The Other Male Rapist - in Swedish Printed media's news reporting about rape in 2013

Abstract

This study investigates how the Other male rapist is constructed and the attributes ascribed to him, as well as all male rapists, in Swedish printed media’s (Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet) news reporting about rape in Sweden during 2013. This single case study is quantitative with qualitative elements, built on the methods of content analysis and idea analysis. The study shows that attributes commonly used to describe male rapists in Swedish printed media during 2013 are: violent/aggressive, unequal, dangerous/uncivilized, oppressive, familiar, his relation to the victim, age and occupation. Moreover, the study investigates if there is a difference of how Swedish printed media portray Other male rapists in contrast to all male rapists. The study found that there was such a difference, however, it was a small difference.