Digital feminist activism against rape culture in universities: #Metoo in India and #RUReferenceList in South Africa

Dey, A. and Maluleke, G. 2026. Digital feminist activism against rape culture in universities: #Metoo in India and #RUReferenceList in South Africa. Feminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics. 10 (1) 6. https://doi.org/10.20897/femenc/17887

TitleDigital feminist activism against rape culture in universities: #Metoo in India and #RUReferenceList in South Africa
TypeJournal article
AuthorsDey, A. and Maluleke, G.
Abstract

In October 2017, Raya Sarkar, a 24-year-old Indian law student, joined the global #MeToo movement by creating a crowdsourced list on Facebook naming male Indian academics accused of sexual harassment. Similarly, a year and a half earlier, an anonymous list of men accused of sexual and gender-based violence surfaced on social media in South Africa, quickly going viral on a Rhodes University Facebook page and sparking student mobilization under the hashtag #RUReferenceList. This research draws on online data
from X and Facebook in South Africa and interviews with survivors and student activists in India to explore why survivors and activists in both countries turned to social media for justice. While some critics argue that these movements undermine due process and unfairly target individuals, our findings reveal that both sought to expose broader structures of violence. They emphasize the importance of moving beyond a narrow focus on due process to develop a more nuanced, intersectional understanding of campus rape culture. Both movements highlighted power dynamics, revealing the impunity of perpetrators within institutions and the vulnerability of survivors, and prompted the creation and sharing of these lists.

Keywordsuniversity, digital activism, rape culture, intersectionality, feminist activism
Article number6
JournalFeminist Encounters: A Journal of Critical Studies in Culture and Politics
Journal citation10 (1)
ISSN 2468-4414
Year2026
PublisherLectito Journals
Publisher's version
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access Level
Open (open metadata and files)
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.20897/femenc/17887
Publication dates
Published12 Feb 2026
ProjectFemIDEAS: Transforming Theory, Policy, and Practice to Decolonise Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education (Extension)
FunderUKRI | Medical Research Council

Related outputs

Online sexual harassment in UK universities: naming gendered harms
Dey, A. and Bull, A. 2026. Online sexual harassment in UK universities: naming gendered harms. in: Wright, J.J., Colpitts, E. and Zidenberg, A. (ed.) Unmasking Violence. Campus Sexual and Gender-Based Violence during COVID-19 Peter Lang. pp. 45-63

Sexual harassment in academia: victim-survivors speaking out, the politics of naming, and (lack of) institutional accountability
Dey, A., Shannon, E.R. and Quirk, J. 2026. Sexual harassment in academia: victim-survivors speaking out, the politics of naming, and (lack of) institutional accountability. Feminist Media Studies. 26 (3), pp. 1064-1071. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2025.2459117

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education in Brazil
Dey, A., Rodrigues Silva, C., Wild, J. and Shannon, E. 2026. Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education in Brazil. University of Westminster.

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education in Argentina
Dey, A., Wild, J., Lopez, G. and Shannon, E.R. 2026. Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education in Argentina. London University of Westminster.

The right to the campus- sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) in India universities
Dey, A. 2026. The right to the campus- sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) in India universities. Gender, Place & Culture. 33 (1), pp. 69-88. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2025.2567876

Sexual harassment in academia: victim-survivors speaking out, the politics of naming, and (lack of) institutional accountability
Dey, A., Shannon, E. and Quirk, J. 2026. Sexual harassment in academia: victim-survivors speaking out, the politics of naming, and (lack of) institutional accountability. Feminist Media Studies. 26 (3), pp. 1064-1071. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2025.2459117

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Nigerian Universities
Dey, A., Wild, J. and Shannon, E. 2025. Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Nigerian Universities. London, UK University of Westminster.

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education in South Africa
Dey, A., Wild, J. and Shannon, S. 2025. Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education in South Africa. London, UK University of Westminster.

North South Feminist Dialogue: Silencing Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Academia and The Politics of Naming
Dey, A. 2024. North South Feminist Dialogue: Silencing Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Academia and The Politics of Naming. London University of Westminster.

It's a joke, not a dick. So don't take it too hard”: Online Sexual Harassment in Indian Universities
Dey, A. 2024. It's a joke, not a dick. So don't take it too hard”: Online Sexual Harassment in Indian Universities . Feminist Media Studies. 24 (8), pp. 1830-1846. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2023.2266150

North-South Feminist Dialogue: Online Sexual Harassment in Higher Education (HE)
Dey, A. 2022. North-South Feminist Dialogue: Online Sexual Harassment in Higher Education (HE).

'It started with this one post’:# MeToo, India and higher education
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

We are Louder when we are Heard Together’: Sara Ahmed on Complaint!
Dey, A. 2022. We are Louder when we are Heard Together’: Sara Ahmed on Complaint! Wasafiri. 37 (1), pp. 22-30. https://doi.org/10.1080/02690055.2022.1999655

North-South Feminist Dialogue: Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Higher Education-Report
Dey, A. 2021. North-South Feminist Dialogue: Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Higher Education-Report.

A Comparative Study of the Delhi Nirbhaya Protests and the Occupy Nigeria Movement: Evaluating Uses of ICTs and Social Media
Dey, A. and Olabode, S. 2021. A Comparative Study of the Delhi Nirbhaya Protests and the Occupy Nigeria Movement: Evaluating Uses of ICTs and Social Media. in: Karatzogianni, A., Schandorf, M. and Ferra, I. (ed.) Protest Technologies and Media Revolutions: The Longue Durée Emerald Publishing Limited. pp. 177-195

Sites of Exception: Gender Violence, Digital Activism, and Nirbhaya’s Zone of Anomie in India
Dey, A. 2020. Sites of Exception: Gender Violence, Digital Activism, and Nirbhaya’s Zone of Anomie in India. Violence Against Women. 26 (11), pp. 1423-1444. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801219862633

Feminist activism 25 years after Beijing
Molyneux, M., Dey, A., Gatto, M. A. and Rowden, H. 2020. Feminist activism 25 years after Beijing. Gender & Development. 28 (2), pp. 315-336. https://doi.org/10.1080/13552074.2020.1750140

Me Too’and the ‘List’–Power Dynamics, Shame, and Accountability in Indian Academia
Dey, A. 2020. Me Too’and the ‘List’–Power Dynamics, Shame, and Accountability in Indian Academia. IDS Bulletin. 51 (2), pp. 63-79. https://doi.org/10.19088/1968-2020.130

Others’ within the ‘Others’: An Intersectional Analysis of Gender Violence in India
Dey, A. 2019. Others’ within the ‘Others’: An Intersectional Analysis of Gender Violence in India . Gender Issues. 36 (4), pp. 357-373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-019-09232-4

Nirbhaya, New Media and Digital Gender Activism
Dey, A. 2018. Nirbhaya, New Media and Digital Gender Activism. Emerald Publishing Limited.

A brief exploration of the effects of ICTs and social media on the gender activism in India post-December 16, 2012.
Dey, A. 2016. A brief exploration of the effects of ICTs and social media on the gender activism in India post-December 16, 2012. in: Cerqueira, C., Cabecinhas, R. and Magalhães,S.I. (ed.) Gender in focus: (new) trends in media Braga CECS - Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade. pp. 187-204

Gender and Class Intersectionality in India: an Analysis of the Nirbhaya Case, December 16th, 2012
Dey, A. and Orton, B. 2016. Gender and Class Intersectionality in India: an Analysis of the Nirbhaya Case, December 16th, 2012. in: Takhar, S. (ed.) Gender and Race Matter: Global Perspectives on Being a Woman Emerald Publishing Limited. pp. 87-105

Online Gender Activism in India and the participation of Indian Diaspora, 2012-2015
Dey, A. 2016. Online Gender Activism in India and the participation of Indian Diaspora, 2012-2015. in: Karatzogianni, A, Ngyen, D. and Serafinelli, E. (ed.) The Digital Transformation of the Public Sphere: Conflict, Migration, Crisis and Culture in Digital Networks Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 149-168

Permalink - https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/x57z1/digital-feminist-activism-against-rape-culture-in-universities-metoo-in-india-and-rureferencelist-in-south-africa


Share this

Usage statistics

17 total views
11 total downloads
These values cover views and downloads from WestminsterResearch and are for the period from September 2nd 2018, when this repository was created.