encounter is often different to the violence encountered by men. In those cases where the violence is the same, the impact is greater because of women’s situation in society. Women face violence targeted at their gender identity. Upon reflection, participants agreed that the violence faced by women is often targeted at violating their gender identity. One participant pointed to the case of a woman journalist who, after writing an article critical of police corruption in Taunggyi in Shan State, was attacked outside her home in January 2013 by a man who slashed her face with a blunt instrument. The participants believed that while men mostly receive phone threats or may suffer physical attacks on their bodies, this particular case showed an intention to punish her by damaging her appearance and her “womanliness”. Participants also agreed that women who speak out are more likely to be punished by men through socially unacceptable actions such as touching the women. One participant reported, “In the 2010 general election, I went to a voting booth in South-Oakkalar Township to speak to a candidate. When I entered the room, I saw that they were counting votes from a basket under the table. I took a photo because votes should be counted openly and honestly. At that point, some men came and grabbed the neck of my blouse. I couldn’t breathe because they were choking me and my dress was messed up and I feared that it may tear.” 199 While the participant believed that a man would face a similar response and have his clothes torn, the effect would be worse for her because of the cultural taboo of being naked in front of men. (Such attacks were common during the 2007 Saffron Revolution, where women had their clothes deliberately torn and pulled off.200) Women’s morality is called into question, implying that they are to blame. Participants agreed that perpetrators of violence often try to criticise or shine a spotlight on women’s morality, whether it is their sexuality, their motherhood, their sex life or other private areas, in order to insinuate that the woman is to blame. One participant pointed to the treatment by prison guards and police of women protesters detained in Tharrawaddy Prison in February 2015. Unlike the men arrested at the same time, the women protesters were forced by police to do a urine test in order to establish whether or not they were pregnant. This invasion of their privacy was intended not only to humiliate the women about their sexual history, but also to place pressure on other women to stay away from protests for fear of being shamed in a similar way. Another participant stated that women who speak about military issues face claims that “they are only speaking out because they are lesbians.” 201 Participants agreed that shaming women on the basis of claims about their morality is particularly common on social media. One participant pointed to women who speak out on social media against the public statements of highly discriminatory religious groups and the increasing online backlash since 2014 against such women who are “treated as women with low morals or even sex workers” 202. Online users have further targeted such women using clearly organised campaigns where they have created fake Facebook pages claiming that the women are looking for sexual relations, or flooding social media with doctored images of them engaged in controversial acts. One particular union leader had personal photos showing her swimming in the sea and singing in karaoke bars taken and distributed in February 2015 as evidence of her supposed low morality. Women’s material security is attacked. Where women cannot be imprisoned or shamed, the participants were concerned that their social safety nets are attacked. Su Pon Chit, an ARTICLE 19 - Censored gender: Women’s right to freedom of expression and information in Myanmar - Page 74