Understanding media representation of intimate partner violence in Kenya: an analysis of the mainstream press

Abstract

The media play a critical role in shaping society’s perceptions of social problems such as intimate partner violence (IPV) through news reports. Such reports are indicators of social, economic, political and cultural norms that either normalize or challenge the occurrence of IPV. Similar to global trends, the prevention of IPV is critical to the achievement of gender equality in Kenya. However, past critiques mainly in high income countries have faulted mainstream media for normalizing IPV through stereotypical and sensational reporting. There is however little research in low and middle level income countries such as Kenya on media framing of IPV. This study therefore sought to understand the representation of intimate partner violence in Kenya by the mainstream press. 70 news articles published by The Standard and Daily Nation newspapers were identified from 2015-2019 through constructed week sampling. Findings indicated that the majority of IPV reports were framed as isolated cases with little contextualization. Such reports tended to use victim blaming language. Further, voices of experts were eclipsed by those of law enforcement and criminal justice sources. This study concluded that for the media in Kenya to contribute meaningfully in the prevention of IPV, there is need for news coverage that promotes public understanding of IPV through widely contextualized reports, emphasis on gender equality and rejection of violence as a means of solving problems in intimate relationships.