It’s time we protected our female politicians ... both on and offline
THE abuse and threats being issued against women politicians in this country really is a national disgrace.
There really are some nasty, bitter, and twisted people living out there.
Many are being let hide by the social media companies behind anonymous names on fictitious accounts and are not being publicly held to account for their comments, threats or actions.
In fact these rotten, cowards are often threatening people’s lives and yet they are allowed to get away with it.
Other trolls are more direct. They start stalking their victims, calling to their homes, deliberately making them feel uneasy, issuing vile threats to their face. In some cases politicians have been warned even their children are in danger.
What is going on out there is horrendous and we as a country should be ashamed of it.
Some of the horror stories revealed by Holly Cairns, the Social Democrat TD for Cork South West, Neasa Hourigan, the Green TD, and Senator Regina Doherty are appalling.
No woman politician should ever have to put up with it and we are now in danger of bright, intelligent, hard working women who want to do good being turned away from politics for life.
Holly was stalked, warned by gardai to be careful where she goes and to always have somebody with her while doing her constituency clinics. Neasa was spat at in the street.
Regina was stalked and abused online, threats were issued against her family while she was a Government minister. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Our male politicians are also getting it but not to the same degree.
It seems as if the public anger out there on various issues is directed at women politicians more than the men.
Some members of the general public think they can say and do what they like.
Any type of abuse is just totally wrong. It takes a lot of courage to put your name before the people and to stand for election. The vast majority of politicians in this
country, irrespective of what party they represent, do their best.
They don’t stand to feather their own nest but to try to improve the lives of their fellow country men and women.
The social media monster is just totally out of control. No one in this country should be allowed to hold an anonymous account. A new law must be brought in urgently to ban it.
I am all for free speech. But if you want to have an opinion you put your name to it.
You don’t hide behind fictitious accounts to deliberately target individual politicians with a barrage of abuse. So far in our history we have had two women Presidents – Mary Robinson and Mary Mcaleese who both did outstanding jobs. We have never had a woman Taoiseach but that should change in the years ahead.
We need strong women in Government to help run our country.
Yet the gender balance is still not there and we still have far more men than women elected to the Dail.
We have some superb female politicians in Leinster House who despite the threats and abuse are not afraid to speak their minds.
They all had to increase their personal security but they have that inner strength not to let their faceless enemies win.
Our women politicians are the bravest or the brave and they each deserve our respect and thanks.
The gardai also need to have a massive crackdown on every idiot abusing politicians.
These appalling people should be shown no mercy in the courts and made to pay severely for what they have done.