“The threats and misogyny I have experienced as a member of Parliament are such that I often fear going out in public, and that is not a sustainable or healthy way to live.”
That’s what Liberal MP Pam Damoff said in a media interview explaining why she will not run for office in the next federal election. Ms Damoff is not the only Parliamentarian to complain about the scare tactics so frequently used in current politics, tactics that target women in particular.
Alberta Conservative MP, Michelle Rempel Garner, said in a recent Chatelaine article that the kind of ‘shit’ female politicians experience with online threats, hate and abuse has been going on since 2011 when she first entered Parliament. She can’t believe she is still giving interviews about the subject or that solutions haven’t been found. However, Rempel Garner adamantly refuses to act like a victim.
Leah Gazan of the New Democratic Party, who is my Winnipeg member of Parliament, expresses similar views. While acknowledging the reality of online hate, misogyny, and threats to female politicians, Gazan doesn’t want to focus on the problem exclusively or too intently. She worries it may discourage women from entering the political sphere where their perspective and input are desperately needed.
A June 2023 report from a federal task force that looked at safeguarding elections confirms what many female politicians are saying. It reported violent rhetoric routinely fixates on elected politicians with particular hostility towards high-profile women.
Given the recognition of the problem from many different sources, it wasn’t surprising to hear earlier this month that RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme wants to do something to keep politicians safe. He is looking at drafting a new law to make it easier for police to lay charges against people who threaten politicians and make them feel endangered.
While Duheme is being criticized by those who say his proposed legislation will interfere with freedom of speech Duheme defends his proposal. He claims while citizens need to feel free to express their opinions, they need to do so respectfully and civilly.
He reports some politicians have been followed on the street and had people show up at their homes to threaten them and their family members. Police respond to these incidents and sometimes have conversations with offenders. The problem is that often their behavior does not meet the standards for laying charges according to the Criminal Code of Canada. Stricter legislation would make this possible.
It is good to see politicians from all parties presenting a united front by acknowledging the problem. That kind of cross-party unity will be vital to changing things. But I think all politicians, particularly male politicians, need to be role models and make it clear to their staff and party members that harassing those who belong to other political parties is simply not acceptable behaviour.
In a recent column in the Toronto Star Andrew Phillips contends politicians are fulfilling a public trust because we have elected them to work for us. Thus threatening them and their families no matter what we may think of them, or what our opinion is about how well they are doing their job, is really a threat to the democratic process.
Phillips warns that if we make politicians’ lives hell no one will want to run for office anymore and eventually we will lose all the legislators who take their jobs seriously and truly want to serve their country as best they can.
It’s a frightening scenario which needs to be acknowledged as a possibility. What will we do to change that alarming trajectory?
Other posts………….
Stepping Back and Letting the Women Speak
What Next? 