On Wednesday 24 May, a new exhibition was held in Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis, exploring how rape and sexual assault are reported in the British press. The exhibition, collated by the charity’s Rosey Project, reviewed articles from four of the UK’s biggest newspapers – The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Mirror and The Sun – from the perspective of survivors.
Analysis of the press coverage revealed bias and stereotyping, such as depicting children as ‘vulnerable’ victims and adults as subjected to victim-blaming stereotypes. High-profile perpetrators were often portrayed positively, with mentions of achievements and net worth together with humanising images. Sensationalist and overly graphic headlines were also used, without a trigger warning or details of a relevant helpline for those affected.
The event was attended by actress Karen Dunbar, academics and students of journalism, representatives from local support agencies and survivors who have used the Rosey Project support services. It builds on research findings that featured in the “Melody Report”, published by the Rosey Project Community in 2021. The research found that over 70% of participants surveyed felt that survivors of sexual violence were framed negatively in the media, with 81.1% reporting feeling deterred from reporting to the police because of the way survivors are portrayed.
Members of the Rosey Project Community said: “Our research shows that not one of the 43 media pieces we reviewed met standards to report rape and sexual assault responsibly. Responsible reporting should prioritise facts and the experience of survivors over sensationalist headlines, communicate that rape and sexual violence are not OK in any context and take responsibility to provide support information for anyone engaging with it.”
Claudia MacDonald, Director at Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis, said: “The call to action from the group of young advocacy volunteers working on this project is clear, it’s time to reassess the press. With our media’s power, they must stand up and take responsibility for how they are reporting. It’s not good enough that survivors of rape are villainised and have their whole life scrutinised because of the actions of a rapist. So, I urge all who work in the media, to join us in reassessing their press. We are here, and we will work with you to do this. Because we all need to stand up and say, ‘enough is enough’.”
On Wednesday 24 May, Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis hosted the “Reassess the Press” exhibition, exploring how rape and sexual assault are reported in the British press. Collated by the charity’s Rosey Project, the exhibition focused on a review of articles published in four of the UK’s biggest newspapers – The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Mirror and The Sun. Analysis of press coverage revealed bias and stereotyping in reporting, such as depicting children as ‘vulnerable’ victims and adults subjected to victim-blaming stereotypes.
The event was attended by actress Karen Dunbar, academics and students of journalism, representatives from local support agencies and survivors who have used the Rosey Project support services. It builds on research findings that featured in the “Melody Report”, published by the Rosey Project Community in 2021, which found that over 70% of participants surveyed felt that survivors of sexual violence were framed negatively in the media.
Members of the Rosey Project Community said: “Our research shows that not one of the 43 media pieces we reviewed met standards to report rape and sexual assault responsibly. Responsible reporting should prioritise facts and the experience of survivors over sensationalist headlines, communicate that rape and sexual violence are not OK in any context and take responsibility to provide support information for anyone engaging with it.”
Claudia MacDonald, Director at Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis, added: “With our media’s power, they must stand up and take responsibility for how they are reporting. It’s not good enough that survivors of rape are villainised and have their whole life scrutinised because of the actions of a rapist. So, I urge all who work in the media, to join us in reassessing their press. We are here, and we will work with you to do this. Because we all need to stand up and say, ‘enough is enough’.”
On Wednesday 24 May, the “Reassess the Press” exhibition was held at Glasgow and Clyde Rape Crisis, exploring the impact of media reporting on survivors of rape and sexual assault in Scotland. Collated by the charity’s Rosey Project, the exhibition focused on a review of articles published in four of the UK’s biggest newspapers – The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Mirror and The Sun. Analysis of press coverage revealed bias and stereotyping, such as depicting children as ‘
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.