Dey, A. and Mendes, K. 2022. 'It started with this one post’:# MeToo, India and higher education. Journal of Gender Studies. 31 (2), pp. 204-215. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2021.1907552
| Title | 'It started with this one post’:# MeToo, India and higher education |
|---|---|
| Type | Journal article |
| Authors | Dey, A. and Mendes, K. |
| Abstract | In October 2017, Raya Sarkar, a 24-year-old law student from India, posted a crowdsourced list on Facebook of male Indian academics who allegedly harassed women. This led to the start of the #MeToo movement in India, where universities became key spaces of discussion, debate and activism. Due to failures of both the criminal justice system and the described capitalist, patriarchal, casteist structures of Indian academia, hundreds of survivors who had experienced sexual violence at universities came forward online, disclosing their stories of harassment and abuse. Drawing from interviews with seven sexual violence survivors who disclosed their experiences online, this paper provides insight into reasons why survivors choose to bypass formal reporting mechanisms in HEIs, and instead turn to online spaces in their search for justice and healing. We argue that students are wary of university processes and often seek alternative forms of justice beyond the ‘punishment’ that HEIs are often unable or unwilling to provide. As such, this article provides compelling empirical evidence of the urgent need for universities to adopt survivor-centred approaches in their processes and conceptualization of justice, as well as how online spaces enable healing, catharsis and new means of informal justice. |
| Journal | Journal of Gender Studies |
| Journal citation | 31 (2), pp. 204-215 |
| ISSN | 0958-9236 |
| 1465-3869 | |
| Year | 2022 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| Publisher's version | License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2021.1907552 |
| Publication dates | |
| Published online | 28 Apr 2021 |
| Published in print | 2022 |