Framing Feminicides—A Quantitative Content Analysis of News Stories in Four Colombian Newspapers

Abstract

Colombia is marked by high levels of gender-based violence. In 2020, 630 women were murdered because of their gender. The number of these feminicides increased under the coronavirus lockdown that began in March 2020. Although the news media play a crucial role in shaping the public’s notion of feminicides, empirical studies on the media’s portrayal of feminicides in Colombia are scarce. The present study involved a quantitative content analysis of articles published in four Colombian newspapers to determine how they reported on feminicides from August 2019 to July 2020 (sample size: 139 articles, comprising 1798 paragraphs). The period under investigation allowed for a comparison of news coverage before and during the lockdown. By means of hierarchical cluster analysis, we identified four frames: “gender-based inequalities and discrimination against women”, “perpetrators in front of the court”, “prehistory and course of events of the feminicide”, and “reactions of neighbors, eyewitnesses, and villagers to the feminicide”. Our findings suggest that the four newspapers under investigation paint rather similar pictures of feminicides. We also found that the date an article was published in relation to the COVID-19 quarantine had little influence on the frequency at which the clusters appeared.

Framing femicide in the news, a paradoxical story: A comprehensive analysis of thematic and episodic frames

“…There is a significant corpus of empirical studies about femicide discourses from different socio-political contexts and using different methodologies. These confirm the dominance of narratives of victim-blaming and justification of the perpetrator's actions (some examples are Alcocer Perulero, 2014;Brodie, 2021;Gutiérrez Aldrete, 2020;Pröll and Magin, 2022;Slakoff, 2023;Taylor, 2009;Tiscareño-García and Miranda-Villanueva, 2020). Evidence confirms that attitudes that justify GBV are associated with perpetration among men (Stith et al, 2004), victimization among women (Abramsky et al, 2011) and negative reactions from institutions and the community towards the victims (Flood and Pease, 2009).…”

“…Most of the studies that identified victim-blaming and perpetrator-justification narratives used specific cases, and their methodologies lack rigour, producing analytical limitations (Pröll and Magin, 2022). Recently, quantitative studies with the frame theory approach included thematic articles in their analysis, making considerable advances in the field (Brodie, 2021;Gutiérrez Aldrete, 2020;Pröll and Magin, 2022).…”

Shifting Abortion Frames in the New York Times: A Qualitative and Quantitative Content Analysis Before and After Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization

“…Issues refers to common events, topics, or discourses related to the topic. For example, a study examining how Colombian newspapers frame the topic of "femicide" or the" intentional killing of women" identified 15 actors and 15 central issues (Pröll & Magin 2022). Actors included individuals and group such as "politicians," "authorities," and "victims of femicide."…”

“…In the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the publication of news effects policy, sets agendas, and shapes public opinion (Mendes 2011;Pröll and Magin 2022). Furthermore, the longevity of the frames increases the impact they can have on a reader (Entman 1993).…”

Women Struggle for Workers' Rights in Radical and Moderate Feminist Media

“…Through their choices and reporting on current issues, they mould the views, beliefs, and actions of their audiences. Additionally, the content of news can reflect how society treats women [7].…”