Types of violence

In close collaboration with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Inter Parliamentary Union in 2018 conducted a further survey (see Figure 1), this time with a regional focus on Europe, which found an alarming level of sexism, harassment and violence against female members of parliament. The survey was based on interviews with 81 female members of parliament (MPs) from Council of Europe member states (of which 91.4 % belonged to a political party) and 42 parliamentary staff. Surveyed female MPs under the age of 40 were more frequently targeted by sexist and violent acts. One third of female parliamentarians stated that such acts had affected their freedom of expression and action during their terms of office, making them more cautious and leading to them seeking to be less visible. Many cases are not reported (from 46.7 % in cases of physical violence suffered by female parliamentarians to 76.5 % in cases of sexual harassment).