Online abuse of women in politics is getting worse, says Williams. But relief is on the way
Kirsty Williams, shortly after she had been made the Welsh cabinet secretary for Education.
A long, long time ago, when This Writer was still working at the Brecon and Radnor Express (I think), Liberal Democrat Kirsty Williams was likened to toilet paper.
Her response was to say that if any comparison could be made, she would be Double Velvet. Many people thought it amusing at the time.
Now it seems that was just a mild example of the kind of abuse she received in a political career that has lasted around 20 years, and that she says has become worse because of the social media.
I’ve had my own differences with Ms Williams (I won’t deny it); politically I am traditional Labour and there is a lot of space between my views and hers. But we co-operated on the campaign for the general election voting system to be changed to proportional representation before the referendum – and wouldn’t the UK be a much better place if we had succeeded?
And she was an excellent constituency AM.
So I am saddened to learn that she – along with her husband and children – has been forced to deal with this.
I am far more willing to believe her than some of the representatives of my own party, who – in my opinion – went out of their way to stir up reactions and then squealed when people responded aggressively to their own unacceptable behaviour.
One of the examples in the BBC article is when then-Welsh Assembly Member Neil Hamilton referred to her and Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood as “political concubines”. He got away with it after claiming he had not intended to upset anybody.
But that is deliberately provocative language! How did he think people were going to react?
And when people see those who are elected to high office acting in such a way, they think it is permissible to do the same.
We have a shocking example of this squatting in 10 Downing Street pretending to be prime minister at the moment, having referred to gay people as “tank-topped bum boys”, Muslim women as “letterboxes”, black people as having “watermelon smiles”… the list of his offences is endless.
But it is possible that some relief is on the horizon, with the forthcoming Online Harms Bill that will bring in prison sentences for the behaviour Ms Williams identifies.
She says she would not discourage her three daughters from entering politics but would be worried for them, having to cope with the kind of abuse she has received.
I hope the new law – if it doesn’t have its teeth pulled by some of the offenders in Westminster – will make the environment safer, for all the rest of us and for them.
Even if I don’t approve of the political party they may choose to represent.
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I identify as Old Labour these days, but I quite agree with Mike about the pursuit of some women MPs. Women MPs bear the brunt of death threats and ridicule and the Great Ninny in number 10 is a prime example of a a man who has spent much of his life denigrating women.
Although her politics are quite different to mine, I have respect for Anna Soubry: she’s brave and hard hitting, but she doesn’t hit below the belt. If memory serves, quite a few conservative women of an independent caste of mind have had awful threats made against them as well as being held up to ridicule – not least by Johnson and his mates. The time for reform to our electoral system is now.
Too many women hating men are using social media to threaten any woman who they perceive as ‘a threat to their male power!’ This is why men continue to threaten women with male violence and note menhave not sent thousands of death threats to male politicians! Ask yourselves why? Why do so many men hold women in contempt – answer is because men demand women remain silent and subservient. Doubtless this latest piece of fake legislation will not curb pandemic male hatred for women and the thousands and thousands of daily male threats still being sent to women via social media!
In fact why would women hating adult boys cease threatening and sexually insulting women given there is the little fascist dictator duck johnson pretending to be a prime minister and delighting in sexually insulting women because our sex is female!