<- Back to homepage

Sexualised, violent threats: female Victorian MPs fear for their safety as they fight more than just next month’s election

Source: The Guardian World - Published: 22 Oct 2026 17:00

Hostility from constituents is not new for the state’s politicians, including its premiers. But the alleged attack on Helen Haines has sent a chill down the collective spineGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastOn Monday night, Georgie Purcell shared a statement on social media in support of Helen Haines, who earlier that day had been allegedly attacked by a constituent in her regional Victorian electorate.Purcell, a Victorian upper house MP whose region partly overlaps with Haines’s federal electorate, wrote that the alleged attack had sent chills down her spine. Being a woman in politics, she said, had changed the way she moved through the world – where she parked her car, which route she took home, even whether she held public events at all. Continue reading...