The Effects of Violence against U.S. Officeholders

Abstract

Abstract Using an original 2021 survey of mayors in U.S. mayors in cities of 10,000 in population and above, we explore the individual costs of psychological and physical violence. These costs include emotional distress, diverted attention from the job, and considerations about leaving the job. Overall, we find that 95 percent of mayors faced violence in office. Among those who did, the more violence reported, the more likely they were to have faced such costs. Further, those mayors (mostly women) who faced sexualized violence were more likely to have reported those effects. All told, violence against officeholders has individual effects as well as systemic ones. If violence keeps mayors from being able to do their job fully or causes them to leave it, the political costs may be quite grave in terms of losing experienced representatives—and it may also have disparate effects on particular groups of officeholders, such as women.