Nejaim Case: Domestic and Family Violence on the Agenda in Diario de Pernambuco

Abstract

This article discusses the journalistic treatment of gender violence through an analysis of a domestic violence case reported by Diario de Pernambuco in 1971. The theoretical basis mobilizes the reflections of Butler (2020), Saffioti (2011) and Arendt (1985) on the relationships between power, interdependence and gender violence, and Silva (2014) and Prado and Sanematsu (2017) on journalistic coverage of violent episodes against women. The methodological procedures are based on the principles of Discourse Analysis as outlined by Orlandi (1999). Through a critical reading of media content, the article concludes that journalistic discourse oscillates between, on the one hand, discussing controversial topics in order to remove prejudice and violence from invisibility and, on the other, feeding back into sexist, racist and classist processes which, ultimately, end up promoting sensationalist and potentially re-victimizing practices.