Rising Violence Against Politicians Threatens Democracy, Women and Minorities Targeted
Summary
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution on 21 April 2026 warning that rising violence and hate speech against politicians poses a direct threat to democratic life and pluralism in Europe. The resolution calls on member states to adopt robust legislation recognising violence against politicians as specific criminal offences and requests the Committee of Ministers establish a mechanism to identify and track threats at local, regional and national levels. Women politicians and representatives of minority groups are disproportionately targeted and require specific attention under the New Democratic Pact for Europe.
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What changed
The Parliamentary Assembly adopted a resolution declaring that violence against politicians—whether physical, psychological, sexual, economic, online or offline—has a 'chilling effect on democratic participation', compelling politicians to alter their behaviour, limit participation in public events, or reduce engagement with constituents. The resolution specifically calls on the Committee of Ministers to establish a mechanism to identify and track specific threats or episodes of violence against politicians at all governance levels, and urges states to adopt robust legislation recognising these various forms of violence as specific criminal offences with adequate law enforcement and judicial resources.
National parliaments and political parties should introduce clear codes of conduct requiring politicians to refrain from inflammatory or dehumanising rhetoric, reinforcing a culture of respect and responsibility at the heart of democratic life. While the resolution is non-binding, it signals the Council of Europe's intent to monitor implementation of the New Democratic Pact for Europe, and may influence legislative proposals in member states regarding protections for elected representatives and public officials.
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Apr 23, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Rising violence against politicians puts democracy at risk – Parliamentary Assembly
Attacks putting off politicians – especially women those of minority groups – from participating
Elisabetta Gardini, a representative from the Veneto, Italy, argued that violence was harming democratic life and pluralism in Europe
“Violence has no place in democracy,” the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has said today, as parliamentarians warned that rising violence and hate speech against politicians pose a direct threat to democratic life and pluralism.
Debating the issue in plenary, the Assembly, adopting the resolution based on the report by Elisabetta Gardini (Italy, ECPA), stressed that attacks – whether physical, psychological, sexual or economic, online or offline – can have a “ chilling effect on democratic participation ”, discouraging both elected representatives and those considering entering political life.
Parliamentarians underscored that such violence can compel politicians to “alter their behaviour, limit their participation in public events, or reduce their engagement with constituents ”, ultimately weakening pluralism, representativeness, and the quality of democratic processes. They also highlighted that women politicians and representatives of minority groups and young politicians and public officials are disproportionately targeted and require specific attention.
The Parliamentary Assembly declared that, in the framework of the New Democratic Pact for Europe, the Council of Europe could play a leading role in ensuring that violence against politicians is tackled at all levels. It therefore asked the Committee of Ministers to consider establishing a mechanism to identify and track specific threats or episodes of violence against politicians at the local, regional land national levels.
Furthermore, it called on states to adopt robust legislation recognising the various forms of violence against politicians as specific criminal offences, and to ensure that law enforcement and judicial authorities are equipped with adequate resources.
Finally, parliamentarians emphasised that politicians must lead by example and refrain from inflammatory or dehumanising rhetoric. The Parliamentary Assembly called on national parliaments and political parties to introduce clear codes of conduct, reinforcing a culture of respect and responsibility at the heart of democratic life.
Find out more about the New Democratic Pact for Europe
The Council of Europe works extensively on democracy and elections: read more
Parliamentary Assembly session Strasbourg 21 April 2026
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2026-04-21T04:19:00
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