Date of Award
2-2-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Criminal Justice
First Advisor
Tusty Bensel
Abstract
Female sex offenders are often portrayed in the media more leniently than male sex offenders, which could influence the way the public perceives these offenders. Further, the media is not always accurate in how they portray sex crimes either which can translate to misconceptions among the public specifically regarding sex offenders. The purpose of this research was to explore media coverage of teacher student sexual abuse in relation to the public’s reaction to these news stories. The current study utilized news stories to analyze reader comments on a news website to understand 1) how teacher sex offenders are portrayed, 2) how readers react to these news stories (through reader comments), and 3) how the news coverage and comments vary between news stories about female versus male sex offenders. The current sample included 182 news articles and 4,998 reader comments from the Arkansas Times, the Washington Post, and the Daily Mail. News coverage described both male and female sex offenders as being in a relationship with their victim, while also describing grooming behaviors. However, the media was also more likely to discuss the impact the abuse had on victims of male perpetrated abuse only. The public reacted similarly to male and female sex abuse in that they wanted both groups to be held accountable for their crimes by receiving longer sentences, however, differences did exist in how they viewed the two offending groups. The public was more likely to blame victims of male perpetrated abuse only. If the media is portraying these offenders as being romantically involved with their students or not fully discussing the impact this abuse has on victims of female perpetrated abuse, it might downplay the seriousness of this type of abuse over time for the readers. This could feasibly impact members of the public that work in a K-12 educational setting, thus, it is important for them to view a true and accurate portrayal of these offenders.
Recommended Citation
Raptopoulos, Kilby E., "Safety Behind the Computer Screen: Gauging Public Perceptions About Teacher Student Sexual Abuse" (2023). Theses and Dissertations. 1110.
https://research.ualr.edu/etd/1110
