Rape stereotyping and public delusion

Abstract

Media reports shape public perceptions of rape victims and can even affect the outcome of trials, according to academics Heather Flowe, Sophia Shaw, Ellen Nye and Joanna Jamel. They accuse the Daily Telegraph of misrepresenting a research study into the factors involved in sexual coercion. They believe that newspaper articles that “frame rape victims’ behaviour in a stereotypical manner… create negative consequences for victims, rape-case prosecution and public safety.”