What is it about?
This study examines how domestic violence is reported in two U.K. national daily newspapers and found that while one of the newspapers adopts a respectful position towards women, the textual and visual techniques adopted by the other reveal a tendency for blaming the victim and sexualizing violence against women.
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Why is it important?
Domestic violence is an enduring problem with an average of two women a week in the U.K. continuing to be killed by their current or former partner. Although newspaper content cannot be described as uncritically absorbed by consumers, the way journalists frame news stories can influence the ‘take home’ message communicated to readers which has implications for public opinion and policy development.
Perspectives
Findings from this study underline the importance of continuing to critically analyse printed news media, especially in view of their expanding digital reach. Violence against women is complexly related to patriarchy. Its embedded history demonstrates that attitudinal change is needed, not least among the media, if the victim-blaming narrative and sanctioning of privatized violence are to be challenged and changed.
Dr Michele Lloyd
University of Hertfordshire
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Smoke and Mirrors: U.K. Newspaper Representations of Intimate Partner Domestic Violence, Violence Against Women, April 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1077801216634468.
You can read the full text:
Resources
Smoke and Mirrors
This video is about our article published in the journal Violence Against Women titled Smoke and Mirrors: U.K. Newspaper Representations of Intimate Partner Domestic Violence
Blame the victim? Domestic violence as covered in The Sun and The Guardian
This article, published in the online media outlet The Conversation, is based on our research comparing how the Sun and Guardian newspapers report domestic violence
Contributors
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