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Abstract

Much of the news media’s coverage of rape and sexual assault reinforce rape myths and stereotypes about rape, rapists and rape survivors (DiBennarso, 2019; Kunst et al. 2019; Lonsway & Fitzgerald, 1994). This is particularly concerning because news media shape public perception on rape (O’Hara, 2012) which can be damaging when it is only reported that women are rape survivors because they are classed as vulnerable, and men are the rapists because they are stereotypically strong (Christie, 1986; Burt, 1980; Estrich 1987). This dissertation has provided an analytical overview of the literature surrounding the use of rape myths in news coverage of rape cases. Common rape myths include that women ask to be raped, women lie about being raped and men cannot be survivor because they should be strong enough to defend themselves from an attacked (Burt, 1980). The present study will continue on from O’Hara’s (2012) which studied news media coverage in an attempt to discover if they perpetuated rape myths. The present study is a qualitative thematic analysis of current five rape cases which are believed to represent wider society and most rape survivors. These rape cases include the cases of Sarah Everard , Stephen Elms, Lee Michaels’, Alex Feis-Bryce and Valentine Livingston. The sample size was reduced from 412 online articles to 151 due to a strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. From the analysis, three overarching themes were developed; ‘the attribution of blame’, ‘differing perspectives of ‘vulnerability’; and ’differing use of language.

Course: Criminal Justice - MSc - C2681F

Date Deposited: 2023-05-11

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis14139.html