Taboo and dynamic framing in the media coverage of gang rape: the Ayia Napa case

Abstract

The study examines the media coverage of the case of suspected gang rape in Aiya Napa, Cyprus in the summer of 2019. The research question examined how the media covered this event while giving expression to various representations through dynamic framing. The study analyzed some 30 reports in the main news edition on two Israeli television channels using an original model developed for this study: The Dynamic Media Coverage Spectrum around the Moral Nucleus (M.S.M) presenting the movement of media coverage around the moral nucleus: the social taboo against gang rape. Reporting was found to move in three elliptical orbits around the taboo: first, who is to blame, second, the law against the norm, and third, dynamic movement around positioning semantics. The study reveals different narratives chosen to frame the event, using gender, status, identity, and ethnic affiliation of participants and the geopolitics of the case. The findings show, a critical public discourse must be developed regarding the messages the media communicate regarding sexual offenses and advantages through the MSM model analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. (2021). https://dartcenter.org/topic/sexual-violence.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ella Ben-Atar

Dr. Ella Ben-Atar, Head of the Radio and Digital Broadcasting Department in the Department of Communication at Sapir College. Her research fields are educational radio, community resilience in emergencies, and social groups.

Smadar Ben-Asher

Prof. Smadar Ben-Asher, senior lecturer in psychology at the Achva Academic College. Her research fields are social representations, marginalized groups and social injustice.

Gabriela Jonas-Aharoni

Dr. Gabriela Jonas-Aharoni, a lecturer at Sapir College. Her research fields are Latin American television, Argentinian telenovelas, cinema from a historical perspective, and television for adolescents.

Odelia Dayan-Gabay

Dr. Odelia Dayan-Gabbay, lecturer in Department of Communication at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research fields are media and gender with an emphasis on violence against women.