Women's Agency in Public Narratives of Gender-Based Violence: A Feminist Discourse Analysis

Abstrak

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a persistent human rights and socio-cultural issue in Indonesia, where patriarchal ideologies continue to shape women's experiences, public representation, and access to justice. Although previous studies have examined GBV from legal, psychological, sociological, and media perspectives, limited attention has been paid to how women's public narratives construct agency and function as mechanisms of feminist resistance within localized socio-cultural contexts. Addressing this gap, this study investigates how women's public narratives resist gender-based violence in Medan, Indonesia. Employing a qualitative interpretive design, the study analyzed 38 publicly available narratives collected from Komnas Perempuan reports, Women's March Medan campaign materials, advocacy publications, online news platforms, and digital public discussions published between 2024 and 2025. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and interpreted through Michelle Lazar's Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA), complemented by a feminist cultural perspective. The findings reveal three interconnected discursive processes through which women construct resistance: identity reconstruction beyond victimhood, discursive resistance to patriarchal ideology, and the development of collective agency through public storytelling. These findings demonstrate that public narratives function not only as personal testimonies but also as discursive practices that challenge unequal power relations, reconstruct women's identities, and strengthen feminist solidarity. The study contributes theoretically by extending Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis through the integration of a feminist cultural perspective, demonstrating how public storytelling operates as a discursive pathway from identity reconstruction to collective feminist agency within the Indonesian context. Practically, the findings provide insights for developing gender-sensitive communication strategies and advocacy initiatives that promote gender equality and social justice.