A recent ruling in the case of a Slovak journalist who suffered years of online abuse is a stark reminder of widespread gendered violence against women in public life. Ján Michalko argues that this form of violence puts democracies at risk and calls for an urgent response, including efforts to transform the unequal gender norms that enable it
Zuzana Kovačič-Hanzelová is a prominent Slovak journalist whose court case against extremist Daniel Bombic made headlines earlier this summer. Kovačič-Hanzelová pursued a criminal case against Bombic for defamation. While the court recognised the vulgar nature of Bombic’s statements, it concluded that the harm she suffered did not meet the threshold for defamation. Bombic was therefore not convicted. Many saw the court’s ruling as a setback for women subjected to abuse in public life.
Bombic is notorious for neo-Nazi and racist conspiracy content on social media. He has also used his channels to platform many prominent politicians. Bombic's misogynist attacks against Kovačič-Hanzelová followed a well-known playbook of online abuse – he spread misinformation about her sexual behaviour to undermine and deride her, while his followers amplified the attacks using similarly derogatory language. Kovačič-Hanzelová is, at the time of writing, also pursuing a separate case against Bombic for doxxing her by disclosing her address and phone number without her consent.
The ruling in Kovačič-Hanzelová’s case raises questions about whether existing legal frameworks adequately recognise the cumulative harms of online violence against women in public life. Such abuse does more than harm individual victims. Online violence silences women, deters political participation, and weakens the ability of journalists and civil society actors to scrutinise those in power. In so doing, it poses a grave threat to democracy itself.
The Kovačič-Hanzelová case is one of many examples of online gender-based violence that have real-world consequences. A recent study showed that all women politicians in Slovakia surveyed had experienced online violence. And Slovakia is no exception. ODI Global’s ALIGN studies in Nigeria, Brazil, Peru and Zimbabwe all show how widespread online abuse has become. It also intersects with racism, ageism and attacks based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Many women continue their work while bearing the personal costs of this violence. Others withdraw from public life or feel forced to alter their behaviour. A recent UN WOMEN study found that 41% of respondents now self-censor online. This matters because social media have become indispensable tools for politicians and other public figures. And as AI becomes further integrated into daily life, it intensifies and automates gendered abuse. As one woman politician told researchers in Nigeria:
Sometimes you don’t even want to put on your phone, because the messages are so demeaning; it makes you question if the struggle is worth it
Female politician in nigeria
Women currently make up just 22% of parliamentarians in Slovakia, ranking the country 112th in the world. The systematic over-representation of men in Slovakia, as in other countries, is a result of many systemic barriers and factors, of which online violence is increasingly one.
Discriminatory gender norms and expectations of what it means to be a political leader are at the heart of many of these barriers. Online violence is one such barrier, weaponising norms against women at unprecedented scale and speed. The growing manosphere and gendered disinformation campaigns reinforce the online ecosystem in which misogyny is normalised and politically consequential. Such dynamics are sustaining democratic decline in Slovakia and elsewhere.
Online violence against women in the public sphere requires a multifaceted response. Stronger regulation of social media platforms and tech companies is one important component. Many feminists call for the adoption of ‘safety by design’ principles, which would shift the onus onto tech companies and challenge business models that profit from misogyny and harmful content. And while there are well-founded concerns over state regulatory powers, especially amid rising autocratisation, the weak regulation of digital spaces also carries democratic risks.
In addition to regulation, activists and scholars call for better critical digital and media literacy. Civil society already works to raise awareness of disinformation, online harms and violent misogyny. They support young people to critically assess content from influencers and peers. Other organisations support women politicians, activists and human rights defenders directly. They offer tools to help them stay safe and techniques for responding to trolling and coordinated campaigns against them.
To challenge business models that profit from misogyny, tech companies must adopt 'safety by design' principles
Research shows, however, that it is not just faceless trolls who perpetuate this violence. Men and women in politics also use online violence against their peers. Political parties, along with other institutions, have a responsibility to confront the organisational practices and political incentives that normalise such behaviour.
At the heart of any response should therefore be the long-term, painstaking transformation of gender norms and expectations of political leadership and representation. This means a whole-society approach that strengthens democratic, socially just citizenship, and rejects harmful political behaviour, including from politicians.
All these solutions require political will. Earlier this year, thousands of people took to the streets in Germany to support actress Collien Fernandes, a victim-survivor of deepfake sexual violence. The protests intensified pressure to enact stronger legislation against ‘pornographic deepfakes’.
Comparable mobilisation against online gendered violence may not yet be visible in Slovakia. But in 2018, thousands of people did take to the streets following the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his partner Martina Kušnírová. Their deaths activated public fears about corruption, impunity and the relationship between political and economic power. They triggered a mobilisation that shook the Slovak political establishment.
When people who hold power to account are silenced, ordinary citizens must mobilise to save democracy
The forms and severity of these attacks are different. But the citizen response to the murders of Kuciak and Kušnírová shows the impact of civic mobilisation to save democracy when people who hold power to account are silenced. Online gendered violence similarly puts democracy at risk. We must, therefore, approach it with the same sense of civic urgency.
