Gendering mass media perception of murders: cases on revisable permanent prison

• In Event: Media and social construction of crime II

Abstract

The media's construction of criminal acts and the portrayal of those who commit them play a crucial role in shaping public opinion and perceptions of justice. In this context, the gender of the convicted person has proven to be a determining factor in the way information is (re)presented and interpreted by the public.

This study focuses on analysing the media construction of the first two persons sentenced to revisable permanent imprisonment in Spain, who also have a relevant similarity: both involve the murder of minors in the family environment. Specifically, they are the first man and the first woman sentenced to this penalty in the country, whose crimes involve their own daughters and their partner's son, respectively.

The objective of this research is to examine how the media narrative differs according to gender and how these (re)presentations may influence the public perception of crime.
This study is part of the research project "Muerte y delito: estudio integral e interdisciplinar de los asesinatos y homicidios cometidos y enjuiciados en España" (PID2020-113262GB-100), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

To achieve these objectives, an interdisciplinary analysis will be carried out combining legal and sociological tools, together with the collection and exhaustive analysis of media material, including news, reports and expert opinions. Furthermore, this data will be contrasted with the judgments, to identify possible discrepancies between the media coverage and the legal process.

The analysis of the media construction of the cases of the first two persons sentenced to revisable permanent imprisonment in Spain reveals distinctive patterns in the way the crimes are presented and represented. In both cases, there is a marked difference in the narrative according to the gender of the convicted persons. The press tends to use differentiated approaches, highlighting stereotypical elements associated with traditional gender roles.

Authors

• María del Mar Martín Aragón, Universidad de Cádiz

• Raquel Pastor Yuste, Universidad de Cádiz