Examining the Zimbabwean news media's framing of men as victims of sexual assault

Scholarship on the news media&s;s framing of sexual assault mainly focuses on women as victims and men as perpetrators. However, unlike previous studies, this article uses the case studies of three Zimbabwean daily newspapers, The Herald , NewsDay and Chronicle , to examine the news media&s;s framing of sexual assault when men are victims and women are perpetrators. Zimbabwe provides an ideal context to understand the news media&s;s framing of sexual assault of men as such cases have been reported in the country. This article argues that the manner in which the news media frame sexual assault of men shape how we understand the phenomenon and how we relate with male victims. The findings show that the three newspapers discredit the narratives of male victims, humanise female perpetrators and sensationalise the sexual assault of men. As such, the article concludes that the news media contribute to society&s;s negative perception of sexual assault of men.