Before #MeToo: Violence against Women Social Media Work, Bystander Intervention, and Social Change

Abstract

High-profile, social-media-fueled movements such as #MeToo have captured broader public attention in recent years and sparked widespread discussion of violence against women (VAW). However, online prevention work was underway in the years leading up to #MeToo, as the emergence and proliferation of social media enabled individuals to be increasingly active participants in shaping conversations about VAW. Situated within feminist VAW scholarship and the social–ecological framework of violence prevention, this paper draws from interviews with a cross-section of service providers, public educators, activists, advocates, writers, and researchers to analyze “conversation” as a central theme in VAW prevention work in social media. Results reveal that these conversations take place in three central ways: (1) engaging wider audiences in conversations to raise awareness about VAW; (2) narrative shifts challenging societal norms that support or enable VAW; and (3) mobilization around high-profile news stories. The paper finds that, through these conversations, this work moves beyond individual-level risk factors to target much needed community- and societal-level aspects, primarily harmful social norms that circulate and become reinforced in digital media spaces. Moreover, while bystander intervention has traditionally been approached as an offline pursuit to intervene in face-to-face situations of VAW, this paper argues that we can understand and value these VAW prevention efforts as an online form of bystander intervention. Finally, resource challenges and VAW prevention workers’ experiences of harassment and abuse related to their online work highlights a need to strengthen social and institutional supports for this work.

#MeToo, #MeThree, #MeFour: Twitter as community building across academic and corporate institutions

“…Violence prevention research often utilizes variations of the social‐ecological framework to categorize the multiple causes and effects of interpersonal violence. Twitter allows for a shift in the narrative surrounding sexual harassment from the individual level to the community and societal levels within the ecological framework (Fairbairn, 2020).…”

Persistent Suffering: The Serious Consequences of Sexual Violence against Women and Girls, Their Search for Inner Healing and the Significance of the #MeToo Movement

“…The #MeToo movement served as a powerful social support for many women who had been sexually assaulted and who had never reported the violence they experienced [ 1 , 42 ]. Social support strengthens the immune system and is one of the most important aspects of healing after sexual violence.…”

Content analysis of responses to The Line, an Australian primary prevention of violence against women campaign on Facebook

“…Research to guide the best practice for PVAW campaigns suggests that campaigns should engage with young people ‘where they are at’: in their existing peer groups and networks, including social media and other digital technologies, even if these approaches may have significant resourcing needs 23,24 . Given social media's role in supporting young people's socialisation, many organisations have become increasingly reliant on building evidence‐based online resources and engaging with youth on digital platforms 25,26 . Strategies have included web‐based platforms, social and mass media campaigns, digital apps as well as online training 25,27 .…”

“…23 , 24 Given social media's role in supporting young people's socialisation, many organisations have become increasingly reliant on building evidence‐based online resources and engaging with youth on digital platforms. 25 , 26 Strategies have included web‐based platforms, social and mass media campaigns, digital apps as well as online training. 25 , 27 Yet the design features of apps often respond to the consequences of violence rather than disrupt harmful attitudes or behaviours.…”

“… 25 , 26 Strategies have included web‐based platforms, social and mass media campaigns, digital apps as well as online training. 25 , 27 Yet the design features of apps often respond to the consequences of violence rather than disrupt harmful attitudes or behaviours. For example, in a 2017 analysis of self‐defined “anti‐rape” apps, 87% of features were for potential victims, 12% for bystanders, and 1% for potential perpetrators of sexual violence.…”