16% of observers reported that they witnessed attacks on women at rallies, while 18% reported that they had heard of such attacks. 67% reported that they had received no reports of violence targeting women at rallies.
Hate speech was an important form of violence that TMG monitored throughout each election. As in Bayelsa, observers stationed in Kogi during the pre-election period reported incidents of both men and women engaging in hate speech.
Overall levels of reported hate speech were small, but during the pre-election observation in Kogi, observers reported that victims of hate speech motivated by their gender, origin, age, religion or physical disabilities were primarily men, with few exceptions.
Hate speech was an important form of violence that TMG monitored throughout each election. In the case of Bayelsa during the pre-election period, observers reported incidents of both men and women engaging in hate speech.
Likewise, in the pre-election phase in Bayelsa, observers reported that victims of hate speech were both men and women, motivated by their gender, origin,age, religion or physical disabilities.
On its pre-election observation forms during the national election, TMG required its observers to indicate whether they had witnessed or heard of hate speech, violence or intimidation against candidates or their supporters because of their gender. 83% of observers did not witness or hear of any gender-based violence, but a small percentage did hear reports of acts of violence through credible sources and a few directly witnessed incidents of violence occurring.
Economic violence reported by observers indicated that men were more often targeted by property damage, but that men and women were similarly targeted for other forms of economic violence such as bribery and economic coercion.
Likewise, reported incidents of psychological violence, in particular slander and defamation, were more likely to target men, who were more likely to be running for high-profile local posts, such as mayoral positions.
Men were more likely to be targeted by physical violence than women; this may be because men were more likely to be running for high-profile positions.
Guatemalan law prohibits the sexual exhibition of persons to draw attention to a campaign or political party event. Of incidents of this violence that were reported, women were most likely to be exhibited in this way.
