by Joy Watson
When South Africa was criticised for hosting a G100, as if wide participation were a weakness, the response was immediate: That is exactly right. We are hosting a G million. Inclusion is not a logistic inconvenience. It is the point.
It was in this political moment that the Solidarity Alliance, Colmena Fund, Better Politics Foundation, Pollicy, Nalafem, Fundación Multitudes, and COFEM through the UN Women ACT initiative, convened a closed, grounded conversation between senior women politicians and civil society. The intention was not to produce platitudes. It was to create a safe enough space for women in public office to speak plainly about what they carry.
And they did.
One after another, leaders shared accounts of how they had been targeted for occupying public space. Sexualised abuse. Threats to children. Disinformation campaigns coordinated to silence them. What struck me was not only the intensity of the harm, but the familiarity of the pattern. Different continents. Same tactics. Same pressure. Same cost.
Many women simply leave. Others decide never to enter politics at all. The violence is not episodic. It is a disincentive built into the structure of political life. This is more than a personal burden. It is a democratic one.
Across the discussions, the message was clear: the world cannot afford to lose women from political spaces at a time when human rights are under renewed attack, multilateral institutions are being weakened, and right-wing agendas are gaining ground in multiple regions. Women MPs and public leaders bring perspectives essential to peace-building, community stability, social cohesion and human development. They tend to legislate differently, prioritising education, health and caregiving economies. They expand democratic legitimacy simply by being present. Their absence reshapes political outcomes far beyond the walls of parliament.
This is why the details matter.
The Better Politics shared findings of their work: Eighty percent of women are deterred from political leadership because of online abuse – technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). Ninety-eight percent of deep fakes are pornographic and overwhelmingly target women. The majority of women politicians experience a continuum of violence that moves between online and offline spaces, following them into their homes, constituencies and workplaces.
Inside the session, this continuum was not theoretical. It was lived and described in exact terms. Politicians spoke of the toll on their families, the pressure to retreat, and the fatigue of carrying public responsibility while navigating digital hostility on a daily basis. As several of them noted, these experiences are not only harmful to the individual. They erode the integrity of political systems by shaping who remains visible and who disappears.
This is why collaboration matters. Not in the abstract, but in immediate, operational ways.
The dialogue surfaced what women need in order to stay:
- Solidarity that is visible and consistent
- Stronger legal enforcement and digital investigation capacity
- Tech platforms that take responsibility for the environments they create
- Party-level commitments to zero tolerance
- Regulatory frameworks that name and address technology-facilitated violence
- Community mobilisation to counter online attacks
- Mental health support that recognises the realities of political life
- Policy environments that embed TFGBV as a core democratic concern
These are not marginal issues. They determine who is able to lead, whose priorities shape institutions, and how inclusive our political futures will be. Addressing TFGBV is not an act of protection. It is a requirement for credible democratic systems.
This is why the work cannot end with a single dialogue. COFEM and the Better Politics Foundation will be convening a series of follow-on initiatives focused on practical solutions, cross-movement collaboration and sustained support for women in political leadership. These will deepen the conversations begun here, expand the network of actors involved, and push for the policy, regulatory and community-level shifts required to keep women visible, safe and influential in public life.
The next phase is clear.
We build stronger systems.
We strengthen collaboration.
We ensure that women can enter, stay and lead with the full authority their roles demand.
