Sexual Harassment in the News: The United States and France

Abstract

This article documents and accounts for important differences in press coverage of sexual harassment in the United States and France. Compared to French press coverage, American reporting on sexual harassment has been much more extensive and more likely to focus on domestic sexual harassment scandals involving political individuals or institutions. This is attributed largely to the American press greater reliance on business, greater journalistic freedom, stronger traditions of investigative journalism, as well as more inclusive legal definitions of sexual harassment. While silent on French scandals, due to global political realities, the French press has reported extensively on American sexual harassment scandals and has been more dismissive of the problems of sexual harassment and (American) feminist activists when reporting on the United States. This article further analyzes how each press has framed the problem of sexual harassment and how such framing varies by story and over time.