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Media Reporting of Rape: The British "Date Rape" Controversy (From Crime and the Media: The Post-Modern Spectacle, P 107-130, 1995, David Kidd-Hewitt and Richard Osborne, eds. -- See NCJ- 168074)

NCJ Number
168080
Author(s)
S Lees
Date Published
1995
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This study examines court cases associated with the "date rape" controversy of 1993 in Great Britain, with attention to how the media covered these cases.
Abstract
The argument that the British "date rape" controversy of 1993 was sparked by concerns over increasing numbers of rape convictions and of women's increased tendency to make false allegations is false and constitutes irresponsible press coverage. This study of the press coverage of the cases at issue shows how press reporting of rape was often biased, inaccurate, and irresponsible, presenting a distorted picture of the nature of the allegation, the victims, the perpetrators, and the conduct of the trials. The media coverage made no attempt to put the trials in any context and apparently focused on discounting women's allegations of rape and suggesting that female seduction was involved. Such media coverage reflects the way the press, like the courts, often presents issues from the male perspective, which tends to favor the argument of the defendant in rape cases. This strategy in press coverage of rape cases may have arisen in response to the male fear that women are challenging customary male sexual behavior on dates and are becoming too powerful. Contrary to press reports, a far lower proportion of rapists are convicted than 10 years ago; and the courts, far from having been reformed, are just as prejudiced against complainants as ever. 50 notes and a 24-item bibliography

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