Indonesian Female Journalists and Gender Activism in the #MeToo Era: From #MulaiBicara and #TalkAboutIt

Abstract

This chapter explores how female Indonesian journalists collaborated with gender activists to address violence against women in Indonesia, a large postcolonial country in Southeast Asia. As part of the Global South, Indonesia is under a relatively new authoritarian regime, which challenges the country’s diverse and robust democratic media ecosystems and freedom of speech. Linked to the long-term effects of economic inequality and a lack of access to other resources, these challenges continue to reshape feminist media responses to violence against women in Indonesia. Before the global #MeToo movement commenced in 2017, Indonesian gender equality activists used online education campaigns such ..