The print media are a key disseminator of knowledge. With a large percentage of the population solely dependent on the media for facts, media reports can influence public opinion at large, and even impact criminal case outcomes. In particular, media representations of rape and sexual assault can affect the legal response to such cases on multiple levels. As we will argue in this article, media representations of rape can potentially influence whether a victim reports the assault to the police and whether legal officials, from the police to jurors, find the perpetrator culpable for the crime. Therefore, it is imperative that the media not only objectively report individual cases of rape, but also that they accurately represent research findings on rape and sexual assault.
More..