Invisible Wounds, Invisible Abuse: The Exclusion of Emotional Abuse in Newspaper Articles

ABSTRACT

Newspapers continue to be a readily available and important source of information for much of the U.S. public. However, the meaning of domestic violence used in newspaper articles often excludes forms of violence that are not blatantly physical. Through an analysis of newspaper articles about domestic violence appearing in 5 cities during 3 months in 2008, I discuss the exclusion of emotional abuse in articles about domestic violence. Through recounting my narrative of an emotionally abusive relationship, I highlight the painful emotionally violent behaviors that are slighted in contemporary news stories about domestic violence. I also discuss reasons the media does not focus on emotional forms of abuse, and the implications of this exclusion for victims of emotional abuse.

KEYWORDS:

• Abuse
• domestic violence
• emotional abuse
• intimate partner violence
• narrative
• newspaper
• psychological abuse

Notes

1. To represent the gendered scenario of many cases of abuse, when referring to perpetrators of domestic violence and abuse I use the masculine pronouns “he” or “his,” and when referring to victims I use feminine pronouns.

2. I have included two newspapers from the Denver area, The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News because they are jointly owned. Although each one publishes separate editions Monday through Friday, a single edition is published each Saturday and Sunday, and as a result readership numbers are often combined for these two papers.

3. An interesting language choice made by Lederer, the article's author, is an explicit reference she makes to physical violence when describing this UN campaign to end violence. Specifically, Lederer (2008) says Ban is, “calling on men to combat the problem” (emphasis added) (¶1). A battle or war reference appears again in the actual statement by Ban, when he says, “speaking up against [violence against women] is a badge of honor” (emphasis added) (¶1), a term that generally references medals earned in combat. Using these terms highlights the pervasiveness of violence throughout the global society, as it would appear even when trying to end violence, we cannot help but to refer to it.