The missing dalit women in testimonies of #MeToo sexual violence: Learnings for social movements

Abstract

While the #MeToo movement inspired many women to share their stories of sexual harassment on social media, the impact of the movement in India remains limited as it did not reflect the voices of subjects who have been historically marginalised. This note discusses the ways in which the erasure of dalit women’s testimonies of sexual violence happens by reflecting on a few central aspects of Satyabhama’s case, a victim/survivor of a caste-based incident of sexual violence in Maharashtra. It argues the relevance and importance of dalit women’s testimonies of sexual violence, which have been overlooked, for strengthening both the feminist and the dalit movements.