Jyoti Singh was a young Indian medical student who in 2012 was gang-raped in a moving bus and assaulted with an iron rod, before being thrown out and left to die. The landmark Nirbhaya case, as it became known, enraged men and women and protests erupted across the country. Many took their frustrations online, demanding justice and social change which attracted global attention. People used hashtags to draw attention to the incident and raise real-world concerns about women's safety in public spaces.
But as effective as online activism was in this case, such movements fail to include all women. In some instances, online activism may not be adequate in reducing gender-based violence.
Digital activism has rightly been credited with raising significant awareness. The Nirbhaya case eventually led to an amendment of the Indian Penal Code and Evidence Act on laws related to sexual offences, with significant changes including quicker trials, and the death penalty for rare cases of violent rapes. Such activism creates safe spaces for women who are often marginalised in their societies. Social media, blogs and forums allow women to discuss personal and political issues from reproductive rights to verbal and non-verbal attacks, wage inequities and autonomy over their bodies, which they might not otherwise be able to address without online solidarity.
