NCJ Number
137944
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 31 Issue: 4 Dated: (Autumn 1991) Pages: 383-392
Date Published
1991
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article looks at the changing media coverage of rape trials since World War II and contrasts shifts in court and media profiles of rape cases between the early 1970's and the mid-1980's.
Abstract
While many women learn of rape from direct experience, the public hears about rape largely through the media. Since World War II, a remarkably consistent feature of rape court cases has been reported in the media. Most cases involve one offender charged with raping one victim. A 1989 study by Lloyd and Walmsley of rapes by strangers, acquaintances, and intimates reports a decrease in the number of group rapes between 1973 and 1985. The study shows that only about 10 percent of reported rapes and 50 percent of rape prosecutions lead to a conviction and that information from the minority of cases gaining media coverage is likely to be particularly influential in shaping public definitions of rape. Court profiles identified by Lloyd and Walmsley indicate there has been a shift toward a profile more in keeping with the "reality of rape." In other words, not only are more men being processed for rape but also a far greater proportion of offenders in the 1980's than in the 1970's are intimately known to victims. Recognizing that definitions of rape are fluid, the potentially serious consequence of a misleading representation of rape in the media is that the public may revert to narrow definitions portrayed in the media. 13 references and 2 tables