The Representation of Female Victims of Rape in the Moroccan Newspapers’ Headlines: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

The current study analyzes the Moroccan online newspapers’ headlines talking about rape crimes in Morocco. Different Moroccan online newspapers are dealt with to find out the way victims of rape are represented. By applying Critical Discourse Analysis which draws upon Halliday’s transitivity system and naming analysis, the study seeks to probe into the way female victims of rape are depicted in the headlines of Moroccan online newspapers. The study focuses on the way language is used in headlines because it can play a powerful role in shaping public opinion about rape crimes in Morocco. The results show that the headlines of Moroccan online newspapers focus more on the age of both the offenders and the female victims of rape crimes which contributes to depicting them as being helpless and holding no responsibility and creates a horrible visual image in the minds of the readers about the awfulness of the crimes on the other hand.