We invite presenters to submit paper abstracts for a two-part panel for the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) Annual Conference held in March 24-27, 2022 in Hawaii. Our two-part panel will be an entirely virtual one, so presenters are not expected to travel.  

Technology Facilitated Sexual Violence (TFSV) in Asia

Chairs/Organizers: Michelle Ho and Shivani Gupta, National University of Singapore
Discussants: TBA

Technology facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) refers to a range of behaviors using or aided by various digital technologies to harm, offend, humiliate, or intimidate women and other individuals. Some examples of TFSV include sextortion, sexual voyeurism, revenge pornography, and online sexual harassment. This two-part panel explores the lived experience of TFSV victims-survivors in various parts of Asia, including but not limited to laws and policies governing TFSV, support and resources for victims-survivors, rape myths and victim-blaming culture, knowledge and understanding of TFSV (or the lack thereof). The current scholarship on TFSV has so far examined Australian, North American, and United Kingdom contexts, but few academic studies have so far been done in Asian contexts. This is despite the rapid increase in cases of TFSV in Asia, notably the spy camera epidemic in South Korea and large gender and digital safety gap in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. This panel is thus timely and significant for contributing to a growing body of work on TFSV in Asia. 

Possible themes may include:

  • TFSV and doxing, rape myths, and victim-blaming 
  • TFSV versus other forms of sexual violence e.g. physical, emotional/psychological etc.
  • Dating apps and their relationship to dating violence and intimate partner violence, including control, surveillance, and revenge pornography
  • The rise of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) and other forms of digital harms, including sextortion, sexual voyeurism, and online sexual harassment
  • Sexism, masculinity, and the gendering of social media platforms
  • TFSV and digital wellbeing 
  • TFSV, online gaming, and chat rooms and forums 
  • TFSV, fourth wave feminism, and online social movements e.g. #MeToo, #KuToo, #iamafeminist etc.
  • Support and resources for TFSV victims-survivors (or the lack thereof)
  • Understandings of TFSV and media/digital literacy within school, campus, and educational contexts (or the lack thereof)
  • TFSV as a cybercrime, including laws, policies, and regulations governing TFSV (or the lack thereof)

Interested presenters working on any part of Asia (except Singapore) should email a 250-word abstract, including a working title for your paper, to Michelle Ho (michelle.ho@nus.edu.sg) by Monday July 26, 2021. 

Graduate students and junior scholars are especially welcome to join us. There may also be an opportunity for a special issue or edited volume to come out of this conference.