EVEN if we have no celebrity interest in the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial, the verdict sparks an interest on various levels and opens up a floodgate of discussions on the matter.

Frankly, there are no heroes in this case.

However, the domestic abuse of women is a serious matter. There should be moral clarity on what it actually means. It is not about celebrity gossip that triggers sexist jokes or memes that diffuse the pain of the abused.

It is also not about the sensationalism, adulation or the glorification of the two Hollywood actors, who have publicly exposed their toxic relationship. Neither is it about the toxic culture of contagious trending social media.

The force that sets the momentum of women’s movement is likened to a pendulum that swings back and forth. While moving forward is a good sign, each time it swings back, it will have an impact on driving victimised women into a rabbit hole with their “silenced” grievances.

This is the backlash we fear.

For decades, various social movements on sexual and domestic issues have encouraged victims to speak up, report abuses and find justice. Now, they have the potential fear of being sued and dragged through a court process, and possibly found guilty of defamation.

In recent times, the #MeToo movement was gaining momentum as a powerful social justice campaign that has galvanised women, and encouraged those abused to speak up when abused. Women were just beginning to launch court cases against powerful men who abused them.

The pendulum swung forward with the downfall of Harvey Weinstein, which ignited the #MeToo movement, and paved the way for hundreds of women and men to make public allegations of sexual harassment by prominent figures.

But it is heartbreaking that this backlash may be threatened because two Hollywood actors, who were embroiled in a toxic relationship of abusing each other, decided to launch defamation suits.

The story goes like this.

In 2019, Depp sued Heard for US$50 million (RM220 million) for implying she was abused in a December 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post. Although she did not name him, he claimed her allegations impacted his ability to work. Heard was awarded US$2 million compensatory damages.

She pursued a US$100 million counterclaim.

The jury determined Heard defamed Depp and awarded him US$10 million in compensatory damages and US$5 million in punitive damages.

Dr Jessica Taylor, a forensic psychologist who specialises in sexual violence and victim blaming, told The Independent that the case will have damaging “ripple effects” on women for years to come.

“I am getting comments from women from all over social media, women are being called ‘Amber’ for overacting, or getting upset, or challenging their partners’ abusive behaviour.

“There are also hundreds of survivors who want to retract public statements they have made in the press, or pull out of court cases against their abusers,” she said.

The trial was live streamed, with media platforms having their own trials with “compelling evidence”, which could have snowballed to have some influence on the perception of the case. Using a social media platform to create content and share opinions can be fun, but it can also foster surface-level thinking and mob mentalities.

Social media like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram played a big role in framing the narrative around the trial algorithms, by pushing all of this content into public feeds.

It was a peculiar fascination for social media to comb through Heard’s behaviour to highlight her wrongs.

“He could have killed you,” said one viral TikTok text, superimposed over photos of Heard’s bruised face. “He had every right.” Instantly, the post had 222,200 likes.

The backlash is not about a single string-puller. Neither was it orchestrated to intentionally undermine the progress women had made in the previous decade.

However, there are undercurrents of an encoded and internalised sexism that became diffused and chameleonic for adulation of the popular, powerful or successful men.

Women have come a long way asking for social equality and equal justice for voting rights, equal pay and access to education as human beings. It has come to a stage, awareness has been raised about domestic violence and building shelters for women, and about sexual harassment in the workplace.

People should know and be responsible when they opine on Facebook and Instagram. They may think that they are just venting to their groups. But there is international exposure. A decade ago, social media was not the great force it is now. It is now a free-for-all – and women are the worst for it.

We are in a moment of virulent anti-feminist backlash, and the modest gains that were made in that era are being retracted with a gleeful display of victim-blaming on a massive scale.

In Malaysia, a total of 2,287 domestic violence on women were reported during our lockdown in 2020. It was reported that domestic violence rose during the pandemic due to economic, social and psychological pressures on families.

It has to be stressed that these are just the reported cases of those who have dared to speak up.

It shows how vulnerable women are to abuse, and how easily the pendulum can swing back in any situation, to be vulnerable to abuse, as well as to silently endure their grief.

Hence, sensationalising cases like Depp-Heard can send wrong messages. They are indeed not worthy enough to deter or halt progress made by social movements like #MeToo.

Vasanthi Ramachandran is an author, brand strategist and runs Helping Hands.

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com