A DURHAM County Councillor that’s faced fat-shaming and misogynistic comments has opened up about the “torrent of abuse” that she’s had to endure during her political career – but says that “the trolls will never win” after rising up the ranks of local and regional politics in recent years.

Samantha Townsend first endured abusive comments in 2017 while she was a Shildon Parish Councillor and relatively new to politics.

What first started out as online abuse, which included targeted campaigns of name calling, fat-shaming and constant bullying of her character, quickly turned into physical threats when she went out campaigning in her local area for the Labour Party.

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Between 2017 and 2019, Samantha says that she was subject to “awful” and “unfair” levels of abuse that saw her get daily abuse on social media and people filming her whenever she left the house, calling her a “communist”.

The councillor said: “It doesn’t matter how much power you have – people will always be looking to try and tear down what you’re doing and trying to intimidate you in any way they want.

“It was difficult to cope with people targeting you and calling you ever name under the sun – making misogynistic comments, commenting about your weight. People kicking off because you’re a big lass that wants to make a difference in the local area.

The Northern Echo: As well as the online abuse, Samantha has also been targeted while out campaigning with the Labour Party. Picture: SAMANTHA TOWNSEND.As well as the online abuse, Samantha has also been targeted while out campaigning with the Labour Party. Picture: SAMANTHA TOWNSEND.

“During the two years that I was a parish councillor, the trolls made my life a living hell – every time I’d open my phone, my blood ran cold, worrying about what awful things they’d be saying on that given day.”

In those low moments for Samantha, the worst part was the ‘unknown’ nature of those abusing her on Twitter. While she had an inkling at who was behind the abuse, she “panicked” herself about who she could trust.

Fast forward three years, and Samantha has escaped much of the abuse and has moved to be elected to Durham County Council in the Shildon and Dene Valley division, where she has more protection from the trolls.

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However, despite ‘beating’ the trolls and abusers of her past political life, she is now keen to spread the message that those that target councillors and political figures “won’t win”.

In her four years in local and regional politics, Samantha has seen several examples of how people have been discouraged to go into the political discipline because of abuse, including one Labour colleague that was hit with homophobic slurs.

She added: “I’ve won, and the trolls will never win, but I can’t stop thinking of those that get dissuaded from abuse. Yes, I can cope with this but others that receive homophobic, fatphobic, other abuse can’t.

The Northern Echo: The councillor believes that social media companies should do more to protect users on their platforms. Picture: SAMANTHA TOWNSEND.The councillor believes that social media companies should do more to protect users on their platforms. Picture: SAMANTHA TOWNSEND.

“We need more people under the age of 35, more diversity in politics, but those that are discouraged get lost in the system early on.”

Now that Samantha has had more time to think about the abuse she first endured in 2017, she believes that social media companies have a lot more that they can do about online trolls.

Alongside her queries of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the councillor has cited Durham County Council’s new policy that looks to protect elected representatives more after the notable death of David Amess MP last year.

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She added: “Setting personal boundaries and not letting everyone get an insight into your life and everything that’s going on is important.

“My message to people who are in the same boat would be to not bottle it up and speak out about it. It’s not easy, but not talking to people and carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders is never the answer.”

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