Standing for election should mean defending your ideas. For too many Australian women, it also means defending their safety.
Across federal parliament, state politics and local councils, women face death threats, threats of rape and physical assault, intimidation, stalking and threats against their families.
As if it isn’t bad enough that these threats come from online and directly from members of the public, certain of our elected representatives also engage in such threats, or incite them through their words in parliament and the media.
The comparisons with men matter, but we must describe the evidence accurately. Recent media reports cannot be entirely relied upon.
A Victorian parliamentary study published in 2023 surveyed 46 MPs. Among those answering the relevant question, 68 per cent of women reported threats of harm, compared with 50 per cent of men.
For online threats of sexual violence, the study reported 22 per cent of responding women, compared with no responding men. That finding describes this small sample; it does not mean male politicians never receive sexual threats.
At council level, the 2025 Victorian Councillor Census found threatening or intimidating behaviour from the public affected 61 per cent of women and 57 per cent of men.
But bullying and non-sexual harassment from the public affected approximately half of women, compared with a quarter of men. The size of the gender gap depends on what behaviour we measure.
Federally, Anne Aly recently reported receiving 19 death threats in one week. That is one woman’s reported experience, not a national comparison.
I could not find a reliable Australian dataset giving separate female-versus-male percentages for death threats and rape threats across all three levels of government. We should demand better reporting, rather than invent certainty in sensationalised media reports.
Meanwhile, Women for Election’s 2026 survey of current and aspiring female representatives across government levels found nearly 90 per cent had experienced online abuse or intimidation. It did not provide a male comparison.
These behaviours differ in severity. All require a response proportionate to the risk. What is clear is that the research shows women face a disproportionate burden of gendered abuse and sexual threats, while the gap in general threats varies between studies.
Police need clear reporting pathways. Platforms must act on threats. Parties and councils must support those targeted.
And political leaders must condemn intimidation even when the target is an opponent.
Women should never have to choose between representing their community and feeling safe within it.
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