Violence against women in politics: the case of the Mexico city's constituent assembly

Abstract

The implementation of gender quotas and parity policies led to more women in politics. However, these have been associated to an increase, or at least higher recognition, of violence against them. This phenomenon has been referred tocaso as political violence, political violence against women, gender-based political violence, and political harassment. The lack of consensus on both the name and its conceptualization has entailed legislative gaps and failures in prevention, assistance and sanction mechanisms. This study contributes to this conceptual debate by proposing the term gender-based violence against women in politics and examines the experiences of female representatives in the Constituent Assembly of Mexico City. Females in politics experience a myriad of expressions of violence that are often not recognized as such. Not only male and female peers are responsible of harassing, discriminating and exerting violence, but also constituents, security personnel and employees of the Constituent Assembly. Women display an array of individual and collective resistance strategies. Implications on legislative reforms and policies aimed at preventing and sanctioning gender-based violence are discussed.

The implementation of gender quotas and parity policies led to more women in politics. However, these have been associated to an increase, or at least higher recognition, of violence against them. This phenomenon has been referred tocaso as political violence, political violence against women, gender-based political violence, and political harassment. The lack of consensus on both the name and its conceptualization has entailed legislative gaps and failures in prevention, assistance and sanction mechanisms. This study contributes to this conceptual debate by proposing the term gender-based violence against women in politics and examines the experiences of female representatives in the Constituent Assembly of Mexico City. Females in politics experience a myriad of expressions of violence that are often not recognized as such. Not only male and female peers are responsible of harassing, discriminating and exerting violence, but also constituents, security personnel and employees of the Constituent Assembly. Women display an array of individual and collective resistance strategies. Implications on legislative reforms and policies aimed at preventing and sanctioning gender-based violence are discussed.