On 24 July 2017, the Committee on Standards in Public Life, at the request of the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, called for a “Review into the Intimidation of Parliamentary
Candidates and the Broader Implications for Other Candidates and Public Office Holders.” The Committee was particularly interested in whether and how these experiences have altered the relationship and interaction between candidates and the public; the potential wider effects of such intimidation on public life; the role of political parties; the enforceability of the current law; and what steps might be taken to prevent intimidation in future. In 2016, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) launched the #NotTheCost campaign, a global call to action to stop violence against women in politics. Its title reflects the fact that many women are told that harassment, threats, psychological abuse, physical and sexual assault are “the cost of doing politics.” This program was designed to bring together the stakeholders, networks and advocates involved in currently regionally segmented discussions about the problem. For the last two years, NDI has been working to challenge this claim by raising awareness, collecting information and building capacity among our partners in order to eradicate this phenomenon. On 8 September 2017, NDI submitted its’ piece of evidence to the inquiry addressing the problem of violence against women in politics specifically and provided solutions to address the problem in support of its campaign. On 13 December 2017, the Committee on Standards in Public Life released its’ review to the Prime Minister, which included parts of NDI’s evidence. Below you will find NDI’s full submission that was given to the Committee.