Mediated Blame-Game: Media Reporting on Violence against Women
Mediated Blame-Game: Media Reporting on Violence against Women

Author(s): Viktorija Car, Barbara Ravbar
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Media studies, Communication studies, Studies in violence and power, Victimology
Published by: Transkulturna Psihosocijalna Obrazovna Fondacija (TPO Foundation)
Keywords: violence against women; media reporting; blame-game; secondary victimisation; Croatia;
Summary/Abstract: Violence against women is a form of gender inequality, an integral part of the social system, and is linked to other aspects of human and economic development. The media portrayal of violence against women as an acceptable private problem is directly related to its normalisation within the society. The media have the power to shape notions of the acceptable, create behaviour trends and even influence, challenge or reject gender norms, gender stereotypes and discrimination. Following the framework of the Guidelines for Reporting on Violence Against Women published by UNESCO and the International Federation of Journalists, this study explores the frames, narratives and language patterns used in Croatian online news articles to represent women in reporting about violence against them. The sample of 1186 articles published in two different periods between 2018 and 2021 were analysed using qualitative content analysis, framing analysis, narrative analysis, and critical discourse analysis. Key results of this study show that violence against women is framed as a private problem, while the blame for the violence is often shifted from the perpetrator to the victim. Results confirm the presence of secondary victimisation and show that violence against women as a topic is exploited to attract the readers’ attention since sensationalism is often present in headlines and article’s narrative.

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