Abstract
Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a pervasive global issue. The media plays a significant role in shaping society's perceptions and understanding of IPV. This study focuses on the representation of femicide in Turkish newspapers, with a specific focus on the context of Turkey as an honor culture characterized by a distinct emphasis on female sexual purity and male dominance. Honor cultures often justify violence against women in the name of preserving honor. This research aims to investigate how newspapers depict honor-based IPV through quantitative analysis, content analysis, discourse analysis, and frame analysis of femicide cases. The findings reveal that newspapers frame IPV within an honor culture by victim-blaming and justifying men's violent behavior. Additionally, news coverage often portrays honor-based IPV as isolated incidents, failing to recognize its reflection of the broader honor culture. These portrayals inadvertently perpetuate and legitimize IPV, discouraging women from seeking assistance and support.
TopIntroduction
The analysis of violence against women in the media holds significant importance due to its broader societal implications beyond individual relationships. Through mass media, individuals are exposed to acts of violence and influenced by their portrayal (Bullock & Cubert, 2002). The media's reporting style and presentation of violence play a crucial role in shaping people's perceptions of such acts. While the media is not the primary cause of violent behavior, it has the potential to impact people's attitudes and responses to violence against women, potentially exacerbating its effects and providing justifications for such behavior (Fairbairn & Dawson, 2013). Therefore, alongside addressing the underlying causes of violence, it is crucial to examine its portrayal in the media to effectively combat this issue. Hence, this paper aims to investigate how violence against women is depicted in the media, with a specific focus on intimate partner violence (IPV) in Turkey. Turkey is characterized as an honor culture with a strong emphasis on patriarchy (Sakallı-Uğurlu & Akbaş, 2013) and has experienced a rise in the number of incidents of violence against women (the Digital Monument Counter, anitsayac.com). Given this context, this study will explore media representations of violence against women from an honor-based perspective.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Victim Blaming: The notion that the victim is at fault for what happened to them. The occurrence of negative incident attributed to victim’s failure to behave in a well manner.
Justifications for Violence: Attempts to find excuses for violence, seeking to justify the perpetrator's actions and imply that the victim's behavior warranted the violence.
Isolated Incidents: The attempt to present negative events (e.g., violence against women) as a singular occurrence specific to the involved parties, detached from similar events and broader cultural influences.
Femicide: The deliberate murder of women, generally based on gender ideologies.
Media Depictions: Media’s representation, explanation, and presentation of the news and events.
Honor Culture: Cultures which put significant emphasis on reputation, a good standing on the society which is based on male authority and female chastity. These cultures justify male violence against women for honor related reasons.
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV): Acts of physical, emotional, or psychological harm perpetrated by current or former partner on the other.