person needs to be punished,
we need to express that. If
that person is not punished,
the limit we should set is
that ok this person is still
not punished even though he
killed another person, but we
shouldn’t go beyond that. The
killer also has human rights,
he also has to be punished,
he cannot escape justice and
enjoy impunity, but when we do
punishment, it should be done
in accordance with the law.
We cannot be the judge of his
crime.” (FGD_02)
“I’m ok with boycott, but I
have mixed feelings on social
punishment, especially in
this moment, while people are
suffering, prices are higher
than usual, especially doing
social punishment for nonCDMers, people are trying to
survive the best way they can
and get whatever job they can.
We can’t provide enough for
every CDMer, so it is kind
of difficult to do social
punishment on them. At the
start of the coup, it was ok
but not anymore now.” (FGD_06)
“It’s not a list of things that
I shouldn’t do, but more of a
feeling you got to read the
room, not just for expression,
but for everything in life,
being able to read the room,
and be conscious of everything
that is happening around me.
There are times that my input
may be needed and times where
my input is not needed and I
operate according to that.”
(FGD_06) (Male)
“I try to analyze the depth
of the topic first, is it
beneficial, influential,
relevant. The second thing I do
is to think of the audiences,
those that are going to be a
part of this topic, sometimes
even if it’s right, you cannot
say or do the right thing
because the time is not right.”
(FGD_07) (Male)
“In the beginning I shared
news that is shocking without
thinking about it – but lately
we have been consuming so much
about death and violence, and
there have been so many photos
that are graphic, I try to
share less now, because I think
that it could be disrespectful
for those who have died.”
(FGD_05) (Female)
“Among ourselves we know its
justifiable, people have been
cornered, they don’t have a
voice publicly so they go to
the comment section and hash it
out but to some, to onlookers,
they might think of us as
bloodthirsty people who have
totally lost their humanity.
Moving forward I think that
this mentality, especially
when it comes to commenting on
Facebook needs to be changed.”
(FGD_07) (Male)
Gender-Based Violence
Due to the patriarchal norms and practices
Myanmar faces some of the highest rates of
GBV in the region. The UN states that violence
against women and girls is a ‘silent emergency’ in
Myanmar (Base, 2016), embedded in prolonged
complex conflict dynamics, chronic poverty and
vulnerability to natural hazards. This is further
exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. One report
claimed that during the first wave of COVID-19
alone, there was a 7-fold increase in GBV cases
(Thompson, 2020).
In post-coup Myanmar, GBV has exploded both
in online and offline spaces. In most instances,
the GBV is inflicted as a social punishment for
those who are aligned with the military or are
sympathetic to the military.
“For me, some instances I have
seen online are where people
post inappropriate photos of
people affiliated or siding
with the military or being
dalan. I’ve seen inappropriate
images, almost nude photos
of women they claim are promilitary, photos that are
meant to be private.” (FGD_05)
(Female)
“Soon after the coup there were
sex tapes of female police and
in the past when those videos
came out, women would help
each other to remove them from
the internet. After the coup
when those videos came out,
even the women won’t protect
female police anymore. We have
to do social punishment to the
direct individual perpetrating
violence – not their
relatives.” (FGD_01) (Female)
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