Social media has become the number one place in which psychological violence – particularly in the form of sexist remarks, humiliating images, mobbing, intimidation and threats – is perpetrated against women parliamentarians.

This has been highlighted by the Speaker of parliament, Dr Jiko Luveni while speaking at the Gender based Violence and Human rights Training at the Warwick Resort.

She also stressed that it is the duty of political actors, men and women, and of parliament as an institution to set the right examples adding that parliament must put some order in its own house if it does not wish to help legitimize discrimination and violence against women in all other spheres of life, public as well as private.

Luveni also highlighted that while the increase in the number of women into parliament is beneficial for representative democracy, it has tended to disrupt the established order, provoking some resistance.

The Speaker of Parliament says recognizing the existence of the problem, naming it and breaking the silence about it opens the way for effective solutions. 

Luveni says that education as a means of changing mentalities and cultures, combat discrimination and establish a culture of equality and tolerance has been advocated.

Luveni says that teaching boys and girls from the earliest age about human rights and gender equality will help to establish relations of non‑violence and respect between the sexes in all sectors. This should begin in the family.