Media Release: New Survey Reveals Nearly Nine in Ten Australian Women in Public Office Face Online Abuse
Wednesday 5th August 2026
A survey of 110 Australian women who hold elected office or are running for office across all levels of government, reveals that nearly 90% have experienced online abuse or intimidation linked to their political participation.
The findings from the Women for Election (WFE) survey reveal the impact extends well beyond the online environment, with 82% of women changing their behaviour because of the abuse and half (50%) questioning whether they would run again or should have sought elected office at all.
The survey of current and aspiring women representatives from local, state and federal government is the latest Australian research to reflect the impact of online abuse on women in public office. While the findings highlight a serious personal safety concern, online abuse is also a significant systemic challenge. It is increasingly influencing who seeks elected office, who stays in office, and ultimately who represents Australian communities.
Other key findings include:
• 94% of survey respondents believe online abuse is discouraging capable women from entering politics.
• 82% have changed their behaviour because of online abuse, and of those 58% have limited their social media use, 36% have increased security measures and 34% have taken time away from campaigning or public life.
• 50% say that, knowing what they know now, they are unsure they would run again or would not have run at all.
• 76% believe online abuse of women in politics has increased over the past two years.
• 64% say that online abuse has made them less likely to run for office again, seek higher office or encourage other women to run.
• 45% have had family members or campaign supporters targeted because of their political involvement.
• Only 47% of those who experienced abuse reported it and, of those, 69% were dissatisfied with the response they received.
• 65% have personally experienced or witnessed AI generated abuse, deepfakes or manipulated content targeting women in public life, and 98% are concerned AI will make the problem worse over the next five years.
Women for Election CEO, Licia Heath, said the findings should serve as a wakeup call for Australia: “If capable women are choosing not to run, not to speak, or to leave public office because of relentless online abuse, Australian democracy is at risk. Women in politics are Australia’s canaries in the coalmine. When women are silenced, democracy suffers and this impacts all of us”, she said.
AI is accelerating the threat
The findings highlight growing concern about the role of artificial intelligence in amplifying online abuse. Women in public life are no longer dealing solely with individual trolls.
Increasingly, they are confronting AI generated abuse at an industrial scale. Manipulated content and deepfakes that are cheaper to create, easier to distribute and capable of reaching far larger audiences than ever before.
A global pattern, now measured at home
The findings mirror an escalating global trend. Comparable research has found 96% of New Zealand MPs report online harassment, an 800% increase in harassment complaints against Canadian MPs over five years, and 76% of women parliamentarians across the Asia Pacific report psychological violence linked to their political roles.
Similarly, a landmark 2025 global study for UN Women, led by Australian researcher Professor Julie Posetti, who is based at City University of London, found that 70% of women journalists, human rights defenders and activists surveyed worldwide had experienced online violence. This survey also found that more than 40% of respondents experienced ‘real world’ harm linked to online violence, with women journalists being twice as likely to suffer offline attacks, abuse and harassment triggered by online abuse than they were in 2020.
According to Professor Posetti: “Online violence doesn’t stay online, it involves a dangerous trajectory to physical violence that demands vigilance. The Women for Election findings add valuable Australian context to a much larger and escalating global pattern that I have spent years documenting. Online violence against women in public life is not random. It is a strategy designed to silence women and push them out of leadership. And it’s intensifying as generative AI makes it much cheaper, faster and easier to produce and distribute abusive, disinformation-laced content,” she said.
Women for Election is calling for:
• Recognition of online abuse targeting women in public office as a threat to democratic participation, with the need for stronger protections and penalties.
• Greater accountability for social media and AI platforms, including action against coordinated harassment, deepfakes and AI generated abuse.
• Dedicated protections for candidates and elected representatives during election periods, when abuse often escalates.
• Practical safety, wellbeing and digital security support for women in public office, particularly in local government.
• Greater responsibility from political parties to provide support, enforce standards and publicly condemn abuse.
• A National Action Plan informed by global good practice to better protect women in public office and strengthen democratic participation.
Research
**WFE’s Online Abuse and Women’s Political Participation was commissioned by Women for Election in July 2026 and surveyed 104 Australian women who currently hold elected office or are running for, or considering running for, public office. Respondents included 51 current elected representatives and 53 candidates or aspiring candidates across local, state, territory and federal government.
**Tipping point (include the correct reference)
Women for Election
Women for Election is a politically neutral, not for profit organisation focused on increasing the number of women, of all backgrounds, running for public office in Australia, across all levels of government. Founded in 2014, Women for Election provides training and networking opportunities that equip women to run for public office, increasing female representation across all levels of government and strengthening Australian democracy.
For more information
Katrina Brangwin – 0408 802 438 or Kieran Moore – 0415 335 057