Political Violence Directed to Female Politicians in SADC

Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWIP) undeniably undermines the role women can play in politics and ultimately in democracy in their respective countries. The high number of violent episodes towards female politicians worldwide warrants a deeper look at the issue. In the SADC where the phenomenon is on the rise, research on the topic is scarce. Through a qualitative discursive approach and drawing from a diverse range of qualitative data and literature, the paper frames the study using Galtung's Conflict Triangle and explores violence directed at women in politics in the subregion. Against this background, the article considered the following themes: contributing factors to the political violence against female politicians in the SADC and the impact of this political violence. Finally, the article proposed emerging solutions and measures that must be adopted to prevent the situation from spiralling further out of control. This study contributes to the growing body of scholarship on VAWIP by discussing findings from sub-Saharan Africa, an understudied region.