Women more likely to quit council over abuse, putting gender parity at risk

Victoria leads the country on gender parity in local government, with 43.8 per cent of women councillors after the 2020 election, compared to 27 per cent in 2000. The Andrews government is aiming for 50 per cent after the election next October.

The La Trobe University study of 200 councillors from across all 79 Victorian councils, titled From online trolls to ‘Slut Shaming’: understanding the role of incivility and gender abuse in local government, examined councillors who said they did…