Nearly half of all local politicians, 45 percent, experienced intimidation and/or aggression in the past year. That is almost double compared to ten years ago. This is evident from one biennial survey from research agency Ipsos I&O among mayors, members of Parliament, councilors and water board directors.
The total number of reports decreased slightly compared to the survey two years ago. Minister of the Interior Judith Uitermark (NSC), who sent the figures to Parliament on Tuesday sentbelieves that aggression against administrators and politicians should “never be considered normal”. “The impact is great and affects not only the person themselves, but often also the people around them,” she writes on the website of the Interior.
Most threats (59 percent) are made online. The researchers find it “striking” that few local governments are pursuing targeted policies against this. For the time being, it remains limited to ‘advice’ on social media use and online visibility. Uitermark says it will soon offer a “step-by-step plan” against online hate to local authorities.
The type of aggression or intimidation can vary: from a vicious message on social media to pelting council members with fireworks, as happened in early December in Montferland for a meeting about the arrival of an asylum seekers’ center.
It is striking that aggression is increasingly focused on the person (46 percent, compared to 22 percent in 2022), rather than on the office holder as a representative of government or politics. Characteristics such as gender, origin and orientation are included in those cases.
Women are more likely to be threatened
The aggression is not without consequences, the research shows. Nearly a quarter of office holders say that the risk of intimidation and aggression “influences administrative decisions.” The possibility of aggression already has consequences for a quarter of them in the private sphere and for just under half of them it has consequences for the social media use of directors.
Women suffer more than men and these threats are perceived as more serious. The consequences for job satisfaction, mental health and private life are then greater. A quarter of women adjust their political ambitions because of the intimidation and aggression they experience, compared to nine percent of men. A third of female directors do not agree with the statement that the organization they work for does enough to prevent (verbal) violence.
Minister Uitermark emphasizes that victims should be encouraged to report the crime “where possible”. That rarely happens at the moment. According to those interviewed, this is partly because they have the feeling that “nothing is done with the report”.
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