A representative group for local
government is launching a ‘how-to’ guidebook to help elected
members stay safe ahead of this year’s local
elections.
It comes as the government launches a
toolkit of its own to help women and their employers
navigate online harm.
Local Government New Zealand
(LGNZ) says the abuse
and harassment of elected members has been increasing,
and councils were concerned about a potential chilling
effect on people standing in local elections this
year.
Chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said the
abuse was both online and in-person, and ranged from threats
of physical harm to being harassed and intimidated in
public.
“We’re seeing elected members pick their kids
up from school and get abused, we’re seeing them in the
supermarket get abused and threatened, and we’re seeing
threats to families. So, it is tipping beyond normal
engagement that our elected members all expect.
“Our
elected members and councillors have a really high threshold
of tolerance…It’s really important they are at the front
line of their communities. They want to know what their
communities say and think and feel – what we’re talking
about here is when it tips into the next level of
intimidation, threats, aggression and abuse that stops them
doing their job.”
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Freeman-Green said she had spoken to
people who were intending to run for council this year who
had witnessed the abuse and harassment that some elected
members receive, and as a result were thinking twice about
putting their hand up.
“They start asking themselves
‘do I really want a job where my family might be subjected
to abuse and threats from the public?'” she said.
“We
know that people are thinking about this a lot and we just
want to keep encouraging people to stand. Local government
makes decisions that affect our lives every single day. It
is such an important, fundamental place in our democracy and
we need good candidates.
“In an election year, we want
really good people to stand and we want them to feel safe
when they do.”
She said the amount of abuse, its
seriousness, and frequency was all increasing.
“It’s
much easier to do so online these days and we’ve had a
pretty tough environment across the piece in New Zealand and
through Covid, and all of these things
contribute.”
The guide is being launched this morning
at an all-of-local government meeting, with mayors as well
as council chairs and chief executives gathering in
Wellington.
It includes strategies on how elected
members and candidates can stay safe online, including risk
mitigation such as separating public profiles from private
ones, and using a new phone number or PO Box for their
campaigns.
A section on staying safe in public
contains scenarios on what to do in a tense public meeting
or when approached in a public place by an upset member of
the public or Sovereign Citizen (as well as the options they
can take if behaviour approaches the legal definition of
harassment), and how to mitigate risks at
home.
Government launches toolkit to help women
address online harm
Minister for Women Nicola Grigg
planned to announce a toolkit the government was launching
to help women and their employers address online
harm.
However, she was unable to attend in person due
to severe weather and flight cancellations, and instead
addressed the meeting via teleconferencing.
The
toolkit, developed by the Ministry for Women in
collaboration with Netsafe, includes interactive educational
modules, practical resources, and real-world case studies
from women in leadership and public-facing
roles.
Grigg said research showed the alarming impact
abuse
and harassment on social media was having on women,
particularly those in the public eye, including
self-censoring, avoiding digital platforms, and having less
contact with the public.
“The prevalence of online
harm has become a serious issue, disproportionately
impacting women who are in the public eye. The growing
phenomenon of online abuse has the very real potential to
deter women from stepping into leadership roles and engaging
in public and political life,” she said.
“We know from
the data and evidence that many many women are deterred and
turned off from these kinds of careers and jobs because of
the prevalence of the online harm they’re
facing.”
Grigg said the toolkit was based on the
Harmful Digital Communications Act, giving advice to
employees and employers to recognise and know when to
act.
“And then courts obviously then have a
responsibility to act on it as well and instruct any
takedowns that may be necessary.”
Freeman-Greene said
LGNZ was “delighted” the government had released the
toolkit.
“It’s vital that women leaders – who are in
the spotlight across a range of sectors – have tools to
combat abuse and harassment. It’s clear from our survey data
that women are particularly at risk of gendered abuse,” she
said.
She noted it was not just women elected members
who were facing abuse.
While most of the day’s
discussion topics will be around infrastructure funding,
Freeman-Greene said it was important in an election year for
candidates and elected members to also feel safe from
harm.
Building and construction minister Chris Penk
and local government minister Simon Watts are also expected
to speak about their portfolios in the
afternoon.
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