Critical discourse analysis of news representations of male victims of domestic violence

Critical discourse analysis of news representations of male victims of domestic violence

Research on domestic violence primarily centres on female victims of male-perpetrated violence; less research, however, has been conducted on male victims. This study investigated how male victims of domestic violence are represented in 35 online news articles using critical discourse analysis. The articles were obtained from Factiva from six major newspapers in Australia between 2018-2021. The most pertinent findings of this study included most articles were considered short in length demonstrating an absence of newsworthiness; men were rarely referred to by name making them an invisible entity; an over-reporting of fatal domestic violence compared to the larger proportion of abuse being non-physical; non-physical abuse was rarely reported on; men were rarely referred to as ‘victim’; and elements of victim-blaming were prevalent. These findings suggest that Australian media does not report male victimisation in ways that increase awareness and credibility. Further, this study demonstrates that there is long way to go in recognising and legitimising the experiences of victimisation that men experience as domestic violence victims.

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.