Failure to address online abuse of female politicians could lead to silencing of women's voices

University of Galway research found that 96% of women surveyed had received abusive social media messages

University of Galway said abusive social media messages aimed at women in politics contained hate speech, foul language and inappropriate comments.

A failure to address cyber violence against women in politics could lead to the silencing of women's voices, an academic has said.

University of Galway Associate Professor, Tom Felle, is calling for new laws and €1bn fines to criminalise social media companies who fail to tackle cyber violence against women.