When Sally Flannery announced on social media that she was considering running for local government elections this year, she didn’t expect a campaign of intimidation and fear to be waged against her by Lismore locals.

When the intimidation was brought into her workplace and then to her home, as well as on social media, that’s when she knew she should not be afraid and speak out about it.

In speaking up, Sally hopes are that other women and men who have been subjected to the same kind of intimidation will also speak up about what happened to them - and to not be scared off running for local election.

The intimidation began when Sally’s employer was contacted by someone demanding Sally’s phone number.

Sally’s employer told the Lismore App that the call came a couple of days after Sally announced she was considering running for Lismore City Council, but he refused to give out her number.

“The person then asked me to pass Sally a message, saying Sally needed to run under this person on their election ticket," he said. "And if she didn’t, she should be prepared for six months of public humiliation and having her name dragged through the mud.

“I said that’s not going to happen and I asked him why he was doing this and he said ‘just pass on message’.”

The phone call was just the beginning.

Shaken

“I was shaken and angry,” Sally said. “Within the same week, my front door was smashed and the mailbox was ripped off the wall. I’ve seen the camera footage and police are investigating it.

“I was worried and it made me wonder if I should run. So, I talked to other local women who were considering running for election and they had also been threatened in the same week and were also wondering if they should run.

“I posted about what had happened on social media and then one of the people involved started targeting me and my employer with negative comments on social media.

“I had dozens of women come forward and some men too, but the majority were women. I realised it was the same pattern of threats and intimidation to make people scared.

Stalked

“Some people told me they had been stalked and had installed security fences and alarms.

“One woman said her employer had also been targeted by the same person and it put her under stress.

“People who have children get targeted at their home address or their employment places. It’s psychological warfare, targeting people’s sense of security and safety and weaken them in their place of employment.

Name and shame

“I wanted to call attention to it - and I eventually named and shamed the people involved and that’s when the threats eased.

“I did it because this needs to be called out and I hope more people come forward more publicly and are not too scared to say what has been happening to them - and not let the intimidation get to them.”

Inaction

Sally said she took her story to the NSW Electoral Commission (NSW EC) and the chief commissioner investigated it.

“But they can only act on things that relate specifically to the misrepresentation of information regarding the casting of votes,” she said, “They said it was a police issue.

“I also reported it to the local police who said my option was to sue for defamation or get a personal violence order. But if there is no proof, it’s hard to prosecute - if the threats are made in person or on the phone.”

The election issue

In September this year, the people of Lismore will vote for a new cohort of local government councillors – and anyone intending on running has until July to formally put their intentions to stand for election to the NSW EC.

While Sally has not formally submitted her intention to run, she is worried that other women who have been intending to run have been scared off running - and afraid to go public.

“In NSW, female representation in local government is 31%, so we are not yet equal and I want to see more women run for council,” she said.

“But everyone sees what happens when there is a vendetta against someone - when people threaten you, others see how hostile and relentless it is.

“I can’t ignore this. I’m happy to share my experience now - and I know it makes me a target.

“Because of that I decided to speak up loudly about it, especially considering what’s going on at a national level with bullying and sexual harassment in politics.

Systemic bullying and politics

“It’s a systemic problem – it’s not just in our area.

“I posted about the issue in another group that I’m a member of and asked for their advice on how to proceed – especially considering the NSW EC and police couldn’t act on it.

“If anyone makes a complaint, each incident is investigated individually and they can’t see a pattern in the system.

Common experience

“At least 15 Councillors from across Australia reached out to me and offered support and talked about how common their experiences are.

“It’s not just a women’s issue. There are intimidation tactics such as threats, or being told your house would be burnt down. I thought Lismore was an extreme case but it does seem to be happening everywhere.

“In a world of politics where women are already misrepresented, it’s already difficult - and then to have extreme intimidation as well – it’s too much for some people.

Canberra

“One of the female political staffers from federal politics that was recently in the news contacted me with words of support.

“It made me realise how uncommon it is to speak up about these things. Many only wanted to talk privately and I could see there was a lot of fear around speaking up.

“It’s important to have support and to feel you can speak up.”

Keyboard warriors

“You might think some of these bullies are just keyboard warriors, and try to ignore them, but it’s done to back up their intimidation done offline. It’s calculated intimidation.

“Every person should have a right to participate in their own community without intimidation and we need community support to speak up when it happens.”

Legislation changes

Sally said the legal system hasn’t caught up with this ‘systemic bullying’ and needs some serious changes made.

“On a legislative scale, we need to address the policing of this behaviour," she said. "The NSW EC can’t act on it, but in other States, there are protections against this.

“The system isn’t designed to identify patterns of behaviour and keep account of collective experience – especially if we want to see a more diverse representation of people on local councils.

“The main age of councillors is in their 60s, but the main voter age is in their 30s.”

Sally won’t be quiet about the issue and wants everyone to call bullying out – whether it is online and offline.

When it comes to whether she will actually run for Council this year, she hasn’t made it official. But she intends to keep her passion strong for the Lismore community and tackle one hurdle at a time. 

“I also want to let people know that you don’t need to be aggressive to get things done – and you shouldn’t mistake kindness for weakness,” she said.

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