Framing Gender-Based Violence: Victim-Blaming in Indian-English Media Discourse

Abstract Book of the 7th Global Conference on Women’s Studies

Year: 2025

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Framing Gender-Based Violence: Victim-Blaming in Indian-English Media Discourse

Dr. Giuseppina Scotto di Carlo

ABSTRACT:

This study examines how the media framing of violence against women (VAW) in Indian English-language newspapers contributes to the perpetuation of victim-blaming narratives, thereby reinforcing systemic gender-based violence (GBV). Using Critical Discourse Analysis, a corpus of articles from The Times of India and The Pioneer (June–October 2024) was analysed to identify linguistic strategies, such as euphemisms, passive constructions, and sensationalised reporting, that influence public perceptions of GBV. The findings reveal that media discourse frequently undermines survivors’ credibility, trivialises violence, and reinforces patriarchal ideologies. By comparing reporting practices across these outlets, the study highlights variations in how responsibility is framed and discusses the implications of these patterns for societal attitudes and policy responses to GBV, advocating for linguistically conscious reporting and systemic reforms to challenge rape culture and better support survivors.

Keywords: victim-blaming, gender-based violence, news discourse, Critical Discourse Analysis, rape culture, India