Changing representations of intimate partner femicides by a Portuguese newspaper (2006 and 2014): from episodic to thematic frames

Abstract

The media is one of the main vehicles for the dissemination of information and one of the primary means through which the social construction of intimate partner violence and femicide is made. In this study, content analysis was used to examine the portrayal of intimate partner femicide by news articles published in a Portuguese generalist daily newspaper. From a collection of 31 news articles published in 2014 and 24 in 2006, we found not only elements of episodic coverage, presenting the femicide as an isolated act, but also elements of thematic coverage, portraying the crime as an instance of a broader social problem.