Journal of Social Science and Human Research Studies (JSSHRS)

Framing the Victim, Activating the Perpetrator: Gender and Media Representations of Female Rape Victims in Moroccan Online Newspapers

EL FALLAKI, EL HOUSSINE

8 June 2026 · Vol. 2, Issue 6, pp. 727-734

DOI: 10.65150/EP-jsshrs/V2E6/2026-09

Abstract

This study investigates the linguistic representation of female rape victims in Moroccan online newspapers, examining how journalist gender shapes discursive constructions of sexual violence. Drawing on means of Critical Discourse Analysis, employing Halliday’s Transitivity System and van Leeuwen’s Social Actor Framework, the study analyzes forty news articles authored by male and female journalists through a qualitative approach supported by quantitative findings. The analysis demonstrates that although male and female journalists differ in the frequency and stylistic use of linguistic structures, they ultimately converge ideologically in portraying female rape victims as passive, vulnerable, and subjected to violence. Both groups of journalists refute victim-blaming narratives and attribute agency and accountability to perpetrators rather than to victims. Female journalists tend to employ nomination, mental, and behavioral processes that humanize victims and emphasize emotional depth, while male journalists rely more on passivation and categorization that foreground factual distance. Overall, the findings reveal a shared ethical orientation toward empathetic and responsible reporting, reflecting a broader shift in Moroccan media discourse toward more gender-sensitive representations of sexual violence.

Keywords: feminist discourse analysis, gender representation, Moroccan media, rape reporting, critical discourse analysis

Read the full text on Journal of Social Science and Human Research Studies →The full peer-reviewed article and PDF are hosted on the journal's site (the version of record).

EL FALLAKI, & EL HOUSSINE (2026). Framing the Victim, Activating the Perpetrator: Gender and Media Representations of Female Rape Victims in Moroccan Online Newspapers. Journal of Social Science and Human Research Studies, 2(6), 727-734. https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jsshrs/V2E6/2026-09

@article{EL2026,
  title   = {Framing the Victim, Activating the Perpetrator: Gender and Media Representations of Female Rape Victims in Moroccan Online Newspapers},
  author  = {EL FALLAKI and EL HOUSSINE},
  journal = {Journal of Social Science and Human Research Studies},
  year    = {2026},
  volume  = {2},
  number  = {6},
  pages   = {727-734},
  doi     = {10.65150/EP-jsshrs/V2E6/2026-09},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jsshrs/V2E6/2026-09}
}

← Back to all articles