Representation of rape in the media

There is a Home Office funded report out today, 'Just Representations? Press Reporting and the reality of rape' which criticises the media's stereotypical representation of rape, which they claim damage conviction rates severely. This stereotype is clear in many a police drama or soap opera, where women are often raped on the way home after a night out, or unfairly represent women who concoct a story of being a victim of rape to reap the benefits of the husband or partners bulging bank balance. There is no doubt that such stories are true in a number of cases, but the media have a strong role to play in properly informing their viewers about the reality of rape- for example, as outlined in the Independent today, 89% of men actually know their victims, and are not the rouge man on the street, and only 13% of rapes take place in public.

Its really worrying that only 5.7% of rapes lead to a criminal conviction, and that so many women feel that they cannot come forward to report rape, or go through the court process for fear of being misinterpreted, or misinformed. Recent reports of rape have only served to counter the confidence of women to come forward. High profile cases such as the one in Aberystwyth a few years ago when a Security Guard walked a student home and was later accused of rape is case in point, as the arguments used against the woman in question was that she was drunk, and that the issue of consent was open to question.

The report recommends that there should be guidelines in place to enforce newspapers and the PCC to act in this area, and to ensure that they report rape as a wider social issue, as opposed to sporadic, high profile, sensational representations that exist currently. I would support this wholeheartedly, and also the need for wider awareness raising on this issue.