A Departmental Research Seminar by Dr Sally Hunt:

Rape culture – a pervasive ideology in South African society, amongst others, which normalises gender-based violence and blames survivors for the attacks they experience – has been identified as a contributing factor to the high prevalence of sexual assault and rape in South Africa. Recent ongoing protests have highlighted this issue as requiring urgent attention. This seminar will address the role of the media, broadly construed, in the dominance of rape culture, and will examine various mass media for the gendered messages they send via their use of language, with particular emphasis on the South African news media.