SOCIAL MEDIA AS A CATALYST FOR PROTEST MOBILISATION AGAINST SEXUAL VIOLENCE: DIGITAL ACTIVISM, CELEBRITY INFLUENCE AND OFFLINE PARTICIPATION IN INDIA

Social media platforms increasingly function as critical sites for mobilisation, meaning-making, and collective action in response to violent crime. This study examines how social media facilitated public mobilisation, awareness generation, and protest participation following the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at a public hospital in Kolkata in 2024. Drawing on survey data from 80 active social media users aged 18 and above, the research analyses patterns of online activism, the role of celebrity interventions, and the translation of digital outrage into offline protest participation. Findings indicate that while social media significantly amplifies awareness and symbolic solidarity, it only partially translates into sustained physical participation in protest marches. Concerns regarding misinformation and selective trust in public figures further complicate digital mobilisation. The study contributes to criminological and justice-oriented scholarship by highlighting the limits and possibilities of digital activism in contemporary movements against gender based violence.