Representation and beyond : female victims in Post-Suharto media

This study analyses representations of female victims in post-Suharto media. In focusing on the discourse of female victimisation, it also underlines the import of the fall of the New Order regime and the opening of the media world in Indonesia at the same time. It selected notably prevalent and influential issues among media producers, feminist activists, social scientists, policy makers, and general audiences that emerged during the period of study (1998-2004). Based on observations at women’s NGOs and other institutions that are concerned about women, interviews and informal conversations with individuals engaged in projects related to mediation of women, and content analysis of numerous media presentations, both mainstream and alternative, this study finds that the context of reformasi (reform) has been a major factor influencing the changes that affected women and the media, and most importantly, on the burgeoning of the discourse of female victimisation. The representations of various images of female victims discussed in this study provide examples of how the opening of the media during the initial processes of reformasi prepared the ground for, and was partly boosted by, women’s abundant use of the media to express their ideas and protests.LEI Universiteit LeidenThe Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in the framework of the Scientific Programme Indonesia – Netherlands (SPIN)FSW - Global Connections --- Ou