Taboo and dynamic framing in the media coverage of gang rape: the Ayia Napa case

Abstract

The study examines the media coverage of the case of suspected gang rape in Aiya Napa, Cyprus in the summer of 2019. The research question examined how the media covered this event while giving expression to various representations through dynamic framing. The study analyzed some 30 reports in the main news edition on two Israeli television channels using an original model developed for this study: The Dynamic Media Coverage Spectrum around the Moral Nucleus (M.S.M) presenting the movement of media coverage around the moral nucleus: the social taboo against gang rape. Reporting was found to move in three elliptical orbits around the taboo: first, who is to blame, second, the law against the norm, and third, dynamic movement around positioning semantics. The study reveals different narratives chosen to frame the event, using gender, status, identity, and ethnic affiliation of participants and the geopolitics of the case. The findings show, a critical public discourse must be developed regarding the messages the media communicate regarding sexual offenses and advantages through the MSM model analysis.