Powerful yet Disempowered: A Thematic Literature Review Exploring the Challenges of Media Reporting on Sexual Violence

Since #MeToo (2017), media discourse has brought sexual violence into greater public consciousness. Despite certain gains in how journalists frame stories of sexual violence, issues such as rape myths and victim blaming continue in reporting practices. This thematic literature review identified 41 articles on sexual violence reporting practices from the Global North since 2013. Seven themes emerged, including five related to the content of media reporting and two related to the process: (1) prevalence of rape myths and rape culture, (2) language of blame, (3) problematic media framing, (4) ignored intersectionality, (5) biased use of sources, (6) structural challenges for journalists, and (7) lack of education, training, and practical engagement with ethical guidelines. The literature demonstrates significant gaps post #MeToo in ethical reporting on sexual violence because issues are contextually entrenched in systems of oppression, and much more work must be done to resist prominent stigma and stereotypes.