#SAShutDown & #AmINext

Abstract: The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said it best “a war is being waged against women and children in South Africa.” (Timeslive, 2019a). After the horrific murder of 19 year old Cape Town student Uyinene Mrwetyana in August 2019 a hashtag revolution was born. Women all over South Africa took to social media and used the hashtags #SAShutdown and #AmINext to make the government understand the severity of the gender based violence crisis in the country. The aim of this research is to analyze whether the 2019 hashtag movement had any impact on governmental policies. Qualitative interviews focused on the movement have been performed with five female South African social media influencers, a textual content analysis has likewise been presented based on the influencer’s interview answers. The thesis further explores the history of social media movements, victim blaming in feminism as well as the impact apartheid has had on anti-rape politics. In conclusion an analysis has been presented discussing future scenarios as well as the extensive impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the research.