Female Politicians Won't Be Bullied By Threatening Calls - Mayor Barron

The Mayor of Wexford says female politicians are supporting each other after receiving threatening phone calls recently.

Councillor Vicky Barron says she's been targetted a number of times over the last week by a caller who claims to have a sexual interest in children.

The calls have been reported to the Gardai and Mayor Barron says she won't be intimidated by this person.

She told the Morning Mix she had been prepared by fellow female politicians who received similar calls:

"I knew this call was coming so quite early on, I hung up on it but for some of the female councillors who got this call initially it was very distressing as you can imagine.

"Excuse me now, but this is just a gobshite who has nothing better to do with his time other than sit around all day and ring female councillors to try and intimidate them.

"I have no idea what this is about but we are strong and we are working together to cooperate with the Gardai and report all calls."

Mayor Barron says it's been a huge nuisance but she has taken steps to make sure she's not caught out like this again.

"For me, it began on Thursday with 2 calls, I got 8 on Sunday and I've gotten 2 more this morning.

"I've now gotten call screening on my phone so I know if a call is coming in and I won't answer it.

"What I would ask is that if you are ringing your local councillor, please make sure your number is identifiable because we won't be answering any more private calls."

Councillor Barron, who has only recently taken up the role as Mayor for the first time, says this is just a continuation of what is happening all the time for women representatives online.

"There are nameless and faceless people who write horrible things and hate filled posts and they think it's okay.

"We need to get back to the social media giants that are making billions out of us but they say 'oh we can't police that'. They need to police that and we need stronger legislation to make sure that these hate crimes stop."

Mayor Barron says she hopes an incident like this won't turn women off participating in politics because they are needed more than ever.

She highlighted how there is loads of support for those who are making the journey into public representation and you will never be alone on an issue like this.

"The moral of the story is if you're a woman, please, we need your voice and we need your presence in politics.

"You have a wonderful group of women in Wexford and nationally who will support you."

That report was funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.