Paper short abstract:

How does gendered political violence impact women and men candidates differently? Drawing on ethnographic observation and interviews with women and men candidates across three Kenyan countries, this paper explores gendered differences in candidates' experiences of political violence and harassment.

Paper long abstract:

How does gendered political violence impact women and men candidates differently? Since Kenya's democratic transition in the early 1990s, Kenyan elections have repeatedly been characterized by high levels of political violence. Existing reports by advocates, journalists, and electoral observation groups suggest that women politicians are often particularly at risk, especially during competitive primary races. Yet to date, there is little research comparing the experiences of men and women during their electoral campaigns, in order to disentangle gendered motives for political violence from other forms of violence that take on gendered forms or have gendered impacts (Bardall, Bjarnegard, and Piscopo 2019). Drawing on ethnographic observation and in-depth interviews with women and men candidates across three Kenyan countries, this paper explores gendered differences in candidates' experiences of political violence and harassment in subnational county assembly races in the lead-up to the 2017 and 2021 elections. It argues that women candidates experience higher and distinctly gendered forms of psychological abuse than their competitors, which both women and men view as an intentional political tactic used by male competitors to undermine women's popular support and push them to withdraw from their electoral campaigns. However, the broader context of impunity for non-gendered, low-level violence and intimidation also impacts women in significant ways, by advantaging candidates with financial power and prompting women to change their campaign strategies.