Empowered Women

One needs only to examine recent international current events to see the Internet's influence on social movements. While there is an abundance of literature surrounding the Chinese government's attempt to restrict the Internet in China and Chinese citizens'responsive endeavors to thwart the Great Firewall, little research has been conducted on how marginalized groups utilize the World Wide Web to voice their opinions, find information, and find a supportive anonymous forum. My thesis discusses the social conditions under which the Internet has become a platform for women seeking empowerment and examines the online treatment of an issue that embodies a fairly obvious infringement of women's rights—domestic violence. By analyzing netizen (online user) discourse surrounding domestic violence, the ability of domestic violence victims to secure assistance after soliciting help online, and the constructiveness of online platforms, this paper explores the way in which the Internet supports and sometimes impedes Chinese female domestic violence victims in their endeavors to seek help. Using the case of Juan Zhou, a female teacher from Nanchang, Jiangxi, this paper addresses the challenges facing female domestic violence victims who publicize their stories online or utilize the Internet to seek help. As the credibility of Internet websites and online user statements is frequently questioned, this factor will undoubtedly impact the perceived veracity of female victims who publish their stories and the treatment of their cases. This paper highlights the anti-domestic violence website message board of a government-sponsored organization (China Law Society) as a potential model for anti-domestic violence online platforms. While the Internet alone cannot directly solve gender-based violence in China, it can ameliorate the gap between social organizations, legal institutions and the victims they serve, especially when websites provide a constructive anonymous platform directed at female victims seeking support, empathy and legal resources or information.