At Elect Her, our mission is to build a political arena where women from every walk of life feel not only invited but welcomed and supported.

But the challenges facing women on the campaign trail extend beyond the ballot box.

Newcastle University’s recent study reveals that female politicians across Europe endure intense and identity-based online harassment, regardless of how visible or well-known they are.

This alarming digital toxicity erects an additional, invisible - but truly palpable - barrier for women considering public office.

In our Fix the System work, we’re demanding systemic change—not just in political representation, but in the very environment of political discourse.

What the Research Reveals:

Harassment Knows No Prominence

The Newcastle University project analysed over 23 million tweets directed at politicians in Germany, Spain, the UK, and the US using advanced machine learning techniques

Among its key findings:

In the US, incivility predominantly targeted more prominent politicians, both male and female.
In Europe, however, female politicians - regardless of their level of prominence - face significantly more uncivil and identity-based attacks than their male peers.

This underscores a deep-rooted, structural issue: even women just dipping their toes into political life face hostility, potentially discouraging prospective candidates and narrowing our already far too narrow political pipeline.

The Nature of the Abuse: Personal, Moral, Violent

The study went beyond mere volume of abuse to examine tone and content. Women in politics are disproportionately targeted with morality-laden language - words like “vile,” “shameful,” and “hypocrite,”.

These aren’t casual insults. They’re personal and character-assaulting, aimed at undermining not just individuals, but the legitimacy of women’s voices in public life.

Worse, these messages often include threats or violent overtones, with mentions of “kill,” “destroy,” and “rape” - starkly different from the more generic insults or vulgar swears.

This level of hostility can create a pervasive sense of threat and undermine both personal safety and political confidence.

**What could “fixes” look like?**

Why Digital Safety is key

At Elect Her, we believe that achieving diverse representation means dismantling all barriers - visible and online.

That’s why our Fix the System campaign is more than symbolic. It’s a call to create the framework for all elected officials to thrive, and to:

Normalise safe, respectful discourse: push social platforms and political parties to enforce zero-tolerance policies on targeted harassment and to support women candidates in facing down abuse.
Provide robust peer support networks: extending our peer circles to include digital resilience training and emotional support mechanisms for women who experience online abuse.
Collaborate with tech companies & policymakers: advocate for content moderation practices that recognize and address gendered threats and identity-based harassment. Improve legislation to provide fulsome protections.
Promote visibility and allyship: ensuring that no woman faces digital attack alone - highlight both the problem and the stories of resistance so others know they’re not isolated.
Harness new tech: to help manage and control content to change the balance of power, removing it from those intent on causing harm.

There are solutions,

together we can fix the system.

With our brilliant partners at Glitch UK we created a Digital Self Defence programme designed to equip you with the tools and knowledge you need to feel confident to use your voice both online and offline. It is free to access for members of our community and if you’d like to talk more please email us on community@elect-her.org.uk.

Blog idea or comment piece?

Would you like to contribute to this blog series? We’d love to hear from you. Send us your ideas and let’s chat: community@elect-her.org.uk.