Violence in the media is a perennial topic of public debate and research. However, the aspect of gender-specific violence portrayal is only systematically examined in empirical studies in isolated cases. The term "gender-based violence" is used among other things, in the Istanbul Convention to define structural violence against women and girls. This is understood to mean that violence is directed against a person on the basis of his or her biological or social gender.
The aim of this study is therefore a differentiated recording and analysis of gender-specific representations of violence in the main programs of German television. The following research questions are to be answered comprehensively: How is gender-specific violence portrayed on German television? How are the people who are visible in this context represented? To what extent are stereotypical, stigmatising or also differentiated, enlightening and empowering representations visible? Furthermore, analyses will be conducted on the differences between media genres with regard to the use of language, metaphors and visualisations. Also of interest is the representation of gender-specific violence in different contexts and settings. To answer these questions, a qualitative media content analysis is implemented. The material for this consists of a sample of two artificial weeks that are representative of the eight main channels of German television (Das Erste, ZDF, RTL, RTL2, Vox, ProSieben, SAT1 and Kabel Eins) of the year 2020 for pre-primetime and primetime (6-10 p.m.).
A cooperative project of Wismar University of Applied Sciences with the University of Rostock sponsored by the MaLisa Foundation and UFA GmbH
