Book Review,

"Framing Abuse:  Media Influence and Public Understanding of Sexual Violence Against Children" by Jenny Kitzinger

Media Influence on Perceptions of Child Sexual Abuse
by Nadia Matta
 
There is no denying the huge role the media play in today's world.  From television to magazines, from radio to the World Wide Web, we are living in an era in which information is more abundant and accessible than ever before.  Whether it is aiming to educate us, influence the way we think, or persuade us to buy a certain product, today's mass media release a constant barrage of information.  With opinions, heated arguments, and supposed facts emanating from so many sources at once, it is a complex process to try and make sense of it all.

Interpreting this overload of information is an integral part of trying to understand the world around us.  It is up for debate as to what extent the media influence the way we form opinions, the way we rate the importance of issues, and even the way we view ourselves.  The media inform us of many things.  At the same time, though, we as an audience make up a body of active individuals who bring personal knowledge and history to the way every media account is perceived.

In a well-researched book by Jenny Kitzinger, media effects are analyzed with respect to one of the pressing social issues of our day:  child sexual abuse.  In "Framing Abuse:  Media Influence and Public Understanding of Sexual Violence Against Children," Kitzinger addresses the way media stories shape the way the problem is viewed.  News reports influence perspectives on specific dangers, public understanding of the extent of the problem, and even the way that survivors of abuse view themselves and their experiences.

Kitzinger examines media coverage of well-known cases and presents interviews with both journalists and survivors.  The book also includes selections from 79 focus group discussions, providing an invaluable look at common opinions of child sexual abuse.

Until fairly recently, this type of violence was not discussed by the media and in many ways was not taken seriously.  The Women's Liberation Movement is often credited with bringing this issue to the forefront, pleading with policy makers and the general public to examine the reality of violence against women and children.

As Kitzinger explains, the early to mid-'80s saw a shift in the media's attitude toward sexual abuse.  The topic began popping up all over the place, from local news reports to women's magazines.  Documentaries on the subject appeared, and soon it became commonly entwined in the plots of popular soap operas and television dramas. 

This sudden widespread coverage dramatically affected survivors of abuse, who now had a concrete validation of their experiences.  Before this, many survivors lived their lives in silent confusion and shame, not knowing anyone else had endured similar trauma.  As one anonymous survivor is quoted, "I always found this silence around it a very loud thing."  Being confronted with these stories even forced some people to deal with memories they had previously pushed aside.

Prior to 1986, there were virtually no other words than "rape" in everyday use to express the acts that can constitute sexual abuse.  But when talk of molestation and assault became more common, a large number of people came forward to share their stories.  The media picked up on this, and many people expressed skepticism that there could be so many victims of child sexual abuse.  But public skepticism hit an all-time high with a number of scandals involving supposedly false allegations and what were considered inappropriate interventions. Nearly as quickly as the media had picked up the issue of sexual abuse, it was eager to cover the tremendous backlash.

Kitzinger firmly takes on the sensationalistic media coverage of the infamous Cleveland and McMartin scandals, in which large groups of children claimed to have been sexually abused by their parents or caretakers.  These cases were regarded in the popular media as examples of witch-hunts and mass hysteria in which innocent families were ripped apart by so-called false memories, which were supposedly "implanted" into the impressionable minds of the young accusers by the likes of misguided social workers.  Kitzinger details the one-sided way in which the media supported the alleged perpetrators and dismissed all likelihood that any abuse could have taken place.  As the cases progressed-- sometimes with more and more evidence surfacing in support of the children's accusations-- the stories lost their front-page status, and new information got little to no attention.  Many people merely remembered the quick-to-judge headlines, like "Innocent Families Destroyed by False Allegations," and often walked away with skepticism toward abuse allegations in general and a lack of understanding about the realities of child sexual abuse, including the fact that most of it goes unreported.

What Kitzinger explains is that these early cases created a sort of template for viewing all new cases of reported abuse.  Decades-old stories continue to affect the public's perception of allegations, and this has added to the hesitancy of survivors to come forward, helping to maintain the status of sexual violence as a crime that goes drastically unreported.

"Framing Abuse" also investigates the way the media presents where abuse takes place and who the common perpetrator is.  The concept of "stranger danger" and the fear of lurking pedophiles have become regular topics of discussion on the local news, between parents, and in schools.  Yet despite all this, incest is rarely mentioned, remaining a taboo topic despite the widespread acceptance of discussing child sexual abuse.  As Kitzinger reports, "96 percent of newspaper articles about how to protect children focus on threats from strangers, only 4 percent even partially address the most common category of abuse, abuse by fathers, uncles, stepfathers, brothers and other family members." 

Just like murder, sexual abuse most often takes place with a family member or family friend as the perpetrator.  But these stories rarely attract media concern, if they are reported at all.  Instead, a disproportionate amount of attention is paid to supposed false allegations (and a very low percentage of actual cases have been proven to involve false allegations), leaving the public with an unfair perception of the likelihood that accusations are untrue.  In addition, the focus on strangers-- often depicted as mentally ill and scary-looking-- makes it hard for many people to accept that someone they trust could be a sexual offender.  Even for those who understand on an intellectual level that people who commit sex crimes look "just like everybody else," it is common to dismiss abuse charges against friends and family who appear to be "normal" members of the community.

      "Framing Abuse" asks some very important questions that are not asked often enough.  With all the talk of stranger danger and child abuse, where is all the outrage over the acts of sexual violence committed against women everyday?  This problem remains drastically unreported and under-addressed.  Kitzinger also bravely confronts the possible issues underlying sexual abuse, and the elements that tie together all forms of violence, taking a critical look at the bigger picture that the mass media rarely pay attention to.  Sexual abuse seems to occur at varying rates in different countries and at different eras in time, which begs an investigation into what political or social factors are influencing the incidence of this crime.  Attempting an honest look at the problem means facing the fact that it is males who commit the overwhelming majority of sexual abuse.  Kitzinger explains that it is necessary to probe the issue of male power in our society, and what male sexuality and the concept of masculinity have come to represent.  Many people dismiss the relevance of these topics in relation to child sexual abuse, but Kitzinger explains that they must be examined if we are to make a true effort to understand why widespread abuse is occurring.

The goal of "Framing Abuse" is not to criticize the media or individuals who harbor misunderstandings about child abuse.  It is an effort to make sense of the complex relationship between media influence and audience reception.  Kitzinger urges everyone to seek out alternative news sources, and to strive for a more complete understanding of our world by critically examining information presented by the mass media.  An educated approach is necessary if we, as a society, are to make an honest attempt to combat the problem of child sexual abuse.

 
"Framing Abuse:  Media Influence and Public Understanding of Sexual Violence Against Children"
by Jenny Kitzinger
Pluto Press
2004

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