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Personal attacks are pushing some women out of politics and keeping others from ever running, an international expert on cyberbullying said Friday.
Marilyn Bromberg, an associate professor at the University of Western Australia Law School, was in Fredericton to speak at a free public conference at the University of New Brunswick aimed at getting more women elected in the province.
About one-third of the seats in the legislature were held by women.
Bromberg said online abuse of female politicians was typically far more personal than what men faced.
It often targeted their appearance, whether they were married and whether they had children, she said, while attacks on men tended to focus on policy. Some women received threats of death or assault.
Marilyn Bromberg, an associate professor at the University of Western Australia Law School, spoke at a conference at UNB in Fredericton on Friday. (Jennifer William/CBC)
Female politicians, especially those who were visible minorities, and politicians who are sexual minorities, are the most likely to be threatened and cyberbullied, she said.
Many women are reluctant to talk about it, Bromberg said, because the abuse has been normalized: the message is to “suck it up and just be tough and just accept it.”
“I strongly believe that politicians should not have to live with this,” Bromberg said. “We know that it is causing some politicians to literally leave politics and is causing some potential politicians to actually not enter politics whatsoever.”
She pointed to Cathy Bennett, a former Newfoundland and Labrador finance minister who spoke publicly about being called a “monster” and a “witch” online.
Criticizing policy is fair game, Bromberg said. “We live in a democracy. But do not criticize them personally. That is simply not acceptable.”
She said it was illegal in Australia to create a deepfake of a politician during an election campaign. Canada had legislation on deepfakes generally, she said, but to her knowledge none specific to politicians.
Brittany Merrifield, the mayor of Grand Bay-Westfield and president of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick, moderated a panel discussion after Bromberg’s presentation. She said the same pressures are playing out in local politics.
“There’s a climate of growing disrespect, social polarization and digital hostility,” Merrifield said.
Brittany Merrifield, mayor of Grand Bay-Westfield and president of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick, moderated a panel at a conference at UNB in Fredericton on Friday. (Jennifer William/CBC)
Social media is the “primary vector and accelerator,” she said, but “there’s always the fear that it’s going to walk off the computer screen and enter our lives in reality.”
Women, racialized minorities and 2SLGBTQ+ people experienced it more than others, she said.
Merrifield said Quebec has introduced good legislation to protect its elected officials from harassment, threats and intimidation.
“This isn’t about silencing people. This is about protecting our democracy.”
A report by the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick and the Association francophone des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick makes 46 recommendations.
Merrifield said the Respect and Action Report “comes down to three things: education, accountability, and protection.”
“I reject the idea that all you have to have is a thick skin,” she said. “There’s no other job where this is allowed.”
A panel discussion at Wu Conference Centre on the UNB Fredericton campus Friday aimed at increasing representation of women in New Brunswick politics. (Jennifer William/CBC)
The panel also included Nicole Somers, outgoing mayor of Saint-Quentin; Kim Poffenroth, chief electoral officer of Elections New Brunswick; and Heidi MacDonald, dean of arts at UNB Saint John.
“If we don’t have strong representation around the decision-making tables, or frankly if we have no representation because nobody wants to do the job, that’s a real problem,” Merrifield said.