In this essay, I will discuss how domestic violence is represented in newspapers and how

these representations impact how we understand domestic violence. I will also explain the
potential consequences of newspaper representations of domestic violence and the action to
take to change the way domestic violence is represented in the media.

Domestic violence is “a pattern of behaviour in any relationship used to gain or maintain

power and control over an intimate partner”. This can be defined as physical abuse, sexual
assault, stalking, and harassment by a partner or a family member; verbal abuse, which
involves threats and insults directed at a victim; or psychological abuse (Network, L.F.L.N,
2021). Media outlets portray domestic violence through sexism and violence against women.

Newspaper articles portray domestic violence through violence against women. For
example, a study on a survey of 48 people found that an intimate male partner has
physically assaulted between 10 and 69% of women. In 2001, approximately 72% of intimate
partner violence involved simple assault, while 7% involved sexual assault, according to the
United States Bureau. Continuing portrayals of violence in media outlets are creating public
acceptance of violence. Nowadays, domestic violence is viewed by the public as an
individual or family problem that does not concern society. The problem with domestic
violence is that it is under-reported, and the victims are often hesitant to come forward and
give evidence because of how it is addressed in media outlets. According to Cunningham, V.
(2011), the newspapers portrayed the victim negatively and the offender positively. She
claims that the public’s perception of the victim can change after hearing this. There is also a
discussion on the impact on the public’s perception of domestic violence if the victim is
shown negatively. A newspaper article by McManus, J. & Dorfman L. (2003) talked about a
man pointing a gun at police officers after killing his wife and breaking her skull, and the man
was shot by the police officers. Newspapers portray the man as ‘lovesick’ and ‘betrayed’ by
his wife - stories like this disport reality and public perception. Domestic violence is
normalised through comics in media outlets, which would impact the public negatively as
people view domestic violence as something to laugh about and not a serious crime. This
would harm domestic violence victims as they would not seek help, resulting in severe
mental health problems in the long run, as well as social issues. Domestic violence victims
would feel isolated, scared and without people to listen.
NBC news covered a domestic violence case of Chris Brown beating up his girlfriend
Rihanna in 2009, and a student claimed that it was meant to be funny and to laugh at; this
shows that young people have a different understanding of what domestic violence is and
think that behaving like Chris is acceptable.

Maxwell and colleagues (2000) found that newspaper articles, when covering domestic
violence, were written to make it seem that the victim was responsible for stopping the
violence in the relationship; this would result in the public blaming the victim and not being
supportive. Media changes the focus of solving the issue from society to individual, which
means that the media focus on individual domestic violence episodes. If the media
underrepresented emotional and verbal forms of domestic violence in newspapers, the
public would believe these forms of violence are not present. However, this would lead to a
lack of awareness of resources available for victims of domestic violence and, likewise, a
lack of public knowledge and support. According to Meyers (1994), the media's portrayal of
domestic violence helps to uphold the outdated belief that men should rule over women.
Further, Combs and Slovic (1979) point out that by not reporting a problem like domestic

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violence, newspapers fail to draw attention to an issue that needs to be dealt with to help
reduce the potential problem. However, people do not report domestic violence because
they do not know that it is not acceptable. In countries such as India, domestic violence is
viewed as usual for a husband or fiancé to beat up their woman, and this is why women do
not report domestic violence because they think it is normal. Not covering these problems,
society might not be aware of the potential risk. False media portrayals may discourage
victims of domestic violence from getting help. For instance, excessive homicides could
prevent victims from leaving an abusive relationship, as it is supported that leaving will result
in getting killed. Newspaper conspiracies and misinformation can harm specific individuals,
especially when there is a severe variety of false information. Media outlets create a moral
panic in women, leading society into a state of fear by thinking women are targeted, but
domestic violence can happen to anyone.

Media outlets portray domestic violence through sexism. Males are typically accused of
abusing their female partners, but females can also commit domestic violence against their
(male and female) partners. The 2010 Centre for Disease Control report estimates that 1 in 4
females (25%) and 1 in 7 males (14.29%) are victims of severe domestic violence.
According to Kozol (1995), “representational strategies used by the mainstream media
protect male power from the threat posed by the exposure of these crimes,” portrayals
commonly “focused on the women involved, either blaming them for the abuse or
championing them as lone heroines fighting lone villains'' (p. 645). Kozol contends further
that media portrayals “often reinforce national ideologies through their focus on individualism
and free will… attacking the specific problem but not larger structural forces ignore crucial
factors of race, class, and sexuality in ways that reproduce, rather than a question, American
national ideals” (p. 665). Females are more frequently those victims of domestic violence
and are more likely than males to endure injuries or health outcomes because of these
incidents. Still, males are also subject to domestic violence in significant numbers. A study
showed that only 8.5% of male victims were reported in newspaper articles compared to
91.5% of female victims. In more than 70% of domestic violence cases, women were the
perpetrators Whitaker et al. (2007). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence
Survey reported that 42.3% of males experienced physical violence compared to 42.0% of
females. Around 39.0% of males reported being slapped, pushed, or shoved, and 24.6%
experienced severe physical violence. This shows that females can be violent through males
however newspaper articles do not report male victims as it does not offer much publicity as
females victim do. The same-sex relationship lacks mainstream news newspaper coverage.
A Washington study found that same-sex relationships suffer higher levels of domestic
violence than heterosexual ones. Discrimination and violence against the LGBTQ community
are why someone in a same-sex relationship does not seek help; also, campaigns and
organisations that try to spread awareness of domestic violence are only between male and
female or female and male violence that is nothing about same-sex domestic violence.
Newspapers focus more on marriage equality for same-sex and ignore domestic violence
issues.

In conclusion, media may not contribute to causing crime, but it does put labels and create
moral panics and folk devils. As domestic violence continues to be portrayed as an individual
problem and is normalised by the media, the public will view domestic violence as not a
serious problem. Additionally, representing domestic violence as romantic or attractive would
cause violence against women to be an acceptable act. Media outlets should cover more

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male victims and same-sex relationship violence to inform the public that violence
against male and same-sex couples exists, and there should be support for the victims.
Campaigns and organisations should continue to inform the public how serious and
dangerous domestic violence is not only for women but also children. Furthermore, there
should also be campaigns awareness for male victims and same-sex relationships to help
and support the victims and inform them that domestic violence does not happen just to
women. Therapists should know how the public may influence the nature of domestic
violence; this can help them understand its impact on children. To change the public’s
perception of domestic violence, it may be more beneficial to provide more education on
how the media may be a barrier to a realistic representation of domestic violence.

Reference
Maxwell, K. A., Huxford, J., Borum, C., & Hornik, R. (2000). Covering domestic violence:
How the OJ Simpson case shaped reporting of domestic violence in the news media.
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 77(2), 258-272.
Bullock, C. F., & Cubert, J. (2002). Coverage of domestic violence fatalities by newspapers
in Washington State. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 17(5), 475-499.
McManus, J., & Dorfman, L. (2003). Distracted by drama: How California newspapers
portray intimate partner violence. Berkeley Media Studies Group, 13, 1-24.
Kozol, W. (1995). Fracturing domesticity: Media, nationalism, and the question of feminist
influence. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 20(3), 646-667.
Meyers, M. (1994). News of battering. Journal of Communication, 44(2), 47-63.
Combs, B., & Slovic, P. (1979). Newspaper coverage of causes of death. Journalism
quarterly, 56(4), 837-849.