For many women MPs, the rising tide of abuse has become too much

As Britain has become increasingly polarised over Brexit, more and more female MPs have complained that they are facing abuse daily as they try to do their jobs – both online and in person.

And with the general election coming up, some are deciding to take the chance to stand down. Some 18 of the more than 50 MPs who will not be fighting for their seat again are women, and campaigners note they tend to be younger than their male counterparts.

Heidi Allen, a Liberal Democrat MP who backs a Final Say referendum, said she had been forced to endure “utterly dehumanising abuse” and install panic alarms at her home. ​Nicky Morgan, the Conservative Party’s culture secretary, highlighted “the clear impact on my family and the other sacrifices involved in, and the abuse for, doing the job of a modern MP”.

But these fears have been raised regularly in the wake of Labour MP Jo Cox’s murder in 2016. In September Boris Johnson faced an outcry after dismissing concerns over his inflammatory language as “humbug”. Labour’s Paula Sherriff had highlighted the links between the PM’s comments and death threats she and others faced – and was promptly subjected to more abuse online.

Other examples of abuse include Angela Eagle, a Labour MP, having a brick thrown through her window, while pro-Brexit campaigner James Goddard was handed a suspended prison sentence after he was filmed branding prominent Remainer Anna Soubry a “Nazi” and “traitor”.

Chiara Capraro, Amnesty’s women’s rights programme manager, drew attention to the abuse female MPs experience on social media and argued they should not feel “silenced” or “forced to quit public life” for their own protection against online abuse.

Social media companies have to do “far more” to stop this “extremely worrying trend” to enable women to feel safer when taking part in politics, she said.

Ms Capraro added: “Our research has shown the shocking levels of abuse on Twitter that is hurled against women in politics – including death and rape threats – and the chilling effect this can have on their lives. We shouldn’t be seeing women politicians feel the need to self-censor, leave social media or even quit politics altogether because of the dangerous abuse they receive.

“The run-up to an election can be a particularly difficult time, with levels of abuse often skyrocketing. In the lead-up to the 2017 snap election, we saw the number of abusive tweets against women MPs almost double – reaching horrifying levels. Online abuse is targeted at women right across party lines, disproportionately affecting women of colour.”

Jess Phillips, a Labour MP, previously spoke out about the rape threats she received on Twitter. “To see the attack of a pack on here check out my mentions; 600 odd notifications talking about my rape in one night. I think Twitter is dead,” Ms Phillips tweeted in May 2016.

Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said she was worried the vitriol directed at women in the coming election might be the worst yet.

She said: “It is extremely worrying to see so many women leaving parliament at this election, citing either the abuse they have received or the pressure it has put on their family life. We have to confront the fact that our toxic politics is driving good women MPs away. In 2019 it is still a hostile environment for women.

“This should particularly worry the Conservatives as just one in five of their MPs are women. I fear that we will see the number of women MPs fall after this election. We are going backwards.”

Sophie Walker, chief executive of Young Women’s Trust said, it should be a “cause of national shame” that so many female MPs from across the political spectrum are standing down due to abuse and harassment.