Violence Against Women in Politics and Public Life

Twenty-five years ago, the Beijing Platform for Action agreed at the Fourth UN Conference on Women prioritized women’s access to public decision-making roles as a crucial part of the project of transforming societies towards gender equality. In the last quarter-century, the proportion of women in parliament has doubled to just over 25% today, but the pace of change remains slow. A significant barrier to women’s access to public decision-making is violence or the threat of violence experienced by women considering political or public offices. This phenomenon also impacts other areas of participation in public life, such as civic engagement and journalism, affecting women’s ability to exercise their full range of political and human rights.

This event will provide a forum to discuss the impacts of this violence through personal experiences of panelists, as well as research and advocacy to end violence against women in politics and public life. Framing the discussion, Professor Mona Lena Krook (Rutgers University) will introduce her newly-released book on this topic, Violence against Women in Politics (Oxford University Press, 2020), and will identify patterns of violence affecting women politicians globally.

Introduction by Dr. Sylvia Maier, Center for Global Affairs, New York University

Opening remarks by Åsa Regnér, Assistant Secretary General and UN Women Deputy Executive Director

Moderator: Dr. Anne Marie Goetz, Center for Global Affairs, New York University

Panel to include:

Dr. Mona Lena Krook, Rutgers University, Author of book Violence Against Women in Politics (Oxford University Press, 2020)

Anaïs Marin, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus

Millie Odhiambo, Member of Parliament, Kenya