MONSTER, MIGRANTER OCH BERÄTTELSER OM ANSVAR. Svenska mediers framställning av våldtäktsmän

Abstract

This study examines how rapists or suspected rapists are portrayed in Swedish news reporting through a comparative analysis of Aftonbladet and Samnytt. The purpose of the study is to analyze how perpetrators are framed based on ethnicity, responsibility and attributes. Further, we analysed how these frames vary between traditional and alternative-right media. This study is based on framing theory and the method applied is thematic analysis. The material consists of four articles from Aftonbladet, as well as four articles from Samnytt. We identified 5 themes in the material that seemed relevant for our studies purpose. The themes are: (1) Framing perpetrators as a threat to society, (2) Individual frames, (3) Framing perpetrators as result of social failure, (3) Frames of responsibility and guilt, and (5) Framing perpetrators due to their ethnicity. The analysis resulted in the insight that both mediatypes portray rapists as violent, dangerous and a threat to society. Samnytt are more prone to depict perpetrators in a thematic manner - focusing on broader societal structures and perspectives. In contrast, Aftonbladet frames perpetrators in a more episodic way - describing them as individuals with personal narratives. Moreover, the framing of responsibility and guilt varies in the mediacontexts regarding who is held responsible for the committed crime. Lastly, the framing of ethnicity shows that Samnytt frequently associates the perpetrators ethnicity and background as an explanatory factor in its portrayals of rapecrime. Aftonbladet, on the other hand, frames ethnic aspects as a social and structural phenomena. These frames can affect the rule of law as well as the audience’s opinion on politics related to crime and immigration. It can also result in a “second court” where the society judges perpetrators, convicted or not, into social penalties. Our comparing approach gives rise to questions about how different frame repertoires are shown in traditional versus alternative media and what implications this result has for the society. Our study consists of a small sample of only two different media producers which creates a need for further studies regarding more, or different kinds of media producers.