And right now, the conversations are on social media.Ī report by ALIGN, a United Kingdom-based knowledge-sharing platform, identified four ways social media can change unequal gender norms. South Africa’s Violence Prevention Forum, a platform for inter-sectoral dialogue to enhance safety, has demonstratedhow guided conversations can shift perceptions. So if social media can perpetuate misogynistic and unequal gender norms, could it be used to challenge gender inequality and prevent gender-based violence? Evidence suggests it can. Misogyny is amplified on social media perhaps because people feel at ease voicing their opinions from a keyboard or phone, at a distance or hidden behind an anonymous account.
The audio of her crying became a TikTok trend. Many users performed mocking re-enactments of her testimony, lip-syncing along as she recounted the alleged abuse. Rather than expressing disgust at Depp, much online content was aimed at humiliating Heard.
#STOCK PHOTO POLICE OFFICER TRIAL#
The recent high-profile civil trial between American actors and former spouses Johnny Depp and Amber Heard demonstrates how prolific misogyny can become online.ĭuring the trial, evidence emerged of misogynistic statementsmade by Depp against Heard. Narratives that perpetuate gender inequality in the media are nothing new and occur worldwide. This has contributed to online gender-based violence – which includes stalking, hacking and cyberbullying of women by men. A 2020 studyon women’s experiences of online gender-based violence in sub-Saharan Africa shows that misogynistic discourse perpetuates and normalises unequal gender norms. The rise in social media users has been accompanied by online misogyny – expression and behaviour that reveals a deep contempt for women.
#STOCK PHOTO POLICE OFFICER OFFLINE#
This suggests that the boundaries between the online and offline worlds are becoming increasingly blurred. More than ever, online and offline conversations simultaneously influence each other and have serious real-world consequences. Given social media’s ever-increasing reach, how we ‘speak’ online needs attention. We must also ensure that it isn’t used to further generate violence. In a country where the femicide rate is sixtimes the global average, social media can help prevent gender-based violence. But it can also mobilise the public and build solidarity, as the 2015 #FeesMustFall campaign revealed. This powerful medium influences public opinion and can promote and legitimise intolerance, distrust and hate, for examplewith campaigns like the xenophobic #OperationDudula. And social media is widely used for accessing news and current affairs. Twitter had an estimated nine million users, over 80 per cent of whom were aged between 15 and 44. In 2021, almost halfof South African adults – over 25 million people – used social media.
0 kommentar(er)
