Following our previous posts on digital around the G8, today we look at the Twitter discussion around women and the G8. An analysis of tweets including the terms “women” and “G8” over the last ten weeks shows that the UK government’s campaign against sexual violence in conflict zones had a significant impact on online discussion:
The sexual violence agenda is split across several hashtags, with a focus on events in Syria – the top mention – and the DRC. The issue was propelled in to the headlines by Angelina Jolie’s appearance alongside William Hague at the meeting of G8 Foreign Ministers in London in April, where they announced a further £10 million to combat sexual violence and harm to women in war zones.
This announcement helped William Hague take the top spot as the most influential tweeter on women and G8 over the period, with UN Women and advocacy groups also featuring strongly.
Delighted by G8 response to UK call for action to end sexual violence in conflict. We now have firm foundations to build on #G8UK
— William Hague (@WilliamJHague) April 12, 2013
Angelina Jolie: “Rape is not a women’s issue, or a humanitarian issue, it is a global issue.” #timetoact #G8UK pic.twitter.com/Xm6FakuTqu
— G8 Presidency 2013 (@G8) April 12, 2013
While Jolie’s celebrity helped the issue gain more publicity than most meetings of Foreign Minister, the decision of gossip magazines and The Daily Mail to focus on her “abundance of grey hairs” rather than the substanceof the announcement created much ire online. It was Sadie Fitch, a ‘normal member of the public’ with only 61 followers, who summed up the moment and offered one of the most retweeted comments over the ten week period:
Outrageous that a woman makes a speech at g8 summit on violence against women and is judged by the media for greying hair #everydaysexism
— Sadie Fitch (@SadieFitch1) April 11, 2013
The popularity of Sadie’s post was boosted by her use of #everydaysexism – a movement which is a perfect fit with social media, allowing users to “document everyday experiences of sexism to prove how bad the problem is and create solidarity”. Its effectiveness is highlighted by its second place in the most mentioned hashtags and high ranking in the list of influencers around the G8 and women discussion.