Discredited and Disgraced: Gender-based Violence against Women Politicians and Journalists in Slovakia

Abstract

This article examines the gender-based violence experienced by women politicians and journalists in Slovakia following the 2023 parliamentary elections, a period marked by democratic backsliding. Drawing on 14 semistructured interviews with women politicians, journalists, and gender equality experts, it analyses the forms and impacts of the violence, focusing on meaning-making processes, coping strategies, and motivations to remain publicly active. The findings show that women are frequently targeted through gendered attacks aimed not only at their personal lives and families but also at the values they represent, including democracy, human rights, and gender equality. These attacks often involve semiotic violence designed to discredit and disgrace them, such as accusations of being “foreign agents,” “prostitutes,” or “sell-outs.” The study identifies this violence as a contextspecific mechanism linking gender-based violence with broader political attacks against ideological opposition. It demonstrates how such violence operates as a strategic tool to silence women and limit their participation, particularly in the absence of effective institutional protection, thereby undermining democratic governance and diversity.