Gagging, co-ordinated attacks: reality for female MPs

Tracee Hutchison, a veteran TV and radio broadcaster, ran as an independent candidate for a 2026 by-election in Victoria's Nepean state seat. Despite receiving almost a quarter of first preferences in the May by-election, she decided not to contest the November state election due to increasing violence towards women. The campaign was plagued by death threats, pictures of her being gagged, and coordinated attacks to smear her and affiliate her with causes she did not support.

Hutchison reported these threats to the Victorian Electoral Commission daily during pre-polling, but little could be done as there was no framework for officers to intervene. The attacks were primarily orchestrated by a group of young men, according to Hutchison. Fellow Victorian politician Georgie Purcell, who is a state upper-house politician for the Animal Justice Party, has also expressed her concerns, having received thousands of death and sexual assault threats.

One of her supporters even wished for her own death on her social media post about Helen Haines, a federal independent who is currently in critical condition after a car rammed her near her electorate office. Both Hutchison and Purcell have called for increased security measures before the November Victorian election, demanding better support from the Victorian Police and Australian Federal Police to ensure the safety of female politicians during campaigns.