Victim-centered headlines and symbolic images that portray women as scared, mystified, and helpless to represent sexual crimes are usual practices in mainstream media. They often portray women as defenseless victims rather than empowered survivors who bravely endured suffering due to rapists who lack self-control and respect for humanity.
Whenever such crimes occur, headlines like “A woman was raped...” and prevalent, accompanied by vague gender-based violence, greyscaled and blurred images showing a female victim with wounds, scars, and sometimes naked, fill the news. The media is so obsessed with highlighting their experiences and narrating their stories to attract audiences—commodifying their distresses.
But this doesn’t truly help the victims.
(Cartoon by Luke Perry Saycon/The Communicator)
As the mainstream media covers sexual crimes, they primarily focus on evoking emotions and sadness through language and imagery that display women as vulnerable. Perhaps this is to emphasize the so-called “femininity” and garner “sympathy,” which does not really help the victims and only sensationalizes the situation.
The general public is often left with endless questions such as, “What was she wearing?” and “When did it happen?” that will force the victims to defend themselves. This only serves to shame and eventually, blame and burden fall on the victim for a crime she did not wish to happen.
It’s saddening that these victim-focused stories and images overshadow the perpetrators, with little or no emphasis placed on them. This leads to public discussions solely focusing on the victim, showing little interest in knowing the whereabouts of the person who committed the crime.
One of the infamous cases of victim-focused stories is the rape-slay case of Chiong Sister in 1997. As the articles heavily emphasized the victims, the media and the people directed their attention on the victims whereas aside from sensational and disgusting content like “How much semen was found in their body?”—ridiculous rumors and conspiracies circulate in social media even in today’s time which state that the two sisters are still alive and the convicted criminals are innocent as they are still mistrial in the court.
Even in the Cristine Dacera case, when the news became the talk of the town, the public became outraged, stating that the alleged rape happened because of her revealing clothes and her careless actions for partying with her male friends. They wrongfully victim-blamed and shamed Dacera, even labeling her flirtatious and unintelligent, which is saddening because Dacera can no longer defend herself from public scrutiny. Even today, her social media accounts are still flooded with disgusting and hateful comments due to the problematic coverage of her case.
Victim-focused cases only draw attention to the victims, withdrawing the focus on the suspects, which could lead to questions that turn into assumptions and conspiracies. This would lead to the public not focusing on the perpetrators—absolving them and gaining sympathy from the public.
The media industry plays an important role in shaping these concepts and public perception. However, the current patterns in their practices often discredit women’s bravery by failing to capture stories of victims who fight back, upholding their rights and dignity after a heinous experience.
The choice writers make—labeling the victims as helpless and inadequately pressuring authorities to find and punish the perpetrators—merely perpetuates the concepts of victim-blaming as well as aids in absolving the sexual offenders. While it's good that these survivors get support and comfort from the public, would it be better if they received the justice they deserve without being appallingly portrayed as passive and inactive?
The mainstream media needs to reassess its practices that further structure a concept where survivors are being used as an audience for visual pleasure and discourse through the use of languages, details, and angles that recreate the horrors that they experience. The media should find a better alternative that empowers women and reinforces images of them fighting sexual violence, making it a space for them to showcase their resilience and courage.
Rather than depicting victims as scared, why not show an image of her tenacity and fighting back—as most survivors do? Why not focus on the perpetrators—and rightfully place the responsibility and accountability for the crime on them? Focusing more on the perpetrators in the headline can shift and emphasize who should take responsibility for the crime.
Furthermore, isn't it one of the journalist's responsibilities to provide confidentiality and protect its source, especially if the article can cause potential harm? Although the source willingly provides the information to the journalist, they still need to balance their stance on whether the written article could be advantageous or make the situation worse, and what should be included and omitted in the article, since this kind of topic is sensitive and crucial to report.
Writers should always consider the bigger picture. They should be aware of whether the articles that they write are pro-victims or not, or whether the graphics reinforce the stance they want to take. We must remain mindful and conscious of whether we are crossing ethical boundaries by unintentionally exploiting our sources for the sake of our professional advancement.
These stories should not shame women but instead empower them to speak up, share their own stories, and be bold enough to pursue justice by putting their abusers behind bars. Women do not want to be victimized; they do not want their stories to be commercialized either.
They want to reclaim their confidence and remove any guilt they may feel for the crime. They simply want the justice that they deserve to heal from the physical, emotional, and mental scars that were forcibly inflicted upon them.
Mainstream media should act as a platform for stories that support and empower survivors, protecting and helping them by alternating the focus and pressure on holding the perpetrators liable, instead of disregarding them by leaving the suspect anonymous while pulling out curtains on their pain. We should use our power and talent to empower women and help them find the justice and peace that they rightfully deserve.
These victims are neither defenseless nor weak; they are sexual violence survivors who bravely endure unimaginable experiences. And, that should be the concept that the general public should know.
Article: Kent Merrie Jade Mejares
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