Violence against Women in Politics

78 Pages Posted: 21 Jul 2023 Last revised: 7 Apr 2025

See all articles by Gianmarco Daniele

Gianmarco Daniele

University of Milan - Faculty of Law; Bocconi University

Gemma Dipoppa

Brown University, Political Science

Massimo Pulejo

University of Milan and CLEAN

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: August 8, 2023

Abstract

We present the first causal evidence that female politicians are more likely to face political violence. Using fourteen years of data on attacks against Italian politicians, we show that marginally elected female mayors—similar to men and elected in comparable towns—are three times as likely to be attacked. We find no gender differences in policy platforms, policymaking, performance, or corruption. Instead, violence emerges independently on women's choices, consistently with discrimination - rather than political influence - driving the gap in violence. Female mayors are less likely to seek re-election after attacks, highlighting violence’s role in perpetuating the gender gap.

Keywords: Women in Politics, Political Violence, Policymaking, Local Elections

JEL Classification: P00, H41, H50, H72, Z18

Suggested Citation

Daniele, Gianmarco and Dipoppa, Gemma and Pulejo, Massimo, Violence against Women in Politics (August 8, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4508878 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4508878

Gianmarco Daniele

University of Milan - Faculty of Law ( email )

Via Festa del Perdono, 7
20122 Milano
Italy

Bocconi University ( email )

Via Sarfatti 25
Milan, MI 20136
Italy

Gemma Dipoppa

Brown University, Political Science ( email )

Box 1860
Providence, RI 02912
United States

HOME PAGE: http://gemmadipoppa.com

Massimo Pulejo (Contact Author)

University of Milan and CLEAN ( email )

Via Festa del Perdono, 7
Milan
Italy

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
800
Abstract Views
2,720
Rank
37,821
PlumX Metrics