Perpetuation of rape myths through news reporting on Intimate partner violence: A Transitivity Analysis of Asma Aziz case

Abstract

Sexual violence against women is a serious global issue that has still been persistent in different forms and manifestations. Intimate partner violence is a significantly overlooked form of violence against women, lacking recognition in numerous countries. There are no specific articulated laws to check this violence. It shapes and is shaped by how people consider this form of violence. This paper studies news reporting on the Asma Aziz case (2019), a high-profile case of intimate partner violence, as reported in the mainstream Pakistani print media. Transitivity system from Halliday's Systemic Functional Linguistics is taken to study how rape myths are perpetuated through news reporting on such sensitive cases of sexual abuse. The study's findings demonstrate that news reports predominantly employ transitivity processes that focus on the actions and experiences of the victims rather than the perpetrators, often framing these actions in a way that implies victim provocation or responsibility for the violence. This pattern of reporting serves to perpetuate rape myths, subtly endorsing societal biases that blame victims of intimate partner violence. Such linguistic choices in media can influence public perception by reinforcing unjust stereotypes and diminishing the accountability of the aggressors.