CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2019
| Author | Rohman, Wahida |
|---|---|
| Title | Child Rape in India The Role of Indian Print Media in Influencing Public Policy and Shaping Public Opinion in the Country A Case Study on Kathua Rape Case |
| Summary | On January 10th, 2018, an eight-year old girl was gang raped and murdered in the India’s northwestern district of Kathua. The gruesome nature of the crime brought national and global attention toward the pervasiveness of the child rape in the country and the failure of the subsequent national governments to provide adequate physical protection to its children. After the incident, the media, specifically print media, emerged as a crucial actor in mobilizing the masses and sensitizing them about the occurrence of such events while at the same time pressurizing the government to address the issue. Moreover, the media’s power to translate the events involving child rape into social movement for child sexual protection was tested. This thesis explores how the incidents of child rape are covered in the Indian print media by analyzing the Kathua rape case as a case study. By extensively analyzing the content of two leading Delhi-based English-language newspapers, the Times of India and the Hindu, it investigates whether the media fulfills its utmost journalistic responsibility of keeping an eye on the policies and progress related to child rape. Specifically, it looks into how media interacts with government to influence public policy regarding child rape and its role in portraying the issue to shape public opinion around it. The thesis aims to show that while the print media was instrumental in arousing public opinion on the issue of child rape and channeling public demands to the government, it failed to push the government to address loopholes in the criminal justice system of India. The thesis concludes that information media in India should further increase the visibility of sexual violence against children and challenge the prevalent social and cultural norms that promote sexual violence against children. |
| Supervisor | Ashraf, Cameran |
| Department | School of Public Policy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2019/rohman_wahida.pdf |
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