intimidation

In particular, Mr Rangarajan said he was concerned at unacceptable levels of intimidation and harassment directed at women and candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Abuse and intimidation can have a significant impact on candidates’ campaign activity, the report added, with 66% of female respondents saying they avoided campaigning alone due to a fear of abuse.

Safeguards were tightened following the murders of MPs Jo Cox in 2016 and Sir David Amess in 2021 and anyone convicted of intimidation offences relating to elections can be banned from holding elected office for five years.

This serves as the background rationale for a wide range of voter-suppression efforts and extra-legal intimidation tactics.

How can independent journalists keep intimidation efforts like these at arm’s length?