Abstract
This chapter explores how female Indonesian journalists collaborated with gender activists to address violence against women in Indonesia, a large postcolonial country in Southeast Asia. As part of the Global South, Indonesia is under a relatively new authoritarian regime, which challenges the country’s diverse and robust democratic media ecosystems and freedom of speech. Linked to the long-term effects of economic inequality and a lack of access to other resources, these challenges continue to reshape feminist media responses to violence against women in Indonesia. Before the global #MeToo movement commenced in 2017, Indonesian gender equality activists used online education campaigns such as #MulaiBicara (“start talking”) and #TalkAboutIt to encourage women to speak about sexual assault and harassment. Chapter 2 focuses on the stories of two female Indonesian journalists from online magazines Magdalene.co and Konde.co who collaborated with gender activists before, during, and after the revitalization of #MeToo. In this chapter, the two journalists illuminate what is often a taboo topic of violence against women in the Indonesian media, and they describe how they navigate the line between journalism and activism, often under difficult circumstances, to report on sexual violence in meaningful and ethical ways.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Violence Against Women in the Global South |
Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
ISBN (Print) | 978-3-031-30911-3 |
Publication status | Published - 2 Aug 2023 |