The use of sexual description of female victims also acts as a method of victim blaming (Malamuth & Check, 1981). The way in which a victim is described and the details surrounding her persona play an influential role in the way she is represented. The inclusion of details of her past relationships, her appearance, whether she had been drunk or on drugs, where she had been and what her activities are often aimed to blame the victim for her attack (Meyers, 1997). In the same report on the rape accusations of Quinten Hann, The Independent published details about the female’s previous relationships, claiming “she had a one-night stand with a man in the past to get "revenge" on her boyfriend for being unfaithful” (Verkaik, 2002, n.p). Moore (2015)
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The representation of female victims within the news does not reflect the statistics. Statistics from 2012 suggest that approximately 90% of victims of serious sexual violence know their attacker and that females most at risk of becoming a victim of sexual assault are those that are unemployed or from households with the lowest income (Ministry of Justice, Home Office and Office of National Statistics, 2013). Female victims who do not fit the ‘ideal victim’ character are often represented as unworthy of their victim status, if represented at all. For instance, the reporting of ethnic minority, female victims is limited and if they are reported are often portrayed in a negative light, represented as sexually promiscuous or acting outside of social norms (Dixon & Linz, 2000; Meyers, 1997). A poignant example is the convicted rape of an 18 year old, black woman who was a previous Miss Black America contestant by high-profile boxer Mike Tyson (Lule, 1995). Jackson (2013) suggests “the victim was framed by media makers according to stereotypes of black female promiscuity and unreliability” (p.50). This case illustrates the data on reporting of black, female sexual violence victims is limited and often it is only the highly violent or high-profile cases that are reported on. It is …show more content…
There are several explanations of why the news represents female victims of sexual violence in these ways. One such explanation is modernisation. The theory of modernity highlights the increasing expansion of technology and methods of communication (Dimmick, Chen and Li, 2004). Increased availability of the internet and other media sources have resulted in quicker and wider access to news reports. As a response to increased competitiveness in news industry, the pressure to report news stories in innovative, exciting and attention grabbing ways has also increased (Franklin, 2008). Selectivity of crime reporting illustrates these pressures. Molotch and Lester (1974) suggest that only information and events that are publically interesting now make the news. Furthermore, the competition between news organisations has also led to increased levels of overtly sexual material in an attempt to make news reports more interesting (Moore, 2014). The critical media theory extends this by suggesting the news organisations and journalists manufacture news to present the most ‘newsworthy’ stories and create an immediate impact (Cohen & Young, 1973). Baum (2002) suggests that there are few other categories beside celebrity violence and sex stories that are likely to grab the attention of the public in such a powerful manner. Therefore,
The representation of female victims within the news does not reflect the statistics. Statistics from 2012 suggest that approximately 90% of victims of serious sexual violence know their attacker and that females most at risk of becoming a victim of sexual assault are those that are unemployed or from households with the lowest income (Ministry of Justice, Home Office and Office of National Statistics, 2013). Female victims who do not fit the ‘ideal victim’ character are often represented as unworthy of their victim status, if represented at all. For instance, the reporting of ethnic minority, female victims is limited and if they are reported are often portrayed in a negative light, represented as sexually promiscuous or acting outside of social norms (Dixon & Linz, 2000; Meyers, 1997). A poignant example is the convicted rape of an 18 year old, black woman who was a previous Miss Black America contestant by high-profile boxer Mike Tyson (Lule, 1995). Jackson (2013) suggests “the victim was framed by media makers according to stereotypes of black female promiscuity and unreliability” (p.50). This case illustrates the data on reporting of black, female sexual violence victims is limited and often it is only the highly violent or high-profile cases that are reported on. It is …show more content…
There are several explanations of why the news represents female victims of sexual violence in these ways. One such explanation is modernisation. The theory of modernity highlights the increasing expansion of technology and methods of communication (Dimmick, Chen and Li, 2004). Increased availability of the internet and other media sources have resulted in quicker and wider access to news reports. As a response to increased competitiveness in news industry, the pressure to report news stories in innovative, exciting and attention grabbing ways has also increased (Franklin, 2008). Selectivity of crime reporting illustrates these pressures. Molotch and Lester (1974) suggest that only information and events that are publically interesting now make the news. Furthermore, the competition between news organisations has also led to increased levels of overtly sexual material in an attempt to make news reports more interesting (Moore, 2014). The critical media theory extends this by suggesting the news organisations and journalists manufacture news to present the most ‘newsworthy’ stories and create an immediate impact (Cohen & Young, 1973). Baum (2002) suggests that there are few other categories beside celebrity violence and sex stories that are likely to grab the attention of the public in such a powerful manner. Therefore,