The politics of smear campaigns are targeting women

The politics of smear campaigns are targeting women

Although these attacks are often presented as “social media debates” or “smear campaigns”, international literature uses a clearer concept: violence against women in politics and gendered disinformation.

The “Violence Against Women in Politics” study published by UN Women in Turkey in 2023 reveals that this violence is not limited to physical attacks. According to the study, forms of psychological, sexual and economic violence act as barriers to women exercising their political rights.

THE CONCEPT OF ‘ACCEPTABLE WOMANHOOD’ IS UP FOR DEBATE

Character assassination against women operates differently from classic political discrediting. A male politician or public figure is often targeted through their political positions, relationships or allegations of corruption. Women, however, are generally subjected to scrutiny regarding their bodies, sexuality, family relationships and the criteria of “acceptable womanhood”. This tactic resonates within society. So much so that a male politician in prison, having benefited from “effective repentance”, makes it his first priority to smear female politicians.

For this reason, sexual slander directed at women is not merely “gossip” but takes the form of violence targeting a woman’s status as a political subject. The aim is to devalue the words spoken by the targeted woman, force her into a defensive position, and divert public attention from political issues to debates about private life. Whilst burning issues such as the economic crisis, violence and abuse are rendered invisible, sensationalist gossip about private lives is poured over society.

Mona Lena Krook, who researches violence against women in politics, emphasises that this phenomenon is not merely a simple extension of general political violence, but a distinct form of violence aimed at excluding women from the political arena “simply because they are women”. According to Krook’s approach, gender is not a secondary element of the attack but is directly central to it.

This observation is critical for understanding campaigns that imply sexualisation against women. Because the aim is not merely to wear down a single woman, but also to send a message to other women: “If you speak out, we will target you too—through your body, your private life, and your family.”

WHAT DOES THE DATA SAY?

There is compelling evidence showing that sexist attacks against female politicians are widespread on a global scale. According to a study on female parliamentarians conducted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 81.8% of female parliamentarians who took part in the survey stated that they had been subjected to psychological violence. Furthermore, 44.4% reported receiving threats of death, sexual assault, physical assault or abduction. The IPU’s study is regarded as one of the first to directly address sexism, harassment and violence against female parliamentarians.

A similar picture emerges from the IPU’s European study. According to the research, approximately one in four female parliamentarians reported having been subjected to sexual violence, whilst 14.8% reported having been subjected to physical violence. The study also highlights that young female parliamentarians and women campaigning for gender equality are targeted more frequently.

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GENDERED DISINFORMATION: CONSTRUCTING FALSEHOODS AROUND WOMEN’S BODIES

One of the key concepts used in recent years to explain attacks on women in the public sphere is gendered disinformation. This concept refers to the dissemination of false, manipulative or distorted information targeting women and gender equality through gendered stereotypes.

The 2020 report “Engendering Hate”, prepared by the UK-based think tank Demos using examples from Poland and the Philippines, reveals that state-aligned or state-backed disinformation campaigns target women through gendered narratives. According to the report, these campaigns are used to portray women who criticise the state or oppose government policies as “untrustworthy”, “morally flawed” or a “threat to social order”.

The aim here is not merely to spread misinformation, but to erode women’s public credibility and devalue their political contributions. According to the report, sexual insinuations, gossip about private lives, fake images and moral accusations are not random occurrences, but serve as systematic tools.

When a female politician raises issues such as corruption, war policies, male violence, impunity or the government’s lawlessness, the response is often framed not through the arguments themselves, but through questions about “what kind of woman she is”. In this way, the ground of the political debate is shifted.

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DIGITAL LYNCHING IS DRIVING WOMEN AWAY FROM POLITICS

The National Democratic Institute’s 2019 report, “Tweets That Chill”, states that online violence against women involved in politics creates a “chilling effect” that drives women away from the digital sphere and, in some cases, the political arena. According to the report, politically active women face insults, hate speech, attacks on their reputation and threats of physical violence online.

In other words, the impact of smear campaigns is not limited to the targeted woman alone. A lynching directed at one woman serves as a warning to other women who wish to speak out in the same arena. Women know that in return for their political stance, they may face not only criticism but also attacks on their families, private lives, bodies and safety.

For this reason, gender-based cyberbullying effectively limits the right to equal political participation.

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THE CASE OF LEILA DE LIMA: SEXUAL INSINUATIONS, JUDICIAL PRESSURE AND POLITICAL SILENCING

The case against former Senator Leila de Lima in the Philippines is a striking example of gendered character assassination. De Lima was one of the key figures investigating the extrajudicial killings that took place under Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ policy.

When De Lima began criticising the government, she faced not only legal charges but also a smear campaign targeting her private life and sexuality. According to a 2017 assessment by Amnesty International, Duterte and his allies publicly humiliated De Lima by alleging she had a relationship with her former driver, and there were even reports of a so-called sex video being shown. Female senators had condemned this move as “illegal” and “misogynistic”.

De Lima was arrested in 2017 and spent years in prison. Amnesty International announced that, following nearly seven years of arbitrary detention and political pressure, De Lima had regained her “full freedom and exoneration” after the final charge was dropped. Human Rights Watch also reported that in 2024, a Philippine court had dismissed the final criminal case against De Lima, marking the end of a seven-year legal process initiated by Duterte against one of the country’s leading human rights defenders.

This example highlighted how sexual defamation and judicial pressure can work in tandem.

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EMPOWERED WOMEN ARE TARGETED

Sema Yurtbilir – EŞİK Volunteer: Sexist campaigns targeting female politicians are nothing new. Whenever women have gained visibility in politics, similar tactics have been employed. Throughout history, rather than engaging with women’s political demands, words and struggles, attempts have been made to suppress them through rumours and discrediting methods centred on their private lives, bodies and morality.

To understand just how old this method is, one need only look back to the era of Nezihe Muhiddin, one of the pioneers of the struggle for women’s political rights in Turkey. Whenever women demanded their political rights, these demands were mocked rather than taken seriously; they were assessed not as political subjects, but through the lens of their appearance and the ‘acceptable womanhood’ moulds, or were discredited. Women’s struggle to secure a place in parliament, political parties and decision-making mechanisms has long been viewed as a threat by male-dominated politics, and continues to be so.

Of course, to interpret today’s events merely as a historical repetition would be an oversimplification. The targeting, slander and sexist attacks directed at female politicians during the current process are not coincidental; they constitute a political operation. These are organised, moralising tools of discrediting used to undermine women’s influence in the public and political spheres and to push them out of politics and the public arena.

These attacks intensify particularly during periods when women’s struggles for rights, equality and freedom are on the rise; and when male-dominated, conservative and authoritarian politics lose their social legitimacy. The message is clear: women are only accepted in politics to the extent that they do not breach the boundaries of male dominance. Any woman who speaks out, makes decisions or gains power is inevitably targeted.

These attacks on female politicians target not just individual women, but the right of all women to political representation. For this reason, the issue is not a personal one, but one of democracy and equal citizenship. However, let it be known that women will never withdraw from politics or the public sphere; they will not give up the struggle for equal representation, the right to speak and the right to decide. Women’s struggle for equality and freedom is too ancient and vast to be confined to the moulds that male-dominated politics deems fit for them.

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THOSE WHO COULDN’T PUT OUT THE FIRE IN THE KITCHEN HAVE RESORTED TO THE DIRTIEST WEAPON

CHP Deputy Chair Evrim Rızvanoğlu: In recent days, immoral and sexist slanders targeting female MPs have been circulated via certain anonymous social media accounts. Worse still, these defamatory posts—containing no evidence whatsoever—have been disseminated by organised troll networks and certain media outlets close to the government under the guise of ‘allegations’. This is not merely an attack on a few female politicians; it is an organised campaign to discredit women’s presence in politics, their honour and their place in public life. The targets of this operation are not only opposition female MPs, but also the very will of women in this country to engage in politics with dignity and heads held high! Those who have driven the economy to the brink, failed to extinguish the fire in the people’s kitchens, and seen their vote shares dwindle have now resorted to the oldest, dirtiest and most cowardly weapon: slandering women’s bodies and honour!

Note: This article is translated from the original article titled İftira siyaseti kadınları hedef alıyor, published in BirGün newspaper on May 16, 2026.