The continuum of election violence: Gendered candidate experiences in the Maldives

Abstract

Research on election violence often does not capture its psychological and gendered dimensions. Gender differences on the continuum of violence, as acknowledged in other fields, are applied here to election violence. Specifically, this article explores ways to unveil the forms of election violence that are hidden from the view of an external observer because they are either not carried out in public or not recognized as violence. Survey data and interview material was collected from men and women political candidates participating in the 2014 national elections in the Maldives. The study concludes that the continuum of violence is relevant for adequately assessing the full range of illegitimate acts used against men and women candidates to affect electoral races. Women candidates in the Maldives were more exposed than men candidates to threats and to verbal and figurative sexualized aggression.

Gender and Violence against Political Candidates: Lessons from Sri Lanka

“…Feminist research has long emphasized a continuum of violence, based on studies of normalization, escalation, and harm primarily in the home (Kelly 1988). Here, we recognize this continuum by conceptualizing forms of violence as belonging to one of two overarching categories: physical and psychological forms of violence (see also Bjarnegård forthcoming). Within these two overarching forms, violence still comes in many different shapes and can be carried out in various ways.…”

“…1.One exception is Bjarnegård's comparison of men and women candidates in the Maldives (forthcoming). Another exception is a study by Collignon and Rüdig (2020) on men and women political candidates' exposure to psychological violence in the United Kingdom.…”

Explaining Citizen Hostility against Women Political Leaders: A Survey Experiment in the United States and Sweden

“…The research field on gendered violence against politicians is dominated by studies carried out from the perspectives of politicians: focusing on how prevalent the problem is, who the most likely targets are, and what impacts these attacks have on ambition, for example. Previous research has demonstrated that powerful and visible women are at a heightened risk of violence compared to their male counterparts (Håkansson 2021;Rheault, Rayment, and Musulan 2019) and that sexualized and gender-denigrating slurs overwhelmingly target women (Bjarnegård 2021;Bjarnegård, Håkansson, and Zetterberg 2022;Erikson, Håkansson, and Josefsson 2021;Ward and McLoughlin 2020). Furthermore, previous studies have found depressed ambition (Herrick and Franklin 2019) and disrupted campaign activities among women targeted by violence in politics (Collignon and Rüdig 2021).…”

Can women dynasty politicians disrupt social norms of political leadership? A proposed typology of normative change

“…A renewed focus is emerging around the impact of social norms as drivers and impediments of social change across various forms of political behaviour, including political leadership (Arvate et al, 2014; Bjarnegård, 2021; Blackman and Jackson, 2021). These normative impediments are intricately woven through structural barriers – such as inadequate financial resources, gender-biased candidate selection processes, and unsupportive legislative frameworks – which have themselves attracted significant attention in the political science literature (Lovenduski and Norris, 1993; Viterna et al, 2008).…”