Unethical Reporting on Sexual Violence

It's Not You, It's The Media

In this episode Suchitra, Bhakti, and Madhuri delve into the unethical reporting on sexual violence, particularly in the context of the ongoing genocide perpetrated by Israel on Gaza. The hosts discuss the trends of hyper-reporting and zero reporting, the ethics of how victims are portrayed, and the media's role in fabricating narratives that serve political agendas. They highlight the systemic violence faced by Palestinian prisoners and the contrasting media treatment of different victims, the apathetic conditions of reporting on sexual violence in Indian news media, thereby, emphasizing the need for ethical journalism that prioritizes truth over salaciousness and sensationalism.

Key-takeaways:

• The media has gone as far to fabricate narratives around sexual violence for sensationalism and to dehumanize groups of people.
• There is a stark contrast between hyper-reporting certain cases and zero reporting in other cases.
• Victims' bodies are often exploited in unethical ways in reporting.
• The concept of the 'perfect victim' influences media narratives, also to further the facade of the ‘woke media’.
• Mainstream media frequently ignores the violence faced by marginalized groups.
• The MeToo movement has impacted how sexual violence is reported, but inconsistencies remain.
• Systematic violence in prisons is often overlooked by mainstream media.
• The US government has been complicit in ignoring sexual violence against Palestinians.
• Ethical reporting is crucial for justice and awareness.
• Media sensationalism can lead to voyeurism rather than meaningful change.

Further reading:

A Critical Look at The New York Times' Weaponization of Rape in Service of Israeli Propaganda (Institute for Palestine Studies) https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/1655054

“Between the Hammer and the Anvil” The Story Behind the New York Times October 7 Exposé (Intercept) https://theintercept.com/2024/02/28/new-york-times-anat-schwartz-october-7/

Leaked NYT Gaza Memo Tells Journalists to Avoid Words “Genocide,” “Ethnic Cleansing,” and “Occupied Territory” (Intercept) https://theintercept.com/2024/04/15/nyt-israel-gaza-genocide-palestine-coverage/

Israeli media’s coverage of the rape of Palestinian detainees shows support for sexual violence in service of genocide (Mondoweiss) https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/israeli-medias-coverage-of-the-rape-of-palestinian-detainees-shows-support-for-sexual-violence-in-service-of-genocide/

Here’s what Pramila Patten’s UN report on Oct 7 sexual violence actually said (Mondoweiss) https://mondoweiss.net/2024/03/heres-what-pramila-pattens-un-report-on-oct-7-sexual-violence-actually-said/

Keywords: sexual violence, media ethics, reporting, Palestine, India, France, victim narratives, MeToo, BelieveHer, journalism, torture, consent, mainstream media

Suchitra Vijayan is a writer, photographer and activist. She is the founder and Executive Director of The Polis Project. For her first book, The Midnight's Border: A People's History of India, Suchitra traveled across the 9000-mile Indian border. A barrister by training, she previously worked for the United Nations war crimes tribunals in Yugoslavia and Rwanda before co-founding the Resettlement Legal Aid Project in Cairo, which gives legal aid to Iraqi refugees. She is the co-author of How Long Can the Moon Be Caged? Voices of Indian Political Prisoners (2023) which offers a lens into today's India through the lived experiences of political prisoners.

Bhakti Shringarpure is a writer and editor. She is the co-founder of Warscapes magazine which transitioned into the Radical Books Collective, a multi-faceted community building project that creates an alternative, inclusive and non-commercial approach to books and reading. Bhakti is the author of Cold War Assemblages: Decolonization to Digital (2019) and editor of Literary Sudans: An Anthology of Literature from Sudan and South Sudan (2017), Imagine Africa (2017) Mediterranean: Migrant Crossings (2018) and most recently, Insurgent Feminisms: Writing War (2023).

Madhuri Sastry is a former lawyer, specializing in international and human rights law. She was the publisher of Guernica Magazine. Her political writing, cultural criticism, interviews and essays have appeared in several publications including The Nation, Guernica, Slate, Bitch and New York Magazine. She is on the editorial board at The Polis Project.