Research shows that women in politics are often particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence. Many female elected officials testify to various types of ridicule, harassment and threats because of their gender. Statistics also show that the proportion of women who resign from their political positions is higher than the proportion of men. The Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians revealed in its 2020 report an uptick in acts of intimidation and violence, especially against women MPs around the globe.

What can we do to stop this worrying development? How can women have equal and safe political participation?

Panellists

Veda Bharadwaja, Senior Programme Officer, The Hunger Project India
Jereline S. Mambu, Executive Director, Women Initiatives For Protection (WIP), Liberia
Anna Stenvinkel, Secretary General, ForumCiv, Sweden
Zaira Alhelí Hipólito López, Electoral Counselor of the State Electoral and Citizen Participation Institute of Oaxaca, Mexico
Sylvie Ndongmo, President of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, WILPF, Cameroon

Moderator: Rumbidzai Kandawasvika-Nhundu, Senior Advisor, Democracy and Inclusion, International IDEA

The webinar is in English and Spanish.

Join us for a coffee with Raluca Maria Popa, Gender and Law Specialist for the International Development Law Organization (IDLO). During this brief session, we will have the opportunity to explore how governments and civil society should take action to prevent and respond to gender-based violence.

Let's hear about the experiences and lessons learned of WILPF, ForumCiv and Sida working from the perspectives of gender equality and conflict sensitivity and do-no-harm in conflict, post-conflict and peacebuilding contexts.