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From plans to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez鈥檚 being called a by her colleague U.S.Rep. Ted Yoho, it鈥檚 been a nasty year for women in American politics.

Now, some women who鈥檝e been targets of such misogyny want to put this problem on the congressional agenda.

On Sept. 24, House Democrats Rashida Tlaib, Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Jackie Speier introduced a 鈥攁 largely symbolic congressional statement that carries no legal weight but provides moral support on certain issues鈥攔ecognizing violence against women in politics as a global phenomenon. House Resolution 1151, which is , calls on the government to take steps to mitigate this violence in the United States and abroad.

Such attacks undermine not only gender equality but hurt democracy itself.

Violence is often equated with physical injury, but in policy and academic research the term is defined more broadly to mean a . Violence is any act that harms a person鈥檚 autonomy, dignity, self-determination, and value as a human being.

H.R. 1151 marks an important moment in American politics. As of American women are running for and winning public office, their growing political power has been met with death and rape threats, sexist abuse, and disparagement鈥攊ncluding by the .

Such attacks undermine not only gender equality but hurt democracy itself, .

Growing Visibility in American Politics

Tlaib was the first to enter the term 鈥渧iolence against women in politics鈥� into the congressional record, with a one-minute in March. Calling it a 鈥済lobal problem,鈥� she emphasized, 鈥淚 also mean here in the United States. My family and I constantly face death threats and harassment.鈥�

In July, after Rep. Yoho鈥檚 crude and sexist insult on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, Ocasio-Cortez also addressed gender-based violence in the House. In a , she said 鈥渢his issue is not about one incident.鈥�

Ocasio-Cortez described what happened to her as a 鈥渃ultural鈥� problem鈥攐ne in which men feel entitled to 鈥渁ccost women without remorse and with a sense of impunity.鈥�

Her remarks apparently resonated with many women on Capitol Hill. On July 22, the Democratic Women鈥檚 Caucus declaring 鈥渇oul and personal attacks meant to intimidate or silence women cannot be tolerated.鈥�

The next month, more than 100 female lawmakers, including Democratic women in Congress and female parliamentarians from Germany, Pakistan, South Africa, and beyond, urging the social media company to more quickly delete abusive and threatening posts against female candidates and remove digitally manipulated images鈥攍ike 鈥攖hat spread disinformation about female politicians.

Shortly after, the anti-workplace-harassment group Time鈥檚 Up Now launched a new campaign, , calling on news media to avoid gender and racial stereotypes in covering female candidates during the 2020 election cycle.

Political Violence Against Women

Efforts to silence women in political spaces cause for democracy, studies show. Violence , , and from entering public service.

That, in fact, is the . It seeks to exclude or suppress opposing political viewpoints through assaults on candidates and partisan voter intimidation.

Misogyny adds another level to political violence. As I explain in my new book, 鈥�,鈥� sexist attacks against female politicians are not only driven by policy differences. They also question women鈥檚 rights, as women, to participate in the political process at all.

The most common form of violence against women in politics is psychological violence such as death threats and , according to data from and . But as the #MeToo movement has exposed, sexual violence is also a problem in and around the world.

Actual physical violence against women in politics is rare, but it does occur.

The assassination of Brazilian city councilwoman in 2018 and the attempted murder of U.S. Rep. in 2011 are examples. When targeting women of color like Franco, such attacks often reflect a combination of sexism and racism.

Costs to Democracy and Gender Equality

U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier has in Congress a form of 鈥渨eaponized sexism.鈥�

The perpetrators need not be men: Women themselves may internalize sexism鈥攁nd racism鈥攁nd deploy it against other women.

In September, Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congressional candidate from Georgia, to Facebook in which she was holding a gun alongside images of Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, and Tlaib, all women of color. Facebook soon removed the threatening image.

Violence should of exercising women鈥檚 political rights, says .

鈥淲e have every right to do our jobs,鈥� she said on Sept. 24, 鈥渁nd represent our communities without fearing for our safety.鈥�

This article was originally published by . It has been published here with permission.