Bullets sent via mail, threats of gang rape and a permanent police escort: all of these are routine for Laura Boldrini, a member of parliament in Italy. 

The MP and former speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, who campaigns for the rights of migrants and women at a time when Italy’s politics is dominated by anti-immigration and anti-establishment parties, has become a punching bag on social media and beyond.

“I am outspoken, I don't hide, and I dedicate myself to social issues, human rights and women's rights. I am an anti-fascist,” Boldrini said recently, in her office in Rome.

Last week, Italy’s government collapsed, plunging the financially fragile European nation into a renewed period of uncertainty. During the government’s 14-month tenure, the nationalist-populist coalition of the hard-right, anti-migrant League party and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, attacked the European Union, demonized migrants and praised authoritarian figures like President Vladimir Putin.