This year the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-based Violence global campaign rallied under the theme “UNiTE to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls External link.”. The theme placed a spotlight on the grave threat that unregulated online platforms pose to women and girls. This online violence is particularly acute for women active in politics who are increasingly subjected to violent hate campaigns aimed at tarnishing their careers, reducing their agency and pushing them out of politics.

I am currently conducting research that aims to produce an evidence-based toolkit to address online violence against women in local politics in Zimbabwe. The project brings to the fore the experiences and voices of women who are often neglected in global conversations, and emphasises the need for inclusive and locally informed responses to global challenges.

BY SHINGIRAI MTERO, researcher at the nordic africa institute

In October 2025 Swedish politician Anna-Karin Hatt External link. announced her resignation as the leader of her party. She stated that she would not be standing for re-election, effectively signaling her departure from politics. In the wake of her announcement a key question arose: what had driven this formidable woman out of politics? Hatt shared that since her election she had been subjected to escalating violent threats, hate speech and harassment. These threats, transmitted primarily through online platforms, had led her to feel unsafe, even in her own home. Her experiences, though alarming, are not isolated or unique. Women like Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, Kamala Harris of the USA and Sanna Marin of Finland have faced similar acts of online violence.

However, the aforementioned women are not only prominent national leaders, they come from some of the strongest democracies in the world. In contrast my research asks: how does online violence against women in politics manifest at the local level? What is the impact of this violence in local African contexts? Drawing on preliminary findings from my research in Zimbabwe, this short piece offers insights into the nature, form and impact of online violence against women in local politics. In light of the #16daysofactivism campaign, these findings emphasise the need to incorporate the voices and experiences of women from local African contexts into the global conversation.

Online violence against women in politics: the global and the local

There is no singular definition of violence against women in politics, however it can be defined as all acts or threats of violence resulting in physical, psychological, or symbolic harm or suffering to women involved in, or associated with, politics. This violence can take place in person, but as noted by the National Democratic Institute External link., online attacks have emerged as the most prevalent form of violence against women in politics. This violence includes: death and rape threats, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, spreading of artificially generated images or videos, blackmail, hate speech, gendered disinformation campaigns and online stalking. In the most extreme cases some online threats escalate to physical attacks. This form of violence is growing in scale and intensity as the anonymity that these platforms offer make it difficult to identify perpetrators and effectively regulate users. With the introduction of artificial intelligence and the proliferation of ghost accounts, many social media platforms such as Facebook, X and TikTok admit that they do not have sufficient capacity to control or police all the users subscribed to their platforms. In addition, many governments lack the legal frameworks to prosecute online crimes beyond the scope of sexual harassment or defamation. As such, online platforms have emerged as the new frontier for anti-democratic and patriarchal political actors that intend to stifle democratic discourse and to push politically active women out of politics.

Post-election analysis. External link. of Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections revealed an escalation in the use of online platforms like Facebook to harass and silence aspiring women leaders. National level leaders such as Fadzayi Mahere, Linda Masarira and Tatenda Mavetera emerged as key targets of such attacks – women in local politics were also targeted but their experiences remained under reported. In October and November of 2025, the project “Local challenges with global connections. External link.” administered surveys to local government politicians from five local government authorities across three of Zimbabwe’s provinces. The survey asked detailed questions under three key themes: political campaigning and technology use; mobile phone applications and social media use; and impact of technology use on political life. A total of 75 individuals responded to our survey: 78% were women, while the remaining 22 % were men. Of the women, 48% were elected through direct ward seats (FPTP election), while the remaining 52% were elected through the gender quota system. In terms of technology use, less than 2% of respondents reported not using any form of technology while they were campaigning – indicating the widescale use of technology as a campaign tool for local politicians. The mobile phone messaging application WhatsApp emerged as the most used form of technology, with 89% of respondents making use of it. While 37% of respondents did make use of social media, many cited the high cost of mobile data as a prohibitive factor. For those that did use social media, Facebook was the most used platform at 59%. A small proportion of respondents made use of Twitter/X and TikTok at 8% and 7%, respectively.

A more in-depth analysis of WhatsApp usage revealed patterns of harassment and intimidation, particularly targeting women politicians. In total 72% of respondents reported that WhatsApp was used to spread false information and rumours about them and 22 % (all women) reported that WhatsApp was used to circulate manipulated images of them. These images were primarily sexual in nature. One woman stated that her face had been artificially placed onto a nude body and circulated in a community WhatsApp group. Another woman shared that images of her body, with specific body parts circled, were circulated after midnight on Whatsapp groups, accompanied with explicit captions. Younger women were persistently sexually harassed, solicited for sex, labelled as “prostitutes” and accused of using sex to gain political support.

In relation to threats of harm, 51% of respondents stated that WhatsApp was used to threaten and intimidate them, while 45% reported that WhatsApp had been used to threaten their physical safety. These threats ranged in nature and severity. Some were ominous, with messages like “Drive safe!” or “I see you!”. Others were sent images of themselves entering and leaving a public place, clearly unaware that they were being surveilled. Some respondents received more direct threats to their life, one woman was told to drop out of the race, “unofira mahara” (you will end up dead for no reason). In a particularly disheartening case, one respondent begun receiving voice recordings (voicenotes) threatening her life and her family members. The voice recordings were not only sent to her, they were also circulated on community groups. She shared how this made her feel as if she had a “target on her back” which forced her into isolation to ensure her safety till she was elected. These online threats negatively impacted the mental health of the women, with some reporting feeling fear, humiliation and psychological fatigue.

WhatsApp is an application that functions when attached to an individual phone number, making it possible to potentially trace each user. It was therefore alarming that 32% of these threats/attacks were reportedly posted in WhatsApp community groups, indicating a brazen attitude of impunity and the normalization of intimidation of women politicians. Due to the nature of the application 42% of the respondents stated that they knew or could identify the person who was threatening them, but only 27% reported these attacks to a higher authority. Reports were primarily made to political party officials and a very small proportion reported to the police. While threats from political rivals were taken seriously, political parties tended to dismiss all other forms of online harassment as “part of politics”.

Local realities are vital for effective responses

These preliminary findings reveal two key features relevant to both global and local contexts. Firstly, these findings provide credence to the global nature of this threat. Digital platforms are not only being used to target prominent women active in national leadership, lesser-known women in local government leadership are also being victimized and targeted through these platforms. Secondly, online violence is not uniform across digital platforms. Instead, local contexts inform which digital platforms are used and weaponized. In this specific case, the affordability and community-based nature of WhatsApp has made it the most ideal digital platform for local politicians. By extension, it has also become the platform most frequently used to harass, intimidate and threaten women politicians. Uncovering such local dynamics is vital for the development of effective regulations

In light of the #16daysofactivism campaign the findings emphasise the need to incorporate the voices and experiences of women from local African contexts into the global conversation. Online violence, though global in reach, manifests in local contexts through complex local networks. Conducting research at the local level brings these complexities to the fore. It equips the relevant actors, such as governments and policy makers with context-specific knowledge needed to develop evidence-based solutions to global challenges.

External funding

Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy (ICLD). External link.

Researchers in the project:

Principal Investigator: Dr. Shingirai Mtero - Nordic Africa Institute, Sweden.

Collaborating Researcher: Dr. Mandiedza Parichi - Midlands State University, Zimbabwe.