Covering Violence Against Women
“Honor Killing” or “Murder” — Does it matter what media call it?
Published in
3 min readAug 1, 2017
How should media cover “extreme” stories?
When a woman is killed by a family member for refusing to agree to an arranged marriage, for wearing clothes that are considered inappropriate, or because she has been a victim of rape, should media call the death an “honor killing”…. or a “murder”?
“Honor killing” is a term many use to describe the act of killing a relative, usually a girl or a woman, who is perceived to have brought shame to the family. Some cultures justify the act, and the perpetrator is legally protected. Others consider such killings to be capital crimes.
The media play a crucial role in how a specific crime is reported.
What follows is a presentation of four cases that reflect the media’s portrayal of these incidents. Click on the short videos to learn more.
A crime in Tunisia · Aya , 13 years old
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A crime in the United Kingdom · Shafilea , 17 years old
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A crime in Lebanon · Baghdad, 18 years old
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A crime in the United Kingdom · Celine, 19 years old
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As the videos above show, words matter.
Women are too often marginalized, even in stories about their own deaths. BE AWARE of how crimes against women are reported.
For further information on these “Honor Killings,” check out the references below:
- Naharnet Newsdesk, Naharnet
- The Daily Mail
- Helen Carter, The Guardian
- Dexter Dias and Charlotte Proudman, The Guardian
- Helen Carter, The Guardian
- Victoria Craw, Lifestyle
- The BBC
- Safa Bin Said, Tunisia-live.net
- Photo — printmeposter.com
