Sound and Fury: Newspaper Coverage of the Marital Rape Debate in New Providence

Abstract

We examined the coverage appearing in two Bahamian newspapers of the public debate regarding a proposed bill in 2009 to criminalize marital rape in The Bahamas. We examined the arguments that appeared in newspaper coverage to analyze the ways the newspaper media framed the debate and found that coverage of the debate was mixed but relied heavily on opinions and stereotypical beliefs rather than on facts.

Attitudes of High School Students Regarding Intimate Relationships and Gender Norms in New Providence, The Bahamas

“…Although there were sex differences in the responses, 16% of the girls thought that wives should provide their husbands with sex on demand. This attitude has implications for the debate in The Bahamas concerning a marital rape law (Benjamin & LeGrand, 2012). Our data suggest that sexual expectations of future husbands and wives are formed at an early age, and this raises the question as to the origin of these expectations.…”

Mental Health and Negative Sexual Experiences of Bahamian University Students

“…Females were more aware than men of the importance of consent with regard to sexual intercourse, and men were more likely to view rape as requiring physical resistance by the victim to make the unwanted sex rape (see Table 3). Close to 40% of both males and females agreed that rape cannot occur within marriage; this indicates the considerable disagreement on this topic in a society where the law recognizes rape only outside of marriage, as demonstrated in debates on martial rape (Benjamin & LeGrand, 2012). Some respondents in this study indicated that they may have been sexually abused by their husbands.…”

Caribbean journalism’s media economy

“…Although advertising revenues are better indicators of success, advertising data were not available from these private firms and this study relies on available annual reports and circulation revenue. The Nassau Tribune's daily circulation increased from12, 000 in 2002 to 21,000 in 2012 and the Nassau Guardian increased from14,100 in 2002 to 17,000 in 2012 (Benjamin and LeGrand, 2012). In 2011, both newspapers added supplementary sections with increased advertising content and the Nassau Tribune also created a new weekly tabloid paper, the Big T. The media formula, wider circulation attracts more advertisers (Pew Research Center), was applied to indicate the growth in newspaper revenues, as no annual report data were accessible for the Bahamas media companies.…”