Political violence against parliamentarians increases around the world

In an interview with UN NewsValentina Grippo, Italian parliamentarian of the European Delegation to the IPU, which is associated with the UN, emphasized the difficulties that parliamentarians have in doing their work today: “If you say something that is not perfectly in line with what your audience wants to hear, then you have a multi-pronged attack.yes.”

The report titled When the public turns hostile: political violence against parliamentarians, It includes responses from parliamentarians from 85 countries, with in-depth case studies in Argentina, Benin, Italy, Malaysia and the Netherlands to reflect diverse political and regional contexts.

Key findings

1. Violence is heavily concentrated online with between 65 and 77 percent of parliamentarians in the five case studies report experiencing online abuse.
2. Most common forms of bullying:
   – Insults and degrading language
   – Dissemination of false or misleading information.
   – Direct threats
3. The majority of respondents say that the situation is getting worse. In Argentina and the Netherlands, eight out of 10 parliamentarians report an increase in violence in the last five years.
4. Online violence increases frequently around:
   – National or local elections
   – High-profile legislative debates
   – Polarize political or cultural issues
5. Gender gap:
   – 76 percent of female parliamentarians claim to be exposed to violence.
   – 68 percent of male parliamentarians report having been exposed.
6. Gender abuse: Women are disproportionately targeted gender and sexualized violenceparticularly online.
7. Impact of emerging technologies: abuse is increasingly amplified by AI-generated content and deepfakes.
8. Parliamentarians from minority or disadvantaged groups, including racial minorities, people with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ communities, face higher levels of online violence.

Why the increase?

The IPU report highlights several factors driving the rise in public hostility, including the rise political polarization, economic and social pressures contributing to public frustration, amplification of anger through social networksand declining confidence in public institutions

Mrs. Grippo emphasized that “there is no longer the confrontation between ideas, which is normal, which is part of politics, but there is really a struggle between identities.”

Who is committing the violence?

Violence against members of Parliament is usually perpetrated by individuals rather than organized groups.

Anonymous online users are identified as the main perpetrators by almost nine in 10 parliamentarians in Argentina, Italy, Malaysia and the Netherlands (89-93 percent).

“Those we surveyed consistently told us that ongoing online abuse affected their offline behavior, including their willingness to engage publicly and their sense of personal safety,” Chungong said.

Impact on democracy

The IPU warns that public intimidation of members of Parliament can have serious consequences for democracy.

As hostility increases, many MPs report self-censorship, avoiding certain public appearances, and experiencing negative impacts on their family members.

Some also choose to resign or not seek re-election. Over time, the report warns, these trends can erode democratic representation, discourage diversity, and weaken parliaments as democratic institutions.

“It makes it more difficult to be able to convey a message without fear of it being misinterpreted.” Mrs. Gruppo added that “We always have to remember that there are large parts of the world where you cannot speak your mind without fearing for your safety..”

The report calls on political and parliamentary leaders to set limits on acceptable public speech and to ensure that intimidation does not silence dissenting and minority voices.