• darkblurbg
    Canadian Political Science Association
    2020 Annual Conference Programme

    Confronting Political Divides
    Hosted at Western University
    Tuesday, June 2 to Thursday, June 4, 2020
  • darkblurbg
    Presidential Address:
    Barbara Arneil, CPSA President

    Origins:
    Colonies and Statistics

    Location:
    Tuesday, June 2, 2020 | 05:00pm to 06:00pm
  • darkblurbg
    KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
    Ayelet Shachar
    The Shifting Border:
    Legal Cartographies of Migration
    and Mobility

    Location:
    June 04, 2020 | 01:30 to 03:00 pm
  • darkblurbg
    Keynote Speaker: Marc Hetherington
    Why Modern Elections
    Feel Like a Matter of
    Life and Death

    Location:
    Wednesday, June 3, 2020 | 03:45pm to 05:15pm
  • darkblurbg
    Plenary Panel
    Indigenous Politics and
    the Problem of Canadian
    Political Science

    Location: Arts & Humanities Building - AHB 1R40
    Tuesday, June 2, 2020 | 10:30am to 12:00pm

Women, Gender, and Politics



N08 - Workshop: Gender-Based Violence in the Political Sphere: Causes, Implications, Solutions, Session 1

Date: Jun 3 | Time: 08:45am to 10:15am | Location:

Chair/Président/Présidente : Mona Lena Krook (Rutgers University)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Juliana Restrepo Sanin (University of Florida)

#MeToo and the MP: Public Opinion on Sexual Harassment in Canadian Politics: Tracey Raney (Ryerson University)
Abstract: The 2017 #MeToo movement exposed the mass scale of sexual harassment in workplaces around the world, including in Canadian legislatures. Yet we know little about what the public expects should be done when a politician engages in such behaviours. Drawing on data collected from the 2019 Canada Election Study, I assess the public’s expectations of how and whether MPs should be held to account if/when they sexually harass someone. Public opinion on this issue is then evaluated against existing anti-harassment provisions in the House of Commons, with consideration given to whether such rules are sufficient to maintain the public's confidence in this institution during the #MeToo era.


Responses to Online Violence Against Women in Politics: Gabrielle Bardall (University of Ottawa)
Abstract: This article will review and discuss applied responses to ICT faciliated-Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP). Drawing on experience with practitioner and policy-based initiatives in multiple countries, the chapter will outline three key fields of engagement: 1) institutional and legal policy responses, 2) platform responses, 3) community and cultural responses. The chapter will discuss how these fields of responses interact with the multiple areas of types of online violence that exist across the “ecosystem of cyberspheres” (see Bardall/IFES 2018). Specifically, this will look at how forms of violence occurring in private online spaces (SMS, WhatsApp etc) interact with public and real-world VAWP incidents and the implications of this interaction for policy responses. The chapter will examine how policy responses must be adapted to various expressions of gendered online abuse, such as gendered disinformation, gender-based hate speech and explicit, criminal forms of online violence. It will present some of the key debates defining the contentious areas of legal regulation (including the free speech debate), social media platform responsibilities and autocratic use- and misuse of internet freedom laws around gender issues online. The chapter will highlight real-world experiences in combating ICT-facilitated VAWP including efforts to end impunity in Zimbabwe and the innovative approach of online bystander intervention.


How Do Voters Judge Politicians Accused of Sexual Misconduct?: John McAndrews (University of Toronto), Roosmarijn de Geus (University of Oxford), Peter Loewen (University of Toronto)
Abstract: Do voters punish politicians for allegations of sexual misconduct? Do the details of the misconduct matter? Using population-based survey experiments of US and Australian citizens we conduct the first cross-national study to explore these questions. We vary a range of attributes of the sexual misconduct allegations, such as the power dynamic between accuser and accused, the age of an allegation, and the type of misconduct. We find that voters exact substantial punishments on politicians accused of sexual misconduct. However, we find that the details of the allegations rarely condition voters’ responses. Rather, the most influential factor in shaping voters’ judgements is the amount of evidence from an investigation available to substantiate the allegations. Our study provides insights into how voters process the information available about sexual misconduct allegations and speaks strongly in favour of independent investigations in these matters.


Image-Based Sexual Violence in the Political Sphere: Dianne Lalonde (Western University)
Abstract: Politicians have already been targeted for the sharing of sexual images and videos. In some cases, intimate images are shared by a former intimate partner in efforts to retain power and control. In other cases, individuals take publicly available photos and produce fake sexual images and videos of politicians, known as deepnudes and deepfakes respectively. These behaviours of non-consensually sharing and creating sexual images fall under the umbrella of image-based sexual abuse. Politicians, in particular women in politics, are likely to see this abuse continue or even increase as the technology to produce fake sexual images and videos advances. This paper uses an anti-oppression intersectional lens to explore how image-based sexual violence against politicians operates in relation to the broader context of gender-based violence and structural oppression. Pulling from research and the experiences of survivors, it also discusses the impacts of this abuse on aspiring and existing politicians. Finally, this paper advances recommendations on how to respond to image-based sexual violence in politics.




Return to Home