NCJ Number
141620
Journal
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 32 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1993) Pages: 12-24
Date Published
1993
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study examines how the media portray British barristers' (prosecution and defense) comments in rape trials, with attention to shifts in reporting since World War II.
Abstract
Using the data base created for an earlier project on the media coverage of the judiciary (Soothill, Walby, and Bagguley 1990), this study re-examined five newspapers over five selected years: 1951, 1961, 1971, 1978, and 1985. A search of all the rape reports in the newspapers was conducted to identify all reported comments by prosecution and defense counsel. In examining the media reports on rape cases, the analysis first considers the extent of the coverage of any comments made by the prosecution or defense (or both) at some point in the news coverage. Over the period examined (1951-85), media citations from the defense have declined, such that only 20 percent of trials reported in 1985 included a defense statement at some point in the news coverage. In contrast, prosecutor statements presented in the media have remained steady since the early 1960's. Media coverage of rape cases has generally declined over the period studied, but this decrease is matched by a dramatic increase in the amount of coverage given selected cases. The analysis of the content of the media reports on rape cases considers how the substance of statements reported in newspapers has changed, comments about women, comments about men, the context of the offense, and other comments or requests made by barristers in rape cases. The study found that in both prosecuting attorneys' and defense attorneys' statements in rape cases, the woman victim's behavior was often alluded to as a contributing factor in the case. In the case of prosecutors, this often took the form of defending the woman's behavior as though she were on trial. The media has done a disservice to rape victims in choosing to report only those cases where severe physical harm has been done to the victim. This tends to suggest to the public that the larger number of rape cases that involve psychological harm to the victim and manipulative behavior by offenders are not serious nor newsworthy. 6 notes and 10 references