In 1984, under the guiding hand of the late senator Susan Ryan, the first female Labor federal cabinet member, the federal parliament passed the Sex Discrimination Act, a largely successful attempt to ensure that women had the same access to jobs, services and accommodation as men. It also made sexual harassment illegal in Australia.

Some believed the legislation helped redefine the role of women in Australian society.

But five decades later, the abuse remains subliminal, surfacing mainly when politics, gender and power intersect and provoke out-of-touch and mostly anonymous Australians to denigrate women and put them down.

New research from nonpartisan not-for-profit organisation Women for Election found almost 90 per cent of the female politicians surveyed had experienced gendered online abuse, with more than half reconsidering their positions in public office. The national research draws upon the experiences of 110 current and aspiring women politicians across all three levels of government.

Three-quarters believed online abuse of women in politics had increased in the past two years. About 65 per cent had personally experienced or witnessed AI-generated abuse, including deepfakes or manipulated content, and 98 per cent believed it would get worse. Half said online abuse had made them question whether they would run for office again.

Of course, male politicians receive threats too, but the abuse targeted at female politicians is often more personal, gendered and sexualised.

Women for Election CEO Licia Heath said the abuse was worse for politicians from multicultural backgrounds, LGBTQ+ women and young women. AI was scaling up harmful abuse at a rate faster than governments could respond to it. “All of these new ways to dehumanise women in politics, with the ultimate aim to try to silence their voices ... is when democracy suffers,” she said. “I don’t want to wait for a woman MP to be killed in office before we start making some changes.”

Stories of abuse are many.

Last week, NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said threats of violence towards her following a feral pig program announcement she made had been reported to NSW Police. State Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane deactivated her X account after receiving violent threats when she criticised a neo-Nazi protest outside NSW Parliament House last November.

Snowy Monaro councillor Tanya Higgins has been labelled a “fat dumb blonde” by serial pest and fellow councillor Andrew Thaler. Her children have heard men call their mother a “stupid fat bitch” and “fat liar” online and last Boxing Day a trespasser repeatedly drove up and down the driveway of their home. “My children don’t deserve to be anxious about whether certain people come to our house,” she said.

In the social media age, such harassment must deter many current and future generations of women remaining in or entering politics. Australia has a long way to go in terms of true equality and representation. While the number of women in parliament has risen, we can no longer accept that enduring abuse and harassment is the cost of doing politics.

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