Framing Abuse: Media Influence and Public Understanding of Sexual Violence Against Children
... Established theories of communication science show that processes within media reporting have an influence on education, opinion building, and the associated public discourse (Eisenstein, 1994;Gertler, 2015). In the case of CSA, media coverage has a crucial role in informing and educating about this sensitive topic (e.g., Babatsikos, 2010;Goldman & Grimbeek, 2015;Kitzinger, 2004). However, media coverage is often characterized by misconceptions and knowledge gaps (e.g., see Döring, see Popović, both in this volume), which can be traced to the fact that media production is "not a one-to-one reduction of world events" (Eilders, 2016, p. 432) and therefore only partially coincides with scientific findings or evidence-based information. ...
... Studies that have not explicitly based their research on agenda-setting theory come to similar conclusions (e.g., Cheit, 2003;Davies et al., 2017;Dowler, 2006;Ducat et al., 2009;Hove et al., 2013;Kitzinger & Skidmore, 1995;Lonne & Gillespie, 2014;Niner et al., 2013;Saewyc et al., 2013;Shavit et al., 2014;Wilczynski & Sinclair, 1999; overview see: Popović, 2018). On the other hand, possible preventive measures are hardly reported on, and if they are, they tend to be on a short-term individual or on an unspecific level (e.g., Kitzinger, 2004;Mejia et al., 2012). Specific cases of CSA that generate increased reader attention due to their scandalousness do attract high media resonance, while the broader context and background information on CSA receive little atten tion (e.g., Mejia et al., 2012;Waller et al., 2020). ...
... In detail, those criteria were mentioned in the context of reporting about CSA in particular if it is a current case or spectacular aspects of CSA. Those identified reporting criteria are also in line with previous studies which demonstrat ed by using content analyses that media coverage of CSA primarily focuses on spectacular cases rather than prevention (Kitzinger, 2004;Kitzinger & Skidmore, 1995;Mejia et al., 2012;Weatherred, 2015). By relying mainly on those criteria, journalists generate a picture of CSA which is limited and thereby misses the actual heterogeneity of CSA. ...
Spectacular cases of child sexual abuse (CSA) dominate media coverage again and again, shaping our knowledge about a topic that is as sensitive as it is taboo. To date, a scholarly overview of the current state of media coverage of SBC has been lacking. This book attempts to shed light on the connections between SBCs and the media in a variety of ways, incorporating different studies and perspectives from practitioners. It thus provides a comprehensive overview of relevant issues raised in the context of CSA and the media.
... about the respective issue for the benefit of society (McQuail, 1992(McQuail, , 2010. As child sexual abuse (CSA) is such a widespread and severe social issue (Barth et al., 2013), related press coverage has been the subject of critical assessment by communication scholars for quite some time (e.g., Cromer & Goldsmith, 2010;Ducat et al., 2009;Görgen & Fangerau, 2018;Görgen et al., 2013;Jones et al., 2010;Kitzinger, 2004;Weatherred, 2015). It has been shown by multiple media content analyses that a significant amount of reporting on child sexual abuse lacks journalistic quality, sensationalizes the topic, does not give a voice to survivors and experts, identifies victims, and omits relevant information on efficient prevention and intervention (Cheit et al., 2010;Jones et al., 2010;Mejia et al., 2012;Weatherred, 2015;Wolak et al., 2008). ...
... For professional journalists, journalistic integrity, credibility, and trust are deeply intertwined with the perceived quality of the information disseminated. When audiences have difficulty distinguishing between high-quality and low-quality journalism, it can undermine trust in the media (Kitzinger, 2004). Survivors of child sexual abuse and those deeply concerned about the issue expect and rely on effective communication about the issue. ...
News reporting on child sexual abuse (CSA) plays an important role in educating the public and fighting sexual violence, according to the public interest model of normative media theory. Bad reporting, however, is widespread and hinders a solution-oriented approach. Against this backdrop, the current study investigated which normative and subjective criteria are used by readers when they assess the quality of CSA newspaper reporting (RQ1). Furthermore, it was tested if readers can differentiate between good and bad CSA reporting quality (RQ2) and if their personal involvement in the topic—concerning victimization, exposure to CSA reporting, CSA knowledge—influences assessments of journalistic quality (RQ3). An experimental online study with a national quota sample of N = 2724 adults (18–65 years; Mage = 44.1; 52.5% women) from Germany was conducted in 2020. The study is preregistered and further materials are shared on osf.io. It turned out that readers mostly used the normative criteria to assess CSA reporting quality that are suggested by the academic literature (RQ1). Readers were able to differentiate between CSA reporting with high versus low journalistic quality (RQ2)—irrespective of their own CSA victimization (RQ3). Readers rated bad reporting as mediocre, though, indicating potential unawareness of certain quality issues.
... The second factor is the media. As a key source of public knowledge, the media has significantly contributed to the contemporary social construction of paedophilia (McCartan, 2014) by reinforcing common stereotypes (Ischebeck et al., 2021;Kitzinger, 2004). The disproportionate focus of the media and tabloid headlines on high-profile perpetrators of CSA (Kitzinger, 2004;McCartan, 2014), routinely labelled as "paedophiles", has helped the word "paedophile" pass from sexology and psychological discourse into the popular language (Berlin, 2014;Tomsen, 2009), often inaccurately. ...
... As a key source of public knowledge, the media has significantly contributed to the contemporary social construction of paedophilia (McCartan, 2014) by reinforcing common stereotypes (Ischebeck et al., 2021;Kitzinger, 2004). The disproportionate focus of the media and tabloid headlines on high-profile perpetrators of CSA (Kitzinger, 2004;McCartan, 2014), routinely labelled as "paedophiles", has helped the word "paedophile" pass from sexology and psychological discourse into the popular language (Berlin, 2014;Tomsen, 2009), often inaccurately. As societal disgust forces PWP to live in secrecy, it is difficult for the public to re-evaluate any misperceptions they may hold surrounding PWP. ...
Quantitative studies have found that although most of the general public holds negative attitudes towards people with paedophilia (PWP), a range of views exist. Nevertheless, these studies provide limited insight into the specific details or variety of attitudes or emotions. This qualitative study aimed to better understand public attitudes towards PWP by exploring how the public reacts to talks about paedophilia given by credentialled experts on social media. Seven such talks, which met our specific inclusion criteria, were selected from YouTube, and public comments on these talks were analysed. The top 100 comments of each video were selected, followed by a saturation strategy. This led to 1234 comments being coded and thematically analysed. Six key themes and eight subthemes were generated, thematically grouped into Haters (sub-themes: ‘violent’ and ‘sophisticated’), Critics (sub-themes: ‘victim erasure’ and ‘not a sexual orientation’), Fence-sitters (sub-themes: ‘ambivalent’ and ‘dispassionate arguers’) and Supporters’ (sub-themes: ‘implicit confirmers’ and ‘compassionate supporters’). These themes reflected a spectrum of views. At one pole, Haters exhibited absolute abhorrence and a desire to dismiss the speaker, whilst, at the other pole, Supporters showed empathy towards non-offending PWP and endorsed the speaker’s perspective. Extremely polarised conversations, commonly evidencing anger and sarcasm and emphasis on the concept of help, were found across dissenting voices. These findings help us better understand the variety of public attitudes and responses to expert-delivered information on paedophilia. The effects of perceived social attitudes on PWP well-being and help-seeking behaviours, which can help prevent offending, require further exploration.
... The study prioritized television's role as an agent of socialization. It focused on the impact of long-term exposure to the medium and how this interaction successfully, or unsuccessfully, molded or cultivated viewers' opinions, values, and world view, as well as affected behavior (see Gerbner et al. 1986 andKitzinger 2004). Within the realm of TV impact studies at the time, the original research design was unique, because it offered three different ways of measuring exposure to television. ...
... 2 Entering the fray of media studies polemics, Pace reframed the theoretical base of the project with a middle-ground approach which gauges the relative strength of television influence vis-à-vis viewers' ability to mediate it. Media power, media effects, and active audience readings of texts are understood not as mutually exclusive processes, but instead elements in a complex, and likely uneven process of influence, negotiation, and subversion (see also Kitzinger 2004). Reviewing the works of Brazilian and Brazilianist media scholars, Pace and Hinote (2013: 39-49) identify four key preferred messages broadcast over the years on Brazilian TV: consumerist, national identity, developmentalist, and political texts. ...
... 2 www.aufarbeitungskommission.de/english-information 3 https://www.aufarbeitungskommission.de/kommission/projekte/ CSA in the media In the research on which this chapter is based, it became evident that vic tims/survivors ascribe significance to media coverage for society's approach to the topic of CSA (Kavemann et al., 2019). Media reports influence public perception, and coverage of CSA contributes to raising awareness in society (Kitzinger, 2004). Media can push institutions to respond to cases of CSA in their own organizations (Donnelly & Inglis, 2010) and can provide encouragement to people to contact child protective services (Saint-Jacques et al., 2012). ...
... The literature at hand contains important insights into the societal impact of the reporting of CSA, but so far hardly any of the victims/survivors have been asked for their own views and experiences. In the 1980s and 1990s when media reports on CSA were just starting to appear, Kitzinger (2004) conducted interviews and focus groups with victims/survivors of CSA and relatives. She found that media reports were predominantly evaluated as positive and helpful. ...
Spectacular cases of child sexual abuse (CSA) dominate media coverage again and again, shaping our knowledge about a topic that is as sensitive as it is taboo. To date, a scholarly overview of the current state of media coverage of SBC has been lacking. This book attempts to shed light on the connections between SBCs and the media in a variety of ways, incorporating different studies and perspectives from practitioners. It thus provides a comprehensive overview of relevant issues raised in the context of CSA and the media.
... Artikelns övergripande syfte är att undersöka huruvida mediaberättelser om mord på kvinnor som ges en emblematisk status öppnar upp för att tänka nytt och se samband, motsägelser och spänningar i en specifik kontext, eller om de snarare determinerar ett socialt fenomen och stänger en fråga (jämför Bennett och Lawrence 1995;Kitzinger 2004). Min utgångspunkt är interaktionen mellan olika turkiska aktörer och de turkiska mediala berättelserna om könat våld. ...
... Det emblematiska fallet Fadime Sahindal blev med Jenny Kitzinger (2004) en mediaschablon. Hedersvåld, en för den svenska kontexten/diskussionen nytt begrepp, hade kunnat öppna upp för en reflektion kring olika former av våld och den svenska förståelsen av våld mot kvinnor. ...
The recurring demand in Sweden today is to view children witnessing domestic violence as victims of crime. In this article, we discuss the ontological status of the child and how witnessing violence might affect this status. In light of research on children witnessing domestic violence and how these children are described in support methods, we aim to contribute to the understanding of the ontology of children and particularly of the child witnessing domestic violence. This is related to the political history of and current theories on children. Previous research shows that witnessing domestic violence increases the risk for developing violent behaviors. Despite this, current Swedish support methods pay little attention to possible use of violence among these children. This could entail that important aspects are not given discursive space within interventions. Chris Jenk’s writing on mythological imageries of children is related to children witnessing domestic violence. The imageries of Apollo and Dionysus respectively produce different ideas about innocence, vulnerability, responsibility and competence. An Apollonian imagery of children witnessing domestic violence focuses exclusively on children as victims, ignoring their potential for violence. The Dionysian imagery on the other hand generates an idea of children with an innate propensity for violence, which threatens their ontological status as victims. Furthermore, the ontology of children explored in the context of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and a more complex understanding of children is called for. The imagery of Athena is put forth to broaden the understanding of children as responsible and participating on their own terms. This imagery goes hand-in-hand, we argue, with John Wall’s call for a childism parallel to feminism.
... Artikelns övergripande syfte är att undersöka huruvida mediaberättelser om mord på kvinnor som ges en emblematisk status öppnar upp för att tänka nytt och se samband, motsägelser och spänningar i en specifik kontext, eller om de snarare determinerar ett socialt fenomen och stänger en fråga (jämför Bennett och Lawrence 1995;Kitzinger 2004). Min utgångspunkt är interaktionen mellan olika turkiska aktörer och de turkiska mediala berättelserna om könat våld. ...
... Det emblematiska fallet Fadime Sahindal blev med Jenny Kitzinger (2004) en mediaschablon. Hedersvåld, en för den svenska kontexten/diskussionen nytt begrepp, hade kunnat öppna upp för en reflektion kring olika former av våld och den svenska förståelsen av våld mot kvinnor. ...
This article analyses how the murder of women, femicide, is framed and understood in today’s media landscape in Turkey. In focus stands the interaction between three actors on the media arena: feminists, the media and politicians, and the process through which these actors shape stories about gendered violence. During the last few years, Turkey has witnessed a growing media visibility of gendered violence, mainly reflected in news reporting and discussions about murders of women. A feminist understanding of violence in which individual cases are linked rather than isolated was partly picked up by the media, and some cases became emblematic: generalised as a concern for other cases and important for how violence against women was framed. Through these cases not only women’s groups but also the media itself raised demands for state responsibility and state intervention in the struggle to end violence against women. The state saw the urge to respond and show engagement. The overall aim of the article is to explore whether media stories about murders of women that have reached an emblematic status in a given context close down or open up for public discussion. The article intends to give a deepened theoretical understanding of emblematic cases by asking whether they open up for stories in which new patterns and linkages are given space, or if they close down an issue and promote only one type of narrative in the public discussion about violence. For this purpose, the article also turns to the Swedish arena and the public discussions about honour related violence.
... However, it's important to note that while media can provide healthcare information, its ability to induce actual changes in health behavior is variable. The frequency of healthcare-related posts on social media platforms also plays a role in influencing public behavior (Kitzinger 2004). Given this backdrop, it is pertinent to investigate whether posts related to obesity on social media platforms effectively contribute to changes in health behavior among consumers. ...
Health situations across the world triggered by obesity are evidence that obesity has become a global epidemic disease. India had the third-highest number of people with obesity in the world. In this digital era, a key source of health information is social media. There are visible studies on obesity awareness obtained from social media among people with obesity and women. So this study focused on urban men who are more prone to obesity than rural men and who commonly seek health information through social media. Health belief model (HBM) was adopted for the study to understand the impact of social media obesity contents in bringing health behaviour change. Sample data (N=530) were collected using a digitally circulated survey questionnaire. The study found that Facebook, YouTube and Instagram are the top three most used social media among urban men to look for health information. The study found the respondents’ attention to social media obesity contents influence their knowledge on HBM constructs which in turn influence their health behaviour change to treat obesity. Study findings suggest that well-informing posts about obesity from health experts should be shared over social media frequently to create enough obesity awareness to bring a health behaviour change. Keywords: obesity, social media, health communication, health belief model, health behaviour, urban men
... These portrayals, as argued by Christensen (2013), transcend mere reflection and actively contribute to the framing of societal issues. The selection, framing, and context of media content, as discussed by Kitzinger (2004), influence how audiences comprehend and engage with complex topics like GBV. Media's influence extends beyond entertainment, shaping individual worldviews and societal values. ...
This research study adopted an analytical design to examine the representations of gender-based violence in Kenyan soap operas and their reverberation on viewer attitudes, perceptions, and behaviour. Grounded in media representation, framing theory, and social constructivism, the study explored the multifaceted depictions of gender-based violence within these popular television dramas. Employing content analysis and focus group discussions as research methods, the study aimed to uncover patterns, themes, and underlying messages pertaining to gender-based violence in the selected soap operas. Through content analysis, the research analyzed the portrayal of gender-based violence, while focus group discussions provided a platform to delve into viewer perspectives, interpretations, and responses to these representations. By combining these research methods, this study endeavored to illuminate the impact and consequences of these media portrayals on viewer attitudes, perceptions, and behaviour. The findings of this study will contribute valuable insights to media policy and practice, social intervention strategies, and audience engagement approaches.
... Despite the endemic nature of child abuse, abusers, particularly those who perpetrate child sexual abuse, are often represented as monsters in the public imagination (Kitzinger, 2004;Meyer, 2010). Constructing abuse in societal dialogue in this way can affect victims' own sense of themselves. ...
Emerging evidence suggests that social identities are an important determinant of adaptation following traumatic life experiences. In this paper, we analyse accounts of people who experienced child sexual abuse. Using publicly available talk of people who waived their right to anonymity following successful conviction of perpetrators, we conducted a thematic analysis focusing on trauma‐related changes in their social identities. Analysis of these accounts highlighted two themes. The first highlights the acquisition in these accounts of unwanted and damaging identity labels. The second presents child sexual abuse as a key destructive force in terms of important identity work during childhood. Discussion of this analysis centres on the pathological consequences of social identity change. Both the loss of valued identities and the acquisition of aberrant and isolating identities are experienced and constructed as devastating by those affected by child sexual abuse. This has important implications, not only for those impacted by child sexual abuse but for how abuse is discussed in society, and how it is approached by policy makers, educators and individuals working with survivors and their families.
... Es existieren unterschiedliche juristische, klinische und sozialwissenschaftliche Definitionen von sexuellem Kindesmissbrauch (SKM), die sich im Kern darin einig sind, dass SKM vorliegt, wenn Minderjährige durch sexuelle Handlungen, denen sie nicht zustimmen (können), viktimisiert werden (Fegert et al., 2013;Jud, 2015). In der Fachliteratur zum sexuellen Kindesmissbrauch besteht ein Konsens darüber, dass dieser nicht nur weit verbreitet ist, sondern oftmals schwerwiegende und langfristige Folgen hat und Full Paper somit ein ernstes gesellschaftliches Problem darstellt, das in angemessener Weise in der medialen Berichterstattung aufgegriffen werden sollte (Baugut & Neumann, 2020;Fegert et al., 2013;Kavemann et al., 2019;Kitzinger, 2004). ...
Von einer qualitätsvollen Medienberichterstattung wäre gemäß Public-Interest-Modell der normativen Medientheorie zu erwarten, dass sie sexuellen Kindesmissbrauch (SKM) als relevantes soziales Problem regelmäßig auf die Agenda setzt und in einer qualitätsvollen Weise behandelt, die zur gesellschaftlichen Sensibilisierung und Problemlösung beiträgt. Vor diesem Hintergrund war es Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit, erstmals die Qualität der SKM-Berichterstattung in der deutschsprachigen Presse zu analysieren. Die Analyse konzentrierte sich auf die Berichterstattung über SKM an der Odenwaldschule, da es sich um einen gut aufgeklärten Fall institutionellen Missbrauchs in Deutschland mit großer Tragweite und Medienresonanz handelt. Beantwortet werden sollten zwei Forschungsfragen: Welche etablierten journalistischen Qualitätskriterien (QK) erfüllt bzw. verletzt die SKM-Berichterstattung über die Odenwaldschule (F1)? Welche Qualitätsunterschiede gibt es in der SKM-Berichterstattung zwischen Qualitäts-und Boulevardpresse (F2)? Eine zweistufige bewusste Stichprobe von N = 325 Zeitungsartikeln über SKM an der Odenwaldschule (2010-2022; 23 Print-und Online-Zeitungen, 52.3 % Qualitätspresse, 47.7 % Bou-levardpresse) wurde anhand eines Codebuchs einer Qualitätsanalyse unterzogen. Das deduktiv entwickelte und induktiv verfeinerte Codebuch bestand aus 12 formalen und 20 inhaltlichen Kategorien und zeigte eine hohe Reliabilität (Gwets AC1: 0.82-1.00). Die Datenanalyse erfolgte deskriptiv-und inferenzstatistisch mit der Software R. Die Studie ist präregistriert und alle Daten, Analyseskripte und Zusatzmaterialien sind auf OSF öffentlich zugänglich (https://osf.io/j5wcn). Es zeigte sich, dass in der SKM-Berichterstattung über die Odenwaldschule die meisten journalistischen QK erfüllt wurden, während gleichzeitig drei Qualitätsprobleme sichtbar waren: die mangelnde Thematisierung von Prävention und Intervention , eine sensationalistische Darstellung sowie die Nutzung unangemessener Begriffe (F1). Diese Probleme traten in der Qualitäts-und Boulevardpresse vergleichbar auf. Bei keinem Qualitätskriterium waren signifikante Unterschiede zwischen Qualitäts-und Boulevardpresse beobachtbar (F2). In Erweiterung des bisherigen Forschungsstandes zeigt die vorliegende Studie Verbesserungsbedarf in der SKM-Berichterstattung auf - und zwar in der Qualitäts-und Boulevardpresse gleichermaßen. Dass die Boulevardpresse nicht schlechter abschnitt, lässt sich damit erklären, dass sie in der Berichterstattung über SKM an der Odenwaldschule relativ häufig offen oder verdeckt auf Presseagenturmeldungen zurückgriff, deren Qualität in der Regel höher ist als bei der typischen boulevardesken Berichterstattung. Konsequenzen für die Forschung und Praxis werden diskutiert.
... In Germany, about 13 percent of adults retrospectively report having been sexually abused as a child (Häuser et al., 2011). In the literature on child sexual abuse (CSA), there is a consensus that CSA is not only widespread but often has serious and long-term consequences and thus represents a major social problem that should be appropriately addressed in media coverage (Kavemann et al., 2019;Kitzinger, 2004). ...
According to the public interest model of normative media theory, media reporting is expected to regularly place child sexual abuse (CSA) on the agenda as a relevant societal problem and cover it in a high-quality manner that contributes to social awareness
and problem-solving. Against this backdrop, the aim of the present study was to analyze the quality of CSA reporting in the German-language press for the first time. The analysis focused on the coverage of CSA at the Odenwaldschule, since it is a well investigated large-scope case of institutional abuse in Germany with enormous media resonance. Two research questions were posed: Which established journalistic quality criteria (QC) does
the CSA coverage of the Odenwaldschule (RQ1) fulfill or violate? What are the quality differences in CSA reporting between quality and tabloid press (RQ2)? A two-stage purposive sample of N = 325 newspaper articles about CSA at the Odenwaldschule (2010-2022; 23 print and online newspapers, 52.3% quality press, 47.7% tabloid press) was subjected to a quality analysis using a codebook.
... As a broader perspective among communication researchers, it provides a framework for understanding the processes by which media participants seek information or content selectively, commensurate with their needs and interests (McQuail 2011). Audience members then incorporate the content to fulfill their needs or to satisfy their interests (Kitzinger 2004). ...
This study assesses the influence of needs and gratifications on readers' choice of newspapers in Uyo. The study sought to establish why people read newspapers or choose to read one newspaper or content instead of the other. The survey research method was adopted for the study. The questionnaire was used in studying a sample of 362 respondents. The sample size which was drawn from Uyo was determined using purposive and proportionate sampling procedure. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient statistics were adopted to analyze data. The analysis was based on 362 returned copies of the questionnaire which represents the total number of distributed copies. The study revealed among others that there is a positive correlation between readers' needs and their choice of newspaper content. The study also showed that there is no positive correlation between the gratifications readers' obtained and the type of content they exposed themselves to in newspapers. It is concluded from the study that a reader has a certain level of expectation before exposing himself or herself to any content in the newspaper which must have value for him or her and therefore recommends that newspaper publishers should devote more attention to satisfying the expectations of their audiences. Introduction The functions of the mass media are legion and people depend on them to satisfy their curiosity or needs. The major functions of the mass media are information provision, the transmission of culture and education, socialization of people into the nouns and mores of their culture, entertainment, and interpretation of reported events (Baran, 2009). Others include: drawing attention to unethical behaviors by individuals, groups, and institutions, watching over governments to ensure that they behave responsibly and perform the tasks for which they were elected, providing reports and mobilization of the
... As a broader perspective among communication researchers, it provides a framework for understanding the processes by which media participants seek information or content selectively, commensurate with their needs and interests (McQuail 2011). Audience members then incorporate the content to fulfill their needs or to satisfy their interests (Kitzinger 2004). ...
This study assesses the influence of needs and gratifications on readers' choice of newspapers in Uyo. The study sought to establish why people read newspapers or choose to read one newspaper or content instead of the other. The survey research method was adopted for the study. The questionnaire was used in studying a sample of 362 respondents. The sample size which was drawn from Uyo was determined using purposive and proportionate sampling procedure. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient statistics were adopted to analyze data. The analysis was based on 362 returned copies of the questionnaire which represents the total number of distributed copies. The study revealed among others that there is a positive correlation between readers' needs and their choice of newspaper content. The study also showed that there is no positive correlation between the gratifications readers' obtained and the type of content they exposed themselves to in newspapers. It is concluded from the study that a reader has a certain level of expectation before exposing himself or herself to any content in the newspaper which must have value for him or her and therefore recommends that newspaper publishers should devote more attention to satisfying the expectations of their audiences. Introduction The functions of the mass media are legion and people depend on them to satisfy their curiosity or needs. The major functions of the mass media are information provision, the transmission of culture and education, socialization of people into the nouns and mores of their culture, entertainment, and interpretation of reported events (Baran, 2009). Others include: drawing attention to unethical behaviors by individuals, groups, and institutions, watching over governments to ensure that they behave responsibly and perform the tasks for which they were elected, providing reports and mobilization of the
... Within the regulatory zeitgeist of the time, legislators were eager to unburden the fledgling technology sector of any "red tape" that might hold back innovation and economic growth (Kosseff, 2019). This was a period in which the dominant media framing of child sexual abuse in the United States and United Kingdom was via the lens of "false allegations" and "moral panic", legitimised by extensive academic commentary (Beckett, 1996;Kitzinger, 2004). It was with some shock that Jenkins (2001), who had previously claimed that online and offline child sexual exploitation allegations were the product of moral panic, began to study online child sexual exploitation in the late 1990s only to find that the problem was far more serious than he had anticipated. ...
This article examines how technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation has flourished within the laissez faire regulatory frameworks of neoliberalism, and argues that political economy should play a more central role in theorising about child sexual abuse. Drawing on the case study of Omegle, a livestreaming website that matches strangers via webcam, the paper illustrates how deregulatory trends have produced an alignment between the sexual interests of child sexual abusers and the economic interests of some online service providers. The paper suggests that intersecting political ideologies and economic structures have increased opportunities for child sexual exploitation and decreased formal and informal controls, while recruiting paedophilic desires and exploitative subjectivities within processes of capital accumulation. The paper explores the implications of political economy for theories of child sex offending, which have typically focused on the psychological, social and legal dimensions of child sexual abuse while overlooking the role of capitalist structures and imperatives.
... The argument goes in an attempt to satisfy popular and media demands and thus avoid condemning reports, politicians waste valuable resources in adopting punitive and harsher measures in respect to offenders (Kitzinger, 2004). ...
This study is a response to the need for reconsideration of the place of human rights in offender management following the Human Rights Act 1998. Probation has
remained hesitant in engaging with the rights of offenders and victims when other
expectations in relation to punishment, public protection and risk become the
service’s priority. The same concepts have created dilemmas for probation
practitioners who find themselves in the arena of rehabilitation where offenders,
victims and the public coexist. The thesis’ emphasis is placed on unravelling these
professional attitudes towards balancing the forces between the interests of the
individual offender and the interests of victims and the public.
The research initially examines the literature in the area and reviews the factors that
appear directly linked to human rights, such as the current probation context, risk
assessment, relationships, public protection, and the interplay between crime control and due process. The methods employed include documentary analysis of case law on offenders’ human rights claims to ascertain the legal expectations of practitioners, and content analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with active MAPPA probation officers based in West Midlands to identify their human rights understandings and awareness, balancing approaches towards individual and public interests and what affects their perceptions.
The study found a variability of human rights understandings that operate on the
street-level and in most instances do not appear in line with the HRA or the accurate
meaning of proportionality. There does not appear to be any human rights training in
the experience of the participants or specific attention to human rights considerations in risk assessments. Their attitudes towards balancing rights, risk and public protection are rather constructed and cannot be considered as their own because they remain affected and determined by cumulative failures of the service, external socio-political factors, and misplaced public expectations.
... Aside from the efforts of various concerned international organisations and governments at different levels, the issue of child sexual abuse has been a source of academic concern, prompting a slew of empirical and theoretical studies on how to prevent it (Alhassan & Dodoo, 2020;Bracewell, 2018;Knack et al., 2018;Mekonen et al., 2018;Flores & Barroso, 2017;Kurniawati, 2017;Mathews, 2017;Mathews & Collin-Vézina, 2016;Zhang et al., 2015;Wurtele, 2009;Kitzinger, 2004;Herbert at al., 2002;Davis & Gidycz, 2000). And these studies have come up with several mediums, such as the general public approach, using formal education, organizing programmes for children and teens, and organizing programmes for parents and guardians. ...
The current study's sole specific goal was to use a qualitative approach, from the parents' emic perspective, to investigate the cultural determinants that influence using parent-child communication as an instrument to protect children from sexual abuse in the six electoral wards of Ife-East Local Government that covered the rural settlement of Ile-Ife. The study adopted a simple random sampling method to select a village from each ward and a convenient sampling method to select six parents from each village, making a total sample size of 36. The study utilized in-depth face-to-face interviews to garner the primary data and content analysis for data analysis. This study found and concluded that parents' economic activities, religious beliefs, fear of stigmatization or mockery, belief that giving a child sex education via parent-child communication promotes waywardness in the behavior of such a child, belief that sex education should be best confined to formal education, and overconfidence of the parents in their wards were among the cultural determinants influencing the efficacy of parent-child communication as a device to shield young ones from being victims of sexual abuse in the study location. The study recommended public enlightenment via various social institutions on dealing with these cultural determinants.
... There are a number of potential explanations for this synergy between journalism and the technology sector in their shared treatment of OCSE. As previously mentioned, the culture of news production in the late 1990s and early 2000s evinced considerable scepticism about claims of child sexual abuse, and CSE in particular (Kitzinger, 2004, Cheit, 2014. Such a stance was certainly congruent with the libertarian masculinism of the technology sector and its disinterest in addressing the threat of online sexual violence, with voices from within the technology sector ascribing responsibility for OCSE to police and rejecting any substantive role for the private sector in online child safety (Keen et al., 2020). ...
This chapter examines the ways in which online child sexual exploitation and related legal reform have been framed in the news media. After two decades of celebratory accounts of technological progress, a "techlash" is under way as the mass media provides expanded coverage of the failings and hypocrisies of the technology industry. Online child sexual exploitation has emerged as one of the most serious examples of online harm, albeit one that has been overlooked by industry and media alike. The chapter explores news coverage of two key online child protection reforms in the United States: SESTA-FOSTA and the EARN IT Act. The chapter considers the colliding rights claims evident in news coverage, in which the sexual and gendered harms of OCSE are occluded by alternative claims of gendered and sexual harms for sex workers and LGBTIQ+ people. The chapter illuminates the libertarian underpinnings of this argument, its implied support for an unregulated private sector and the positioning of child safety at odds with the safety of sexual and gender minorities.
... Innocence, then, is a problematic concept because it is itself a sexual commodity and because a child who is anything less than 'an angel' may be seen as 'fair game', both by the courts and by other men who will avail themselves of a child they know has previously been abused. ( [9], p.77) Ironically, it is vulnerability with its requirements that children obey adults, be protected; and have their innocence preserved, which renders children so vulnerable in the arena of sexual contact [10]. ...
This paper will explore the relevance of vulnerability to children’s rights. Broadly speaking legal debates over children can be broken down into two camps. First, those who emphasise the vulnerability of children. For them rights designed to protect children from abuse and promote their welfare are the most significant. Second, those who claim that children are far less vulnerable than is assumed and should be given many of the freedoms of adults. For them rights of autonomy and freedom should be emphasised. This paper will argue that both camps make the error of starting with the norm of adulthood being a time of invulnerability and independence from which children are either distinguished or are closer to than is normally appreciated. Once it is recognised that adults share in children’s vulnerability, we can see that childhood vulnerability is not something which children should be enabled to escape from, nor is it something that is unique to children. Vulnerability and interdependence should form the basis of rights for both children and adults. There is, therefore, no reason why children and adults should not have the same rights.
... Typical media coverage of pedophilia is characterized by primarily mentioning the subject in the context of severe and current cases of CSA (news factor: damage [48,49]). Thereby, media coverage tends to conflate pedophilia and CSA in the public consciousness [14,15,[56][57][58]. For instance, Marc Dutroux, who was found guilty of sexually abusing and killing several children and teenagers in Belgium, was referred to as a "pedophile" in the media, even though his psychological evaluation found that he was not sexually attracted to children, but had other motives for his crimes (e.g., antisocial personality disorder, making profit by selling child sexual exploitation material; [59], also see [60]). ...
The public stigma associated with pedophilia, the sexual attraction to prepubescent children, is tremendous. Previous research indicates that undifferentiated media coverage plays an essential role in perpetuating the public stigma by falsely equating pedophilia and child sexual abuse (CSA) and thus may stop persons suffering from a pedophilic disorder from seeking professional help. Until now, a comprehensive examination of positive as well as negative media effects on affected individuals is missing. Therefore, the present study explores if and how media coverage impacts the lives of help-seeking persons with pedophilia by conducting four qualitative focus group discussions with a clinical sample (N = 20) from the German Prevention Network “Kein Täter werden”. Present results demonstrate that media coverage of pedophilia was perceived as mostly undifferentiated, even though participants observed an increase in fact-based reporting over the years. Moreover, it seems that media coverage has strong emotional and behavioral consequences for patients (e.g., negative reporting reduced self-esteem). In sum, our results highlight that differentiated media coverage could play a key role in supporting help-seeking persons with pedophilic disorder, while the impact of undifferentiated media coverage appears to be mostly negative. Therefore, our results point to the need to reframe pedophilia using differentiated media coverage to help affected persons receive treatment efficiently and thereby prevent CSA.
... The media system is particularly relevant as, by constructing and disseminating representations of CSA, it raises the problem on the public and political agenda. In accordance with the so-called framing theory, which leads in this field of research, media representations shape our assumptions about the typical perpetrators, vic tims, and circumstances of child sexual abuse, its causes and effects, and prevention and intervention approaches (Dorfman et al., 2011;Kitzinger, 2004). Fictional CSA representations found in novels, movies, and televi sion series are important; however, non-fictional representations dissemi nated via press, radio, television as well as online and social media are even more influential as they outnumber fictional representations by far. ...
Media representations of child sexual abuse (CSA) put the issue on the public and
political agenda and shape our understanding of it. While media representations
can be helpful in giving survivors a voice and sensitizing and informing the public,
they can also disseminate misleading and harmful messages. The present chapter
focuses on the representations of CSA in three types of media: newspaper articles,
stock photographs, and YouTube videos. Hence, for the first time in this research
field, three representation modes (textual, photographic, videographic) and two
media systems (mass media, social media) are covered. A sample of media contributions
was drawn from each media type and submitted to quantitative media
content analysis. Results show that newspaper articles, stock photos, and YouTube
videos often rely on stereotypes and myths. Quality issues in CSA representations
are discussed in light of the presented data and previous findings. Practical suggestions
for quality improvements are provided.
Keywords: child sexual abuse, media reporting, media framing, media content analysis,
media quality analysis
... It is possible already to see itsimpact: The issue of clergy CSA became a frequent topic of the news -at least in comparison to the history of Vatican media. Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement in the completeness and overall quality of reporting about clergy CSA, just as it is the case in non-church media, which primarily cover the topic on an occasion-related basis and not very preventively (Kitzinger, 2004;Popović, 2018). Only with this strategy can the Church ever meet Jesus' expectation: "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). ...
Spectacular cases of child sexual abuse (CSA) dominate media coverage again and again, shaping our knowledge about a topic that is as sensitive as it is taboo. To date, a scholarly overview of the current state of media coverage of SBC has been lacking. This book attempts to shed light on the connections between SBCs and the media in a variety of ways, incorporating different studies and perspectives from practitioners. It thus provides a comprehensive overview of relevant issues raised in the context of CSA and the media.
... The media system is particularly relevant as, by constructing and disseminating representations of CSA, it raises the problem on the public and political agenda. In accordance with the so-called framing theory, which leads in this field of research, media representations shape our assumptions about the typical perpetrators, vic tims, and circumstances of child sexual abuse, its causes and effects, and prevention and intervention approaches (Dorfman et al., 2011;Kitzinger, 2004). Fictional CSA representations found in novels, movies, and televi sion series are important; however, non-fictional representations dissemi nated via press, radio, television as well as online and social media are even more influential as they outnumber fictional representations by far. ...
Spectacular cases of child sexual abuse (CSA) dominate media coverage again and again, shaping our knowledge about a topic that is as sensitive as it is taboo. To date, a scholarly overview of the current state of media coverage of SBC has been lacking. This book attempts to shed light on the connections between SBCs and the media in a variety of ways, incorporating different studies and perspectives from practitioners. It thus provides a comprehensive overview of relevant issues raised in the context of CSA and the media.
... focusing on CSA to eradicate this issue from society. The coverage of child sexual abuse cases is reaching its saturation point (Kitzinger, 2004). ...
Child sexual abuse is a severe problem that is penetrating Pakistan. This is important that how media is covering the issue of child sexual abuse as the audience is highly influenced by media. This study examines the effects of child sexual abuse T.V. news stories on the psychological well-being of parents. By applying purposive sampling, a sample of 100 parents from Lahore is selected. A survey method is employed to collect data from parents. Chi-square is applied to test the hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis is accepted. Results revealed that the majority of respondents agreed that news stories on child sexual abuse cases affect negatively and create distrust, stress, anxiety and fear among parents.
... Media representations also rely on inaccurate depictions that appear to be more about catering to sensationalism rather than facts and evidence (Brown, 2005;Kitzinger, 2004;Matravers, 2003;Wilson, 2011). This is problematic because, from its inception, media coverage has been the main source of information for the public about sexual offending and is usually presented without reference to any unbiased or expert opinion (Höing et al., 2016b). ...
“Criminals,” particularly sex offenders, are thought of as an indistinguishable, homogenous group by society, despite the variety of offenses they commit, with differing levels of severity, impact, and outcome. Perceptions of criminal behavior also fail to recognize that everyone engages in norm-violating/unlawful/immoral behavior at one time or another. This view of offending, that it is something “other” dangerous people do, combined with the tendency to generalize across varied behaviors and experiences, has resulted in the construct of the sex offender as a “monster.” This has implications for how sex offenders are treated at each stage of the criminal justice process resulting in a problematic approach to sex offenders, one that is not centered on evidence and is, ultimately, not in anyone’s best interests. Specifically, the dialogue results in: lower confession rates, lower conviction rates, ineffective treatment/rehabilitation, and a cycle of violence that causes severe harm within society, as a whole. This paper will address each stage (e.g., investigative interviewing, sentencing, etc.), showing the ways that social constructions have had an adverse effect, how the treatment of sex offenders at each stage is contrary to best practise/the evidence, and will provide recommendations for future research and policy decisions that are in line with the evidence base.
... Despite forensic evidence of sexual abuse and prior sexual abuse convictions among some of the accused fathers, journalists privileged the claims of accused parents (Donaldson & O'Brien, 1995). The Cleveland crisis ignited a national outcry about the sanctity of the family and state intervention (Ashenden, 1996;Kitzinger, 2004;Soothill & Francis, 2002). ...
Background
Child sexual abuse (CSA) is widespread. Few countries, however, prioritize the issue. The United Kingdom is an exception, ranked first in its response to the issue in a 2019 country comparison. In 2015, Prime Minister David Cameron designated the issue one of three national threats. Funding commitments and policies to address CSA followed.
Objective
To investigate how CSA emerged as a national political priority in the United Kingdom, and to identify insights for proponents seeking to advance priority for addressing the issue.
Participants and setting
Documents were analyzed and semi-structured interviews conducted with actors in the United Kingdom central to CSA advocacy, research, and/or programming, as well as with policymakers.
Methods
Drawing on the multiple streams public policy model, a thematic analysis was conducted on collected documents (n = 160) and 21 interview transcripts.
Results
Our analysis delineates three critical developments that led to national prioritization for addressing CSA. First, high-profile scandals and the re-framing of CSA survivors as deserving of support raised public awareness of the problem. Second, champions concerned with CSA developed evidence-based and politically-feasible solutions. Third, the Prime Minister's concern and other political developments opened a policy window.
Conclusions
The case provides insights for proponents on generating political priority for addressing CSA. Proponents need to (1) ensure survivors are not seen as culpable but rather as deserving of support, (2) be ready with solutions and (3) cultivate high-level political support, so that when policy windows open they can jump to push the issue onto the national agenda.
... This only included those who were biologically related, i.e. stepparents were exempt (Woodiwiss 2014). Once these prohibitions and laws were enforced, CSA became less socially acceptable and even though CSA was still very much a widespread practice, it was just better hidden (Kitzinger 2004). The fem-inist movement of the 1970s and 80s led to a short-lived more nuanced position and approach to CSA, claiming that it is a social problem that needs a political solution or social change, and is not only about male power, but also women and children's resistance (Kelly 1988;Woodiwiss 2014). ...
This paper defines the practice of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) specifically, explaining the choice of words and giving accepted definitions, as well as offering a definition of its own, i.e. that CSA is the disempowering and overpowering of children through sexual means. The paper aims to give an overview of the societal factors contributing to how CSA is framed and received in mainstream society. Throughout this piece of writing the concept of a taboo is used as an analytical category. The paper aims at presenting a wide-ranging view of the practice of CSA, using the writer’s main societal reference point, that of the Anglo world, specifically calling on examples from the United Kingdom (UK) to contextualise the argument. The discussion frames CSA as a taboo, illustrating this through historical inquiry, with a focus on the evolution of morality surrounding the sexuality of children and the nature of acceptable sexual relations during the period of childhood. A (CSA) survivor perspective is offered in the form of personal biographical confession, as well as survivor narratives that are explored more broadly, pointing to those that society deems acceptable, or not. A triangulation between the taboo nature of the practice, the stigma it generates and the effect it has on childhood is drawn up. The impending effects of shame in processing CSA are explored in respect to disclosure and rehabilitation for those disclosing, but also for those being disclosed to, and society at large. Finally, a nuanced postcolonial approach is proposed, whereby CSA is framed as an invasion or overpowering of a body in much the same way one nation-state invades, land-grabs or takes legislative and governmental control over another landmass during the process of colonisation.
... To the contrary, a hegemonic discourse emerged in the 1990s, spanning the mass media and academy, in which organised abuse allegations became emblematic of a child abuse "witch hunt" (Cheit, 2014). Media content analyses in the United States and United Kingdom have found that media attention on "false allegations" in the 1990s came to eclipse coverage of child abuse as a whole, with a particular focus on organised abuse allegations (Beckett, 1996;Kitzinger, 2004). Sociologists and criminologists alike concluded that such allegations are indicative of "moral panic" (Jenkins, 1992) since ...
Organised abuse, in which multiple adults sexually abuse multiple children, has an important role to play in the production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) but has been relegated to the margins of criminological concern. This paper presents the findings of an international survey of 74 adults who described childhood victimisation in CSAM and organised abuse, emphasising the relationship between organised abuse and entrenched ignorance of it. The paper identifies the multiple zones, practices and structures of ignorance that render organised abuse unknowable and advocates for strategic forms of knowledge production in which ignorance features as a provocation towards information-seeking rather than as a defence mechanism against intolerable realities.
... The elasticity of the logic of false memories attracted many admirers. Kitzinger (2004) has remarked upon the extraordinary appeal of false memory syndrome among journalists in the 1990s, some of whom took up the cause of accused men as a personal crusade. She attributes the activist role of journalists in debates over false memories to a male-dominated newsroom culture that was skeptical of claims of sexual violence. ...
... Numerous studies have highlighted how the media can shape public understanding of societal phenomena, for example sexual violence against children (Kitzinger, 2004), environmental problems (Stamm et al., 2000) and health policy (Walsh-Childers, 1994). A social constructionist perspective positions different types of societal activity and interactions at the centre of how reality is perceived and understood. ...
Media framing helps to shape our understanding of the meaning of news events, often problematically. This study examines how this process interacts with the phenomenon of familicide-suicide, where a person kills one or more family members before taking their own life. A social constructionist analysis of the print media coverage of three high-profile cases in Ireland highlights framing and discursive patterns, contributing to an explanatory framework that is misleading and lacking in an evidence base. As well as a tendency towards broad and poorly supported claims-making, several primary causal frames are prevalent: mental health; financial debt; fall from grace; and ‘out of the blue’, whilst a domestic violence frame is notable in its absence. Coverage is found to be episodic in character, linked to dramatisation and more simplistic explanatory frames, rather than evidence-based analysis of potential causal factors for these incidents. Findings raise important questions for journalistic practice, regarding processes of selection and salience of sources contributing to overall coverage that is partial and biased, rather than an ‘objective’ representation of the social world.
... Children and youth have little knowledge of online risks, and when they are presented with the definition of grooming, children and young people do not understand it, and the idea they have about sexual offenders does not coincide with reality, with the need to alert parents to prevent this phenomenon (Davidson et al., 2011;Webster et al., 2012;Wood, & Wheatcroft, 2020). There are few studies that evaluate social perceptions about this phenomenon and those that are known (e.g., Davidson, 2008;Kitzinger, 2004;Williams, & Hudson, 2013) do not necessarily focus on parents' perception. According to Williams and Hudson (2013), studies that focus in particular on public perceptions of sexual offenses, in addition to revealing contradictory data, show that the public tends to have inaccurate, stereotyped and distorted perceptions of sexual offenders and sexual offenses themselves, similar to those shown in the media (e.g., that these crimes are mostly committed by strangers, and thus will not be serious crimes). ...
The paper presents an exploratory and descriptive quantitative study, involving 560 Portuguese parents with school children, aged between 6 and 17 years. Data collection was carried out through a questionnaire that was made available online and focused on the use of social networks, the Internet and the risk of online grooming. The results showed that about half of the participants did not know the term 'online grooming'. After defining the phenomenon, 97% of the participants considered it very seriously. To prevent risk, 52% of the participants reported talking with their children about online risks and taking precautions to reduce the children's vulnerability. Approximately 89% of the respondents said they knew where to report cybercrime. The study aimed to contribute to a greater awareness of the risks associated with the Internet, involving parents and caregivers in the prevention of situations of victimization of children and adolescents.
... It can be seen that the media has undoubtedly played a key role in raising awareness of child abuse and began to provide victims with a framework for thinking and talking about their experiences. Kitzinger (2004) notes that reporting of sexual abuse in The Times newspaper, for example, increased by 300 per cent between 1985 and 1987. Talking about newspapers, they have always been one of the most effective Medias that have impact on the lives of people. ...
... Over a 15-year period, Cheit and more than 80 research assistants analyzed forensic records connected to the daycare sexual abuse cases of the 1980s and found that, rare examples of investigative overreach notwithstanding, there is pervasive evidence of child sexual abuse in cases dismissed as a fiction of the Satanic panic and hysteria of the 1980s (Cheit, 2014). For comprehensive accounts of the roles of denial and minimization in the academic study and journalistic framing of interpersonal violence, readers are referred to "A Forgotten History" (Herman, 1992), "History of Trauma in Psychiatry" (van der Kolk et al., 1996), Framing Abuse: Media Influence and Public Understanding of Sexual Violence Against Children (Kitzinger, 2004), Relational Remembering: Rethinking the Memory Wars (Campbell, 2003), and The Witch-Hunt Narrative (Cheit, 2014). ...
Negative reactions to interpersonal violence survivors are reproduced in patterned ways across multiple social settings. This chapter proposes a framework of cultural stigma surrounding interpersonal violence, one with utility in explaining a paradoxical pattern of condemnation of survivors (relative to perpetrators) and persistent delegitimization of interpersonal violence experiences (relative to impersonal or unintentional traumas). In the proposed framework, the state of being a victim is conceptualized as inherently stigmatizing in the setting of dominant Western cultural values that uplift invulnerability and individual responsibility. Cultural stigma enables disavowal of vulnerability and mutual accountability, reproducing cultural constructions of violence that legitimize abuse. Proposed forms of cultural stigma are denial, minimization, distortion, victim-blame, and labeling. This chapter summarizes relevant research and highlights ways that psychology as a discipline has transmitted such cultural stigma. The final section considers disciplinary avenues to resist stigma, toward a cultural awakening that affirms the full humanity of survivors.
In a world where screens are ever-present, children’s media culture is undergoing a transformation like never before. Smart Screens, Digital World: Reimagining Children’s Media Culture explores the dynamic interplay between digital technologies and young audiences, offering fresh insights into how media shapes and is shaped by the experiences of children today. This book critically examines the
evolving landscape of children’s content, the rise of interactive platforms, and the
shifting roles of parents, educators, and creators in this digital age. Far from simply
celebrating or condemning technology, this work seeks to reimagine children’s media as a space of creativity, learning, and empowerment. By engaging with cutting-edge research, case studies, and expert voices, it opens up a dialogue on the ethical, educational, and cultural dimensions of digital media. Readers will find here a roadmap for navigating—and reimagining—a media culture that profoundly impacts the lives of the youngest generation.
International media research has recently emphasized the coverage of “partner homicides” in news media outlets with specific focus on the traits/characteristics and the forms of femicides. This led us to consider the ways in which news media outlets construct, portray, affect audiences and certain groups of individuals through the representations of such crimes. Through thematic content analysis of crime news, the purpose of this study is to determine how femicide victims are portrayed by major news media outlets in the Republic of Cyprus. The research consisted of an analysis of 366 femicide-related articles referring to 37 femicides that took place from 2006 to 2020. The data were analyzed to determine effects on newsworthiness, public perception, and patterns of victim blaming. The phenomenon of victim blaming emerged from the analysis as a recurring frame, both in a direct and indirect manner. Such blaming strategies include the usage of language with negative connotations in descriptions of the victim, such as highlighting their “promiscuous” pasts, and the attribution of “male honor”-related motives to the perpetrators, using sympathetic language to describe the perpetrator, highlighting the victim’s mental or physical problems, and so forth.
This study examines blog coverage (October 2018 to October 2019) and its engagement with citizens regarding internally displaced persons in Nigeria. Approximately 85 stories of internally displaced persons were covered on Naija.com . This study found a significant difference in the appearance of internally displaced persons’ stories on the blog, appearance of the stories in the headline, length of stories used in describing internally displaced persons and the tone used. Most of the internally displaced persons’ stories appeared in the blog’s headlines, suggesting that blogs in Nigeria give prominence and importance to the stories of internally displaced persons. A large number of the stories were described in 400–600 characters, and most of such stories described the internally displaced persons’ situations via a negative tone. Surprisingly, there were very few stories of governmental support, but stories that demonstrate the internally displaced persons in a vulnerable state and exposed to various diseases, prone to attacks, raped, fed inadequately and in need of humanitarian assistance were predominant. As such, a significant association between the frames used and users’ comments and views online was found. Stories that framed the internally displaced persons in a vulnerable state had a greater number of views and comments and those that had more realistic still/graphic images attracted more comments and views.
At a time when local journalism is under threat, regional newsrooms can play a crucial role in working with communities to confront shameful truths and profound failures. The regional city of Ballarat emerged as an “epicentre” of clergy sexual abuse through Australia’s landmark Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2013–2017). This article examines how the regional city’s newspaper, The Courier, bore witness to these crimes and their impacts within its local community. A content and thematic analysis of coverage of child sexual abuse from 2010 to 2019 documents how The Courier’s locally produced journalism revealed to its audience the extent of abuse, helping to acknowledge and face crimes that had occurred in Ballarat’s local institutions. The interlinked themes of revelation, reckoning and recovery demonstrate how local journalism can work with its community to address traumatic events that occur within its geosocial space. Local media bore witness on multiple levels, as both the amplifier of stories told by survivors and the facilitator of community processes of reckoning and recovery. We refer to this special form of local journalism as “proximal” media witnessing.
Sexueller Missbrauch an Kindern findet meist durch vertraute Erwachsene statt. Zu lange wurde dieses Problem tabuisiert. Erst seit 2010 wird Missbrauch in der medialen Öffentlichkeit deutlich stärker in den Fokus und von der Politik viel ernster genommen. Der vorliegende Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über die Thematisierung des sexuellen Kindesmissbrauchs durch unterschiedliche Akteure in verschiedenen Medien. Dabei werden Chancen und Risiken anhand von Beispielen aufgezeigt.
https://mediendiskurs.online/beitrag/sexueller-kindesmissbrauch-als-thema-in-den-medien-beitrag-1138/
This study examines how the production of news making is evidenced in published content about the complex social phenomenon of murder-suicide. Building on Reese and Shoemaker’s hierarchical model (2016), this study aims to understand the impact of the individual, routines, ideological, organisational and social institution levels on news content surrounding a case of murder-suicide in the Republic of Ireland. Data was gathered from in-depth interviews with journalists and news editors who detailed the nexus of competing interests that influence their work processes. Findings reveal how organisational structures, coupled with ideological orientations, industrial routines and the professional ideology of objectivity, acted as crucial gatekeepers, encouraging a dependency on elite sources. A crime narrative supported through the operationalisation of a media template perpetuated a hierarchy of victims. These representations served to mirror the institutionalised patriarchal power.
In this chapter, we explore how the digital age has impacted upon how dominant discourses of psychological trauma are constructed, maintained, and challenged, in a world which is becoming increasingly globalised. Through digital technologies such as social media, huge numbers of people globally can now be exposed to potentially traumatic audio-visual online content, at times with limited awareness or choice concerning the material they are accessing. We discuss the implications of this resultant globalisation of trauma, including questioning whether technology could potentially be contributing to a discourse around normalising trauma. We explore the responsibility of both the media and individuals who use technology to record and disseminate traumatic material.
This article explores the role of institutional listening in deliberative democracy, focusing particularly on its contribution to the transmission process between the public sphere and formal institutions. We critique existing accounts of transmission for prioritizing voice over listening and for remaining constrained by an ‘aggregative logic’ of the flow of ideas and voices in a democracy. We argue that formal institutions have a crucial role to play in ensuring transmission operates according to a more deliberative logic. To substantiate this argument, we focus on two recent examples of institutional listening in two different democracies: Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and the United States’ Senate Judiciary Committee’s confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. These cases show that institutional listening can take different forms; it can be purposefully designed or incidental, and it can contribute to the realization of deliberative democracy in various ways. Specifically, institutional listening can help enhance the credibility and visibility of minority groups and perspectives while also empowering these groups to better hold formal political institutions accountable. In these ways, institutional listening helps transmission operate according to a more deliberative logic.
In an uncertain late-modern world with its relentless cycle of news and hyperbole, how do everyday people make sense of the whirlwind into which they are thrown? This chapter analyses the impact of the crime and of the subsequent media coverage of that event, on the wider community involved. It gives short quantitative snapshot of UK press coverage of the serious crime event that took place in Dunblane. Media headlines ‘set the scene’ and provide context within which the community readings (and themes) of the media coverage are broadly situated. This chapter explores victimisation as a process, from how the participants learnt of the crime initially, through the changes that it affected on their individual and collective identity and lives, to their community as a focus for ongoing international attention and focus of public grief. This chapter introduces the reader to the quiet moments of personal kindness, the sometime solidarity of a community under siege as well as to the anger, power-broking, fear and division generated by both the most heinous of crimes and the pressure of the media and wider society’s reaction to them.
This chapter begins with a sociological exploration of crime victims and victimisation that engages with media and media representations. A key site for those who seek to promote a particular view of crime victims or seek to challenge existing views, the media is also key for policy makers attempting to secure legitimacy and acceptance of new measures affecting victims of crime. This chapter is therefore crucial in its acknowledgement of the media as one of the key sources through which the concepts of crime, victim and victimisation are given meaning in contemporary society. In particular, it will examine established work on the construction of crime news, media production and reception and the increasing primacy of the visual. Social theory has a particular late-modern resonance with regard to the 24/7 news mediasphere and the intense media and social interest that follow serious and high-profile crimes. This chapter will scrutinise how collective victim identity is culturally constructed, represented and remade by the media in these cases.
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