Breaking the Frame: The Power of Media Narratives and the Question of Agency
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Published:August 2023
Samira Shackle, 2023. "Breaking the Frame: The Power of Media Narratives and the Question of Agency", The Cunning of Gender Violence: Geopolitics & Feminism, Lila Abu-Lughod, Rema Hammami, Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian
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This chapter explores the impact of media frameworks in reporting on gender-based violence, and how this dictates regional reportage. Drawing on case studies of journalistic coverage of gender-based violence, this chapter grapples with the ways in which the media sensationalizes sexual-based violence, especially as it bolsters notions of encultured patriarchy. These framings have an impact on how readers consume information and what they deem to be the most critical issues in contexts of conflict. Yet journalists operate within a media ecosystem, with pressure from editorial desks dictating what gets covered. One oft-cited solution is to let women tell their stories on their own terms. Yet insofar as women learn how to frame their experiences with sexual violence to meet requirements to appeal to aid or western audiences, a proliferation of stories with this exclusive focus risks obscuring rather than illuminating crucial issues.
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