, driving a domino effect that makes it increasingly difficult for women to enter the political arena and influences the number of female candidates nominated by parties.
Women in Elections: Caught Between Gender Discrimination & Political Motives
Not only are they plagued by electoral violence due to gender bias/discrimination, but study findings also show that women experience double violence because they also become victims of non-gender-based electoral malpractice. The pattern of violations in this type of electoral malpractice cannot be identified as gender-based but is based on the orientation to win the contest carried out by political opponents, whether male or female. This places women in a unique and unequal competitive arena compared to male contestants, who generally only face issues of electoral malpractice due to tending to experience minimal violence based on discrimination or gender bias.
The Role of Government, Public, and Political Parties in Preventing Violence
Joint collaboration between the government, the public, and relevant stakeholders is needed to prevent and address VAWE. This can begin by formulating and implementing fair and gender-sensitive anti-violence regulations, thereby creating a safe and equal political environment for all. In addition, it is necessary to conduct oversight and advocacy to strongly encourage women’s representation and protect women’s rights in the democratic process!
Let’s Create a Safe and Inclusive Politics for All!
To understand more about how violence against women in elections impacts women’s political representation in Indonesia, read the full journal article by Delia Wildianti and Putri Ramadhana via: ejournal.brin.go.id
Together, let’s push for change towards a just politics for women!
