We must counter ‘lock-her-up’ bullying tactics

Lift Her Up campaign targets sexism, writes Jan Reimer.

Politics has always required a thick skin, and abuse of politicians is nothing new. But in recent years, politics has become increasingly aggressive.

Recently, we saw Donald Trump tweeting a doctored video of his golf ball hitting Hillary Clinton in the back and knocking her over. When one of the most powerful men in the world promotes violent imagery about a woman, this imagery knows no boundaries as it influences attitudes and behaviours.

In Canada, we like to think we are immune to Trump’s behaviour. But, sadly, we are not.

Last December at a rally outside the legislature, a group of angry protesters echoed Trump’s chants calling for Rachel Notley to be imprisoned, to “lock her up.” Not because the premier was charged with any crime or found guilty of an offence. Rather, because she was a woman in politics whose views did not mesh with their own.

The next day, a gathering of executive directors from women’s shelters across Alberta launched a positive campaign in response, calling on people to Lift Her Up. In this instance the Her was not any single politician but a call to support women in public life who face verbal abuse and, too often, death threats.

This October, the Lift Her Up campaign is focused on the elections taking place across the province.

Whether for mayor, municipality or school board, we have invited all candidates to sign a public commitment stating that they will not engage in sexist behaviour, that they will support policies which promote the safety of all candidates during and beyond the election, and, if elected, promote policies ensuring women’s safety everywhere.

Violent language directed at women in the public eye gives permission to the violent and traumatic abuse that occurs behind closed doors. Last year, more than 16,000 women, children and seniors accessed support from Alberta’s women’s shelters. Our goal is to bring

Our aggressive political culture is a crucial factor in understanding why we have only one woman on Edmonton’s council.

the number of women and children entering Alberta’s women’s shelters to zero.

But we can’t do that in a society that accepts public bullying of women.

The global body concerned with political reform, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, interviewed 55 women MPs in 39 countries.

Two-thirds had received humiliating sexist comments, 41 per cent had received sexually charged images through social media and threats of death, rape or beatings.

The possibility that this can escalate is all too real: in 2016, parliamentarian Jo Cox was murdered by a British neo-Nazi.

Closer to home we have seen sexist attacks targeting federal minister Catherine McKenna, for which Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer has rightly apologized. We also saw two of Edmonton’s mayoral candidates trading barbs (both sexist and violent) at the candidates’ forum. None of this behaviour has a place in our politics.

Our aggressive political culture is a crucial factor in understanding why we have only one woman on Edmonton’s council. It also helps explain why, despite record numbers of candidates in the municipal elections, just one-third of those candidates are women.

There are other factors which society needs to confront. Women contend with taking overwhelming responsibility for care of children and elderly relatives. On average, women earn lower salaries; consequently they often have fewer resources to run campaigns.

All these problems need to be tackled at a structural level. But sexism in politics is something we can challenge and change as individuals. Each of us has a responsibility to be leaders in our own context against sexist behaviour.

That includes speaking out when we encounter it in bars, sports arenas or our local community league. Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters wants voters to decide the best candidate to represent your interests, whether female, male or non-binary. But when you make that decision, we hope that you will factor in your preferred candidate’s commitment to building a world free from violence and abuse.