Online gender-based violence in Indonesia’s 2024 elections: evidence from social media and women politicians’ experiences

Abstract

Violence against women in politics (VAWP) is a complex phenomenon rooted in patriarchal social, cultural, and institutional structures which in the digital era increasingly extends into online spaces. This article examines online gender-based violence (OGBV) against women during Indonesia’s 2024 simultaneous elections. Building on the literature on violence against women in politics and digital misogyny, the study investigates how women are represented and targeted in online electoral discourse and how these patterns relate to women politicians’ lived experiences. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was employed, beginning with quantitative social media analysis, which subsequently informed the development of qualitative interviews and focus group discussions to contextualize the findings. Results indicate that neutral sentiment predominates in online discourse referencing women during the campaign period, while explicitly negative sentiment accounts for a smaller proportion of interactions. Nevertheless, qualitative evidence demonstratesthat women political actors encountered persistent and consequential forms of online harassment, including verbal abuse, sexualized commentary, reputational attacks, and misinformation. By integrating computational analysis with qualitative insights, the study identifies a “masking effect,” in which women’s marginal and limited visibility in electoral discourse obscures the presence and impact of gender-based hostility. The findings highlight the limitations of aggregate sentiment analysis in capturing these dynamics. This research contributes empirical evidence from Indonesia and emphasizes the necessity of mixed-method approaches and a robust gender-responsive regulatory framework to address OGBV in electoral politics.