TIRANA, Nov 13 /ATA/ – Violence, intimidation and online abuse targeting women in public life have no place in politics and undermine democratic representation, the European Union’s ambassador to Albania, Sofia Moreira de Sousa, said on Friday.
Speaking ahead of the international campaign known as the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, Moreira de Sousa took part in a panel discussion entitled “The Anatomy of Violence in Politics,” alongside female lawmakers from Albania, North Macedonia and the European Parliament.
“Violence, intimidation and online abuse have no place in politics. Yet women in public life are all too often targeted,” she said.
Moreira de Sousa said abuse that drives women out of politics also deprives citizens of the voices they have elected to represent them.
“When abuse forces women out of politics, citizens lose the voices they have chosen to hear,” she said.
Albania’s path towards European Union membership was also about building a democracy in which every citizen could stand for election, express their views freely and serve the public without fear, the ambassador said.
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