Taiwan is often identified as a gender equality champion. Yet, for years its lack of a #MeToo movement defied Lee and Murdie’s (2020) theory that #MeToo is more likely to spread to countries where...Show moreTaiwan is often identified as a gender equality champion. Yet, for years its lack of a #MeToo movement defied Lee and Murdie’s (2020) theory that #MeToo is more likely to spread to countries where civil and political rights are better protected. This left academia and feminist activism puzzled until May 2023, when Taiwan surprised its observers again by suddenly developing a strong #MeToo wave. This thesis argues that the peculiar development arc of Taiwan’s #MeToo suggests a theoretical gap about the movement as a whole, and attempts to fill it by researching the empirical question of what shapes Taiwanese sexual violence survivors’ ability to Speak Out. The thesis answers these questions by employing an anti-carceral feminist take on the Politics of Speaking Out framework to conduct a thematic analysis of online archives. It concludes that Taiwan’s #MeToo movement simultaneously showcases #MeToo’s strengths, confirming its positive contribution towards gender justice, as well as its structural weaknesses. Findings indicate that survivors Speak Out when they perceive the opening of an opportunity window for accessing justice. #MeToo’s Speaking Out tactic, unlike the carceral state’s legal tools, can provide that window. However, the carceralist contexts it emerges in quickly co-opt the movement, limiting the extent of the cultural change it can generate.Show less
This thesis examined whether the attitude of Indian society towards sexual violence has actually changed since the gruesome rape case in 2012. This is tested through the media discourse analysis on...Show moreThis thesis examined whether the attitude of Indian society towards sexual violence has actually changed since the gruesome rape case in 2012. This is tested through the media discourse analysis on three significant cases and hybrid analysis of past research on rape myth acceptance amongst students. This thesis finds that the attitudes have in fact not changed since the case in 2012, and then propose a potential cultural factor of passiveness as a reason for this lack of significant change in attitude. The thesis goes on to discuss differences between attitudes and demographical parameters such as caste and gender but has limited assumptions to make due to a limited dataset.Show less
This paper investigates the question ‘How did sexual violence become a weapon of war during the 1994 conflict in Rwanda?’ It does so by analyzing ethnic and gender identities in Rwanda prior to...Show moreThis paper investigates the question ‘How did sexual violence become a weapon of war during the 1994 conflict in Rwanda?’ It does so by analyzing ethnic and gender identities in Rwanda prior to 1994. It delves into the manners in which media played a role in shaping narratives of identity which might have triggered an upsurge of sexually violent actions among the Rwandan population. Finally the paper will uncover the how the government exploited notions of identity in order to increase the incidence of rape during the genocide of 1994. Furthermore the paper revolves around the terminology of sexual violence as a weapon of war, aiming to uncover the significance of such terminology, while making use of it in the research.Show less
