• 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



N12 - Workshop: Gender-Based Violence in the Political Sphere: Causes, Implications, Solutions, Session 3

Date: Jun 3 | Time: 02:00pm to 03:30pm | Location:

Chair/Président/Présidente : Tracey Raney (Ryerson University)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Gabrielle Bardahl (University of Ottawa)

Can Orientation for New MPs Help to Curb Gender-Based Violence in the Canadian and UK Political Sphere?: Louise Cockram (Carleton University)
Abstract: My presentation at the Gender-Based Violence in the Political Sphere: Causes, Implications, Solutions workshop will explore how the Houses of Parliament in both Canada and the UK address gender-based violence in their orientation for newly elected MPs. When MPs in both Canada and the UK are first elected, they receive orientation from the House of Commons and their party caucuses. Following the implementation of the Code of Conduct on Sexual Harassment in 2015, the Canadian House of Commons has started to provide anti-harassment training to new MPs, as well as mandatory training to longer-serving MPs. Based on my interviews with House staff, there is a generational gap in how MPs respond to this training; older MPs underestimate the inappropriateness of certain behavior (e.g. making offensive jokes), whereas younger MPs better understand how to sensitively interact with colleagues. Further, orientation is heavily mediated by the party caucuses so there is a question about the role of parties in helping to curb harassment in the House. The orientation in the UK House of Commons focuses on preventing harassment between MPs and their constituents. With the divisive debate over Brexit, UK MPs have received death threats, and some have been the victims of physical violence. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Body (IPSA) makes new MPs aware that they are eligible for funds to help with security in their constituency office (e.g. security cameras, high-security entrances). These funds are useful for women, especially women of colour, who bear the brunt of violence in UK politics.


Absorbing the Abuse: Investigating Political Staffers Experiences of Harassment in Canadian Politics: Meagan Cloutier (University of Calgary), Melanee Thomas (University of Calgary)
Abstract: While the harassment of Members of Parliament (MPs) in Canadian politics is not new, increased media attention raises questions about the negative effects of this harassment on MPs and their staff. Staff are often the first to see harassment or violence directed at MPs, and are required to manage it through interactions and communications, both directly and indirectly, with hostile members of the public. For example, a staff member arrived at Minister Catherine McKenna’s constituency office following the 2019 federal election to see a misogynistic slur spray-painted across the office’s window. While media reports rightly focus on the negative effects on Minister McKenna, the effect on the staff was not really considered. This paper addresses this effect on staff directly by asking how MP staff experience and manage harassment and abuse in Canadian politics. Using data collected from a survey of MPs’ staff, this study investigates the magnitude and frequency of harassment cases, and the adequacy of the supports provided to staff in managing harassment and abuse. Results show that women staff are more likely to be the objects of harassment and abuse, and that few who experience this think their employers (MPs) are doing enough to address the problem, or providing them with sufficient supports to help them manage it. By expanding our understanding of who deals with harassment and why, this paper offers a more complete and nuanced discussion of the overall effects of harassment and abuse for women’s involvement and engagement in politics.


How do Provincial/Territorial Legislatures Deal with Workplace Sexual Harassment? – A Comparison of Harassment/Sexual Harassment Policies in Canada’s 13 Sub-national Jurisdictions: Cheryl Collier (University of Windsor), Tracey Raney (Ryerson University)
Abstract: The problem of violence against women in politics (VAWP) is a longstanding one that covers a range of areas (including electoral violence, sexism, sexual harassment and assault) and a variety of political actors (including politicians as well as their staff). Even though it is a longstanding problem, it has only recently been the subject of academic study (see for example Krook and Restrepo Sanin 2016; 2019; Collier and Raney 2018 a, b). This research most often deals with the federal/national level of politics with less known about how the problem of VAWP manifests itself at the regional or provincial levels. It is the purpose of this paper to begin to systematically document policy responses (and lack of policy responses) to the issue of curbing harassment and sexual harassment of political ‘workers’ in provincial/territorial legislatures. Since, the #MeToo movement raised the profile of this issue in late 2017, more provinces and territories have responded, but not all of them. This paper will compare the harassment/sexual harassment policies and/or codes of conduct that Canada’s provinces and territories presently have in place using a feminist institutionalist and feminist policy analysis lens to uncover their strengths and weaknesses. It will also use this lens to start to understand why some jurisdictions have avoided action on this issue, despite overwhelming public attention to it over the past couple of years.




Return to Home