How Does Political Violence Target Women? New Data from ACLED

This brief presents new data from ACLED on political violence targeting women. It shows that violence can affect women in all walks of life – from politicians, voters, and activists, to broader categories of women facing everyday threats – but that there is great variance in the types of political violence and who the primary perpetrators of this violence are, especially regionally. Although we at times assume violence targeting women is primarily sexual in character, non-sexual attacks are actually the most commonly reported. The trends identified underscore the importance of the core foundation of the UN Security Council resolutions on Women, Peace and Security (WPS): the use of political violence targeting women is strategic, as women are political actors.