Media portrayal of a hidden problem: An analysis of Hong Kong newspaper coverage of child maltreatment in 2016 |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Institute of Health Behaviors and Community Sciences, and Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan;2. Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong;3. Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong;1. Insight Clinic, Coimbatore, India;2. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore-29, India;1. King Abdullah International Medical Research Center / King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;2. National Family Safety Program, King Abdulaziz Medical City - Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;3. Department of Emergency Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;4. Department of Pediatrics, King Abdullah Specialized Children''s Hospital, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;1. National University of Singapore, Singapore;2. Dalian Maritime University, China;1. Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University, The Netherlands;2. Institute of Population, Health and Development, Vietnam;3. Hanoi University of Public Health, Vietnam;4. Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University, The Netherlands |
| |
| Abstract: | The news media plays a vital role in providing child protection information and resources, shaping the public’s understanding and perceptions of child maltreatment, and exposing system failures and setting policy agendas. To date, little is known about how child maltreatment is portrayed in the media in societies where these issues remain largely hidden and under-recognized. The purpose of the present study was to systematically examine newspaper coverage on child abuse and neglect in Hong Kong in order to assess how child maltreatment is currently presented and framed within public discourse.A total of 579 newspaper reports relevant to child maltreatment from four local newspapers in 2016 were reviewed. Similar to prior findings, cases involving sexual abuse received disproportionately more attention compared with other maltreatment types. The vast majority of news reports focused on specific cases or events, and seldom discussed child maltreatment as a broader social issue. Differences in reporting style and media framing were also compared by newspaper credibility, and for free versus paid newspapers.As a mass communication tool, more guidelines are needed to formulate public messages about child maltreatment that can improve individual, community, and structural capacities to prevent, identify, and respond to children who are victimized by abuse and neglect. This is especially important in jurisdictions where no mandatory reporting framework exists to help identify vulnerable children, and where the majority of child maltreatment is brought to the attention of authorities by families and those living within the child’s community. |
| |
| Keywords: | Newspaper Print media Child abuse and neglect Child maltreatment Mass media |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
