Framing of Honor Crimes: A Comparative Analysis in Jordan and Lebanon Media Coverage

ABSTRACT This study examines media coverage framing of two recent honor crimes in Jordan and Lebanon, exploring how media narratives shape perceptions in those culturally similar yet distinct contexts. Utilizing qualitative content analysis, it delves into crime‐related notions involving the legal institutions, culture, perpetrator psychology, and victim portrayal. The findings reveal key divergences: (1) crime depicted as generic homicide versus honor killing, (2) victims framed with varying degrees of humanization, (3) legal institutions portrayed as either enforcing law or perpetuating violence, (4) culture constructed as traditional versus progressive, and (5) perpetrator psychology individualized or contextualized within societal structures. The findings also suggest that Jordanian and Lebanese media outlets, respectively, employ thematic and episodic types of framing. This research contributes to the previous literature on honor crime by suggesting that media coverage framing in the Arab world is heterogeneous, thus defying accounts such as cultural essentialism that views the Arab world as predominantly in favor of honor killing.