Around the globe people are disaffected with politics and political parties continue to be the least popular political institution. NDI' s new political party framework "Reflect, Reform, Re-engage: A Blueprint for 21st Century Parties" indicates that inclusion is one of the top three things voters want political parties to pay more attention to. Political parties have traditionally been important spring boards for women's political participation, but they are not always safe spaces for the women within their ranks. NDI is working on an assessment tool that brings together our new guidance on political parties and our commitment to stopping violence against women in politics. Over the next few months through a series of blog posts about our four country pilots, we will introduce the issues and the methodology that will enable political parties to state that they are "No Party to Violence."

Fixing the Glitch: Being part of the #NotTheCost Campaign

by Seyi Akiwowo in United Kingdom
 Gender, Women and Democracy
In 2017, after facing horrendous online abuse and harassment when a video of my speech at the European Parliament went viral, I founded Glitch!UK, a not-for-profit online abuse advocacy, campaigning and training organisation. Glitch!UK aims to end online abuse and harassment including online violence against women in politics. ‘Glitch’ means a temporary malfunction with equipment, and I used it for my organisation’s name because when we look back on this period in time I want us all to be able to say that the rise in online abuse and harassment was only a ‘glitch’ in our history. I was asked to be part of NDI’s Internet Governance Forum 2017 panel on the issue of online violence against women in politics, and in the months since then, I have become a public advocate for NDI’s #NotTheCost campaign, participating in three #NotTheCost events in Washington, D.C., in May.

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Name It, Talk About It: Putting an end to violence against women in politics in Honduras

by Vanessa Mejia in Honduras
 Gender, Women and Democracy
For NDI and its Honduran local partners, addressing violence against women in politics is critical to promoting strong and inclusive democratic societies. Violence against women in politics is a barrier to their active participation in democratic spaces and limits their ability to lead and be heard by their communities. It is important to place this issue on the political agenda and advocate for legislation to prevent, respond to, sanction and eradicate all forms of violence against women. In an effort to document violence against politically-active women in Honduras, NDI supported the creation of the Women’s Political Violence Observatory during the 2017 electoral process. The Observatory documented and followed 14 cases of violence against female candidates in San Pedro Sula, including Councillor Fátima Mena Baide, throughout the pre-electoral period.

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No Party to Violence: An Assessment from Côte d’Ivoire

by Fatoumata Bako in Côte d’Ivoire
 Political Parties, Gender, Women and Democracy
In Côte d’Ivoire, as we have found in many other places around the world, violence against women in politics has long been hidden, unknown, unrecognized, ignored or considered part of the "normal" practice of politics or as the "cost of politics." This is true for women across political sectors, including as voters, candidates, activists and elected or appointed officials. While political parties in Côte d’Ivoire serve as critical pathways for women’s political participation and engagement, including for young or new politicians, they continue to be male-dominated institutions, which allows and enables violence against women in their ranks. Because women believe that speaking out will at best have no real impact, and at worst make their situations worse, the violence women face within political parties has also gone largely unreported.

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Shining a Light on Violence Against Women Within Political Parties

by Katarina O'Regan in Washington, DC
 Gender, Women and Democracy
While research indicates that there has been progress regarding women in politics and female candidates – the international average of women in parliaments nearly doubled from 1995 to 2015 – significant barriers to women’s engagement in politics, and within parties more specifically, remain. Violence against women is one of the highest barriers.

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