Study on how the press treats sexual violence presented
The coverage Barcelona's newspapers give to sexual violence, based on the analysis of women who have suffered these aggressions, is the focus of a research by the UAB Master's Degree in Gender and Communication and the Association of Assistance to Sexually Assaulted Women (AADAS), which was presented on 22 November in Barcelona.
The project gives voice to women who have been victims of sexual assaults and who are at different stages of recovery. Individually or in groups, these women were asked about the content of the information given on different types of sexual assaults in four Catalan newspapers (El Periódico, el PuntAvui, l'Ara i La Vanguadia) appearing during the first six months of 2016.
The women who participated in the study pointed out how the information makes them the victims and the persons responsible for the actions without taking into account their experience and their explanations. The research also sheds light on how press discourses influence their processes with an increase in discomforts, relapses and difficulty in recovering. Given this, the women participating in the research demand to be listened to and offer to begin a process of dialogue and participation in order to change the social constructions and imagery that the media transmits when dealing with sexual assaults.
The study, which included the collaboration of the Barcelona City Council and the support of the Barcelona Provincial Council, was presented on Tuesday 22 November at the Sala Cuina of the Francesca Bonnemaison Centre in Barcelona.