Mass Media And Moral Panic Analysis

The mass media and political institutions creates moral panic in the society to achieve social, economic and political goals. The general public experience intense feelings of fear and anxiety as their perceived perceptions are threatened by the sudden burst of a new social problem or an existing phenomenon like domestic violence (Garland 2008, p. 13). People start to challenge the social, economic and moral standards behind the issue, transformations in multiple aspects including public perceptions, stereotypes and legislation may take place as results of moral panic (Garland 2008, p. 14). The effects of moral panic depend on the importance of the issue, the more important and severe the issue is, the longer the duration of moral panic, the …show more content…
As the main contributor of public perceptions and gender stereotyping (Garland 2008, p. 19), the mass media is overwhelmed with domestic violence against females while male victims are often hidden behind the screen. The mass media has the responsibility to eliminate the existing misconceptions of gendered and domestic violence by initiating moral panics. The mass media increased the coverages of stories of male victims to draw public attentions toward the other side of domestic violence. Simon Lanham disclosed his experience of domestic violence in a television programme, A Current Affair (2015). He pointed out that the society does not provided sufficient support to male victims, due to the misconceptions that only females suffer from domestic violence. The society has been focusing too much on violence against females and children, most social services like domestic violence hotlines only target female and children victims, there are limited channels for male victims to seek help from, social resources are unequally allocated among victims of domestic violence (White 2013). Simon Lanham’s television interview creates a strong aftereffect, panics were created among the general …show more content…
1), the general public has limited understanding about male victims of domestic violence. The case of Simon Lanham demonstrates the present situations of male victims of gendered and domestic violence. The value judgements of the general public and victims themselves as the major factor contributing to the low reporting rate domestic violence by male victims, the lack of support from society and injustice treatment by police officers further deter male victims from seeking help. The mass media and legal institutions creates moral panic to influence the perceived stereotypic public and personal perceptions towards male victims of domestic violence. By allowing the male victims to share their experiences and opinions, the general public starts to criticize the existing perceptions and the approaches of police officers towards male victims of domestic violence. As a result, moral panic can appears as both blessing and curse to the justice of a