The expertise hubs enrich the international profile of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. They enable joint work across regions through their focus on globally relevant policy issues. These include questions of international financial and economic policy, digital policy, security, development and human rights policy.
We are Active in over 60 Countries: The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom is committed to working with all its strength for a liberal world. Our core concern is the realization of freedom and responsibility. We promote the development of democratic, market-based and constitutional structures so that more and more people can live in a liberal, democratic society.
Through the connection of EU experts, civil society, and decision makers we seek to foster open dialogue and discuss liberal policy solutions to European challenges. Together with our liberal partners, we develop formats and campaigns to promote rule of law, free markets and human rights. Moreover, we coordinate EU co-funded projects in the field of democracy support, development cooperation and human rights protection.
Through our seven offices in the MENA Region, we actively promote the political debate to support innovative liberal approaches and solutions. Our projects are liberal platforms on which the Foundation's partners from the Gulf to the Levant and the entire southern side of the Mediterranean can provide creative impulses and discuss geopolitical issues.
From our seven offices in Sub-Saharan Africa, we focus on promoting political networking. We are committed to strengthening liberalism and promoting human rights, the rule of law and the social market economy.
In North America, our focus is on the transatlantic partnership, which we see as a supporting pillar for the security and stability of Western democracies. We encourage the political debate and develop innovative liberal approaches. In Latin America we work to promote strong democratic institutions, respect for human rights and rule of law as well as promoting liberal dialogue throughout the region.
With its offices in Asia, the foundation supports programs to strengthen democratic processes, particularly free and fair elections, and transparent and accountable governance. The Foundation in the region also showcases innovation as a tool to encourage civic participation that further promotes freedom.
“Women need safer digital space to participate more in public discourse and governance,” a recent study commissioned by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in the Philippines highlights. “Reinforcing established laws and creating new ones specifically to prevent online violence against them will form safer environments in politics, and most importantly, mitigate the weakening of democratic institutions.”
The study, conducted by the Center for Liberalism and Democracy, examines digital violence against women in politics (VAWP) and how it becomes an effective tool to preserve the conservative and patriarchal status quo. The research, part of a global series on gendered disinformation released in time for International Women’s Day, explores the experiences of five prominent Filipina politicians and analyzes how gender-based attacks and disinformation distort political debate and weaken democratic representation.
Three common forms of digital violence are identified: non-consensual production and/or dissemination of intimate images or videos, threats of violence and/or blackmail, and cyberpornography or prostitution. Despite the Philippines’ progressive legal framework for women’s rights, none of these laws directly protect against the coordinated online harassment that often targets women leaders. Instead, the study recalls the personal stories of women who have encountered digital attacks while serving in public office. Former senator and now representative Leila de Lima, former vice president Leni Robredo, now mayor of Naga City, Vice President Sara Duterte, former representative Sarah Elago and Senator Risa Hontiveros all experienced explicit and vicious gendered insults, defamatory accusations, online mockery, threats and false claims. In many cases, their personal life and stories became the focus of public attentions rather than their policy initiatives. They were labeled for their appearance and sexuality based upon social constructs how women are highly emotional, vulnerable, and unfit to become leaders of society. These narratives intensified when they challenged prominent male politicians in power. Their male counterparts rarely, if not never, found themselves targets of attacks.
These patterns reflect deeper social dynamics. In many societies especially in Southeast Asia, political leadership remains associated with masculinity. Since women taking on positions of power are seen as deviations from societal norms, women often are at the receiving end of gendered backlash that normally takes the form of digital violence. Social media platforms amplify these dynamics by enhancing dissemination of harassment and disinformation within a short period. A single defamatory post can circulate widely within minutes, magnifying hostility and shaping public perceptions before facts can intervene. Such experiences have deterred many women from entering what remains a male-dominated field.
The study concludes that addressing digital violence against women in politics requires more than prosecuting individual imposers. It calls for stronger legal protections tailored specifically to women in political life, greater accountability for social media platforms that allow harassment to flourish, and increased public awareness to challenge norms that tolerate online misogyny. Equally critical is the need for citizens to develop stronger digital literacy and gender sensitivity. As political conversations increasingly move online, democratic societies must cultivate the ability to recognize disinformation and reject narratives rooted in prejudice.
Ultimately, the issue extends beyond the safety of individual politicians. When women are systematically harassed and silenced in digital spaces, the diversity of voices in democratic debate is diminished. Protecting women in politics from digital violence is therefore not only about gender equality, it is about safeguarding democracy itself.
Please download the study “Culture, Norms, and Disruptions: How Violence against Women in Politics is Amplified and Magnified in Digital Spaces” here.
*Hnin Wint Naing is the Regional Communications Officer of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom´s Regional Office Asia in Bangkok/Thailand.
How is violence against women in politics amplified online—and what does it do to democracy? This paper unpacks gendered disinformation in the Philippines, showing how weaponized stereotypes distort public debate, damage reputations, and deter women from participating in public and political life. The paper also maps the legal and political landscape, and offers practical entry points for a safer, more equitable digital space.
Part of an FNF-commissioned global series on gendered disinformation across multiple countries.
