Cross-Cultural Media-tions: Media Coverage of Two Child Sexual Abuse Controversies inNewZealand/Aotearoa
✍ Scribed by Chris Atmore
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 858 KB
- Volume
- 5
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0952-9136
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
This paper takes a cultural studies perspective and examines media coverage of two child sexual abuse conflicts in the 1980s in New Zealand/Aotearoa, as part of an era of increasingly media-ted, child sexual abuse controversies. The main representations of both conflicts were distinguished by a hostile response to a feminist-influenced analysis of child sexual abuse; yet at the same time, analysis of textual construction shows that feminist and other child protection arguments have made some inroads into popular discourse. There were some similarities in the media accounts to the ways in which recent controversies have been depicted in other western countries. The paper suggests that these similarities, along with local differences, need further exploration. As the twentieth century nears its end and child sexual abuse continues to be an important cultural preoccupation across national boundaries. these kinds of comparative projects could be of use to child protection workers and researchers.