Digital violence and political participation

Anyone who becomes politically active makes themselves visible – and this visibility quickly becomes a target for attack. Sexist comments, threats, harassment and deepfakes are driving women out of public debates and influencing who still dares to be politically visible at all.

What does digital gender-based violence mean for the political participation of women and people who face discrimination on the basis of their gender? How does it alter democratic discourse, and what political responses are needed?

The ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence’ campaign raises awareness of gender-based violence every year from 25 November to 10 December through events across Switzerland. As part of this, the Feminist Polito Treff at the University of Zurich is hosting a panel discussion. Together with experts, the causes and consequences of digital violence will be examined and ways to ensure safe, equal participation in political processes will be discussed.

The Feminist Polito Treff is a student collective at the Institute of Political Science at the University of Zurich that advocates for intersectional perspectives in academia and society.

On the panel

• Estelle Pannatier (AlgorithmWatch CH) – Expertise on digital violence and algorithmic systems
• Sophie Achermann (Public Discourse Foundation) – ‘Stop Hate Speech’ project
• Sabine Arnold (Member of the Cantonal Council) – Co-signatory of the postulate on Action Plan against Deepfakes
• Stefanie Bailer (Professor of Political Science at the University of Basel) – Publication ‘An Early Leak in the Pipeline: Online Abuse as a Barrier to Young Women’s Political Engagement”
• Christina Leutwyler (Chair of Fairmedia) – ‘Hatehelp’ project’