By Kemiso Wessie
Contemporary media is grounded in its societal role: to educate, inform, and entertain. The public relies on news for vital information, inevitably shaped by the frames through which it is presented. Coverage of sexual violence, therefore, carries a particular responsibility: to situate cases within a broader social context.
Although reports of sexual violence rarely make the news unless they involve a particular person, the public still relies on journalists to uphold a semblance of the values and principles of the profession, regardless of the subject. The framing of sexual violence strongly influences public perception: shaping how it is understood as a social problem, and shaping individuals’ attitudes, beliefs, and attributions of blame and responsibility.
As Layman (2020) observes: “the presence of rape myths, stereotypes, victim blaming and improper terminology within media coverage perpetuates the spread of misinformation about sexual violence.”
A 2023 study published in African Health Sciences reported that 33% of African women worldwide have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. According to a 2024 UNICEF report, 370 million girls and women globally have faced similar experiences. The same report highlights that more than 79 million girls and women in sub-Saharan Africa have experienced rape or sexual assault before turning 18.
Isaacs (2016) notes that African media coverage of sexual violence is often filtered through narrow definitions of newsworthiness, which privilege drama, action, and conflict over everyday realities of abuse.
While the media is a powerful force in shaping public understanding of violence against women, its framing frequently discourages victims or survivors from speaking out, which undermines the support they receive from society, the justice system, and healthcare services.
In treating rape as less than a serious crime, African media not only trivialises survivors’ experiences but also perpetuates a culture in which sexual violence is normalised rather than confronted. Taha (2021) states, “the frames used in this coverage are said to have a great role in determining how the victims/survivors feel afterwards.”
Mbali Shongwe, South African social activist and founder of the youth NGO Mindful(l) Organisation, emphasises that while statistics on sexual violence are important, “it’s important to have survivors’ voices to humanise those numbers.”
Yet in media coverage, survivors are too often treated as mere stories rather than as people. Their dignity and respect are frequently sacrificed in the pursuit of “getting the story.”
The group, Journalists Against Violence Against Women’s, Guidelines on Media Reporting on Violence against Women highlights ethical responsibilities, the emotional and psychological impact of coverage, and the need to move beyond tokenistic or “politically correct” approaches.
Reporting on sexual violence should not only inform the public of its seriousness as a social issue, but also provide a sense of closure for survivors. Care, sensitivity, and ethical responsibility in interviews and writing are therefore paramount. This rhetoric, Taha (2021) says, “conforms to a patriarchal system that wants women to change their attitude rather than work on eradicating the assault altogether.”
Shongwe stresses that journalists must take responsibility for how they report on sexual violence, noting: “It’s important to understand what narrative the survivor wants to portray. What aspects of their story do they want to be shared? A lot of us [survivors] have different goals in speaking out.”
Consistently vocal on issues of sexual violence and inadequate police reporting, Shongwe has also campaigned for the ratification of the Co-Offenders Bill alongside DNAforAfrica. In a 2021 opinion piece for News24, she argued that police officers require better training to engage with victims, as mistreatment can inflict secondary trauma, a point equally applicable to journalists whose insensitive reporting can retraumatise survivors rather than amplify their voices with dignity.
This article was originally published by Ajenda newsletter