Meanings of sexual violence: media and the public dispute over the construction of rights

Abstract

This project aims to understand the public construction of categories of sexual and gender violence, categories that are in process of transformation or constitution. Specifically, it reflects on the demand for recognition of new notions of rape and sexual harassment that are being constituted in the public arena in recent years, with an emphasis on the media - both hegemonic and alternative - in interaction with social movements and the judicial system . The objective is to understand how these categories of sexual violence are being constituted and debated in some media productions, contents of internet sites and social networks and which social and institutional actors are acting in this process, and the disputes of meaning. To a certain extent, this process can be seen as a demand for recognition of women's rights. Such categories are in dispute, insofar as rapes can be seen only as sexual intercourse (and not necessarily violence), just as harassment could be qualified as a "pass" or flirting. In terms of an empirical corpus, a team of students is collecting and systematizing data on: (1) the case of physician Roger Abdelmassih and the impact of his trial on justice in redefining the notion of proof in judicial proceedings; (2) the cases of sexual violence in the universities disclosed at the CPI of hazing in the state of São Paulo and its repercussion in the written press; (3) the case of the actor Alexandre Frota who reveals jokingly about a rape on a talk show and its repercussion; (4) the campaigns on harassment carried out through alternative and hegemonic media and feminist blogs, focusing on the NGO Think Olga.