It is a fact that even today majority of crime against
women are not reported due to different reasons. The
reasons for the lack of coverage of sexual assault on
women are societal values and other factors which
may make it difficult for the media to report on the
issue. However “newsworthy” violence against
women is given eye catching coverage often with an
air of moral indignation but rarely with any analytical
depth. The overall result is two contradictory media
definitions. In some cases (for instance domestic
violence), violence may be imaged as normal behavior, and in others it is portrayed as abnormal, something which has nothing to do with “people like you
and me”. Consequently the reality of women’s experience of violence, its seriousness and pervasiveness is glossed over.
in relation to violence against women means much
more than to try to establish straightforward
connection between violent content in the media and
the development of aggressive attitudes and behavior
of men in our society. It is certainly a highly
challenging task. However the broader task is to
comprehend and analyze the values underlying all
sexist representations of women in all forms of mediaadvertisements, cartoons, fashion photography, romantic
fiction, traditional stereotypes in dramas and films
which depict women as responsive to men, not as
responsible in their own right.
Now a days the media almost regularly carries the
stories of sexual harassment which has tremendous
impact and consequences for women. She is not only
embarrassed but feels guilty due to a variety of
pressure from family, society and media which at
times suggests that she has caused this harassment.
In media narratives and visuals we witness the
heroes aggressively flirting with a female character,
the boss making sexual advances to his secretary,
the young man following a girl down the street. These
portrayals and images as well as the general
storylines reinforce certain myth that men are more
muscular and they have the rights to do anything they
want to do with women.
As the United Nations document for the world
conference on the decade of the women rightly points
out: “The overriding obstacle identified by virtually all
governments, irrespective of economic and regional
groupings, the deeply rooted traditional value system
and attitudes which subordinate women and establish
stereotyped sex divisions of roles in society”.
Media can play an enormous role in taking women out
of stereotyped role division in society which
reinforces women’s subordination and exploitation
and finally make them vulnerable.
This is the reason we witness manifold increase in
violen