Violence against women in politics as an unintended consequence of democratization

ABSTRACT

Latin American countries have struggled to improve the quality of democracy after the transition from authoritarian regimes. Countries have adopted various measures, including gender quotas, to make democracies more inclusive. Despite impressive gains in terms of the number of women in electoral politics, the quotas have proved insufficient to level the playing field of politics and promote the representation of women’s interests. Women report being the victims of violence and harassment that has the goal of forcing them to resign or controlling their decisions as political actors. This article examines the case of Bolivia to show that violence and harassment against women in politics include both traditional forms of gender-based violence and “novel” ways to attack women facilitated by democratic reforms. The article also analyzes feminist resistance to violence against women in politics in the context of regional campaigns to end gender-based violence. The analysis shows that democratization efforts, including the adoption of symbolic gender equality measures, can have unintended effects that undermine women’s political participation and gender equality goals and represent a significant obstacle to the consolidation of democracy.

RESUMEN

Los países latinoamericanos han enfrentado dificultades para mejorar la calidad de la democracia desde el fin de las últimas dictaduras. Los países de la región han adoptado diversas medidas, incluyendo cuotas de género y leyes de paridad, con el propósito de hacer las democracias más incluyentes. A pesar del incremento en el número de mujeres en la política, las cuotas han sido insuficientes para garantizar el acceso a la política en igualdad de condiciones a los hombres, así como para promover la representación de los intereses de las mujeres. Las mujeres políticas también han reportado ser víctimas de acoso y violencia con el fin de obligarlas a renunciar o controlar sus actuaciones como actoras políticas. Este artículo analiza el caso de Bolivia para mostrar que la violencia y el acoso político contra las mujeres incluye manifestaciones tradicionales de la violencia de género, así como otras manifestaciones “nuevas,” facilitadas por las reformas democráticas. También analiza las maneras como las feministas han resistido esta forma de violencia en la política y contextualiza estos esfuerzos dentro de las campañas regionales para combatir la violencia de género. Con esto, el artículo demuestra que los esfuerzos de democratización, así como la adopción de medidas simbólicas para reducir las brechas de género, pueden tener consecuencias inesperadas que afectan la participación política de las mujeres, la equidad de género, y representan un obstáculo importante para alcanzar la consolidación de las democracias en la región.

KEYWORDS:

• Women in politics
• violence
• political harassment
• Bolivia
• democratization

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• Mujeres en política
• violencia
• acoso político
• Bolivia
• democratización

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Mona Lena Krook, Shauna Shames, Jennifer Piscopo, Suzanne Dovi, Haley Norris, Marie Berry, Rebecca Kuperberg, Elizabeth Corredor, Mary Nugent, and the anonymous reviewers at IFJP for their valuable comments and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Virtual interview with a former councilor, La Paz, Bolivia, fall 2015.

2 Although I am discussing the problem of acoso político in Latin America, I use the acronym VAWIP because it better captures the experiences of women politicians in the region.

3 Interview with a local councilor, Bogotá, Colombia, fall 2016, in collaboration with the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy.

4 Segato (2014) talks about “femini-geno-cide” while Lagarde (2008) differentiates between femicide (the killing of a woman) and feminicide (the genocide of women). Feminicide is more broadly used in legislation and research in Latin America, but the two concepts are similar.

5 This was a recurrent topic in many of the interviews that I conducted in person and virtually between 2015 and 2020. It was also mentioned in the reports that I analyzed for this article, as well as in numerous legislative debates, proposals, and educational materials that were examined for this research project.

6 Virtual interview with a former councilor, La Paz, Bolivia, fall 2015.

7 Interviews with activists, La Paz, Bolivia, summer 2015.

8 Virtual interview with a former councilor, La Paz, Bolivia, fall 2015.

9 Interviews with activists and electoral authorities, La Paz, Bolivia, fall 2015; virtual interviews with electoral authorities, summer 2020.

10 Interviews with electoral authorities and activists, La Paz, Bolivia, summer 2015; virtual interviews with electoral authorities, Bolivia, summer 2020.

11 Interviews with activists, La Paz, Bolivia, summer 2015; virtual interviews with Bolivian politicians, fall 2015.

12 Interviews with activists and members of the Electoral Tribunal, La Paz, Bolivia, summer 2015; virtual interviews with Bolivian politicians, fall 2015.

13 Interview with an activist, La Paz, Bolivia, summer 2015.

14 Interview with an activist, La Paz, Bolivia, summer 2015.

15 Colombia’s recent Electoral Reform, approved in December 2020, includes an article (Article 255) recognizing VAWIP. However, the Constitutional Court is revising the reform and, as of November 2021, it has not been approved by the court.

16 Interview with an activist, La Paz, Bolivia, summer 2015.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Juliana Restrepo Sanín

Juliana Restrepo Sanín is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida, USA. Her research on violence against women in politics explores the relationship between efforts to improve the quality of democracy and the increasing reports of violence and harassment directed at women in electoral politics. Her current book project analyzes violence and harassment against women politicians in Latin America, the role of women’s activism in bringing attention to this problem, and the development and effectiveness of state measures to combat it. She has worked with the Inter-American Commission on Women of the Organization of American States, the National Democratic Institute, and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, and has been invited to experts’ meetings on violence against women in politics organized by UN Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women).