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.
Regarding violence in or around polling stations, PACE did not receive reports of any significant incidents of election violence or VAW-E. Only 1% of reports received from observers indicated that there had been intimidation or harassment near the polling station at which they were stationed.
Overall PACE received very few reports of incidents of violence on election day. Of the total observer reports received, for example only 3% indicated that there had been any interference such as harassment or intimidation during the vote count.
80% of the voters interviewed by PACE observers reported that voters felt free to cast a vote for the candidate or party they preferred, but women were less likely to say that voters felt free to do so, and more likely to report that they were unsure.
Similarly, voters interviewed as part of PACE’s observation reported that they felt free to attend campaign events, though women were less likely to indicate that voters felt free to do so, and more likely to report that they were unsure.
In the interviews conducted by volunteers, candidates overwhelmingly reported that they did not face problems campaigning. However, women were slightly less likely than men to report that they had no problems.
Likewise, in the interviews conducted by PACE volunteers, most interviewees indicated that they did not think voters faced any problems that would result from their vote for a certain political party.
In monitoring the voter registration process, PACE observers recorded almost no incidents of violence: 98% of the reports submitted by observers, for example reported no incidents of intimidation.
Violence can affect women no matter what their role is: as activists, voters, candidates, election officials, party agents or observers. While men are also affected by electoral violence, women are differently or disproportionately impacted, even where the levels of violence targeting them may be lower.
It is critical to look at the levels of violence against women as compared to men, and in addition, how that violence ...
