Report
Authors
The Cost of Candidacy: Cyclical Online Gendered Violence across Elections in Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire
summary
The expansion of social media platforms and generative AI has reshaped political mobilization, activism, and public discourse across Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire. While these platforms offer women in politics (WIPs) and women human rights defenders (WHRDs) new avenues for visibility and advocacy, they have also become primary sites of gendered hostility, surveillance, and abuse. This report examines the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of online gender-based violence (OGBV) targeting WIPs and WHRDs across the full 2025 electoral cycle in both countries, drawing on quantitative analysis of over 100,000 social media posts alongside focus group discussions with 16 women in Tanzania and 20 in Côte d’Ivoire.