Research Findings Zimbabwe Peace Project Sexualised attacks 9 Sexualised attacks are a form of gendered disinformation on women politicians and activists. In the run up to the August 2023 elections, women in politics experienced unwanted sexualised comments on and offline. Perpetrators of sexualised attacks used metaphors to depict women as food. Comments ranged from “who is eating” and “food for senior politicians.” The depiction of women as food for male politicians trivialises women in politics and as such, is antithetic to gender equality in politics. It depicts women as sex objects for men. It also portrayed women politicians as dependent on their sexuality for political survival. These attacks are common when women assume new and higher political positions. Pictures below demonstrate how female politicians such as Fadzai Mahere and Charlotte Tinotenda Mukarati were portrayed as side dishes and small houses of senior politicians from their political parties. 20

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