I'd say it's less about the issue of newsworthiness than it is about the difficulties of reporting rape cases.

Victims can never be identified, nor can any facts that would identify the victim.
The opportunity for the journalist to speak with the victim, or get any facts of the case outside of the usual cautious channels are all very circumscribed.

If a journalist cannot obtain or print the information, the story will be low on detail. If a story is low on detail, then it can't be given prominence.

Obviously I can only speak from my own personal knowledge and can't therefore make assumptions regarding other media chains: but a newspaper for whom I once worked expressly instructed its writers that rape cases were not newsworthy unless a small child (i.e. under the age of 10) was involved, or - though the obfuscating language made this difficult to interpret at first glance - a question of ethnicity was involved. This applied to both male and female rape. And to every media outlet owned by the parent company.

And before the usual crew come baying in and turn this into (yet another!) anti-feminist thread with the usual side-paths into domestic violence, their own relationship woes, conspiracist theories and back-lash inevitabilities, I wish to point out that both I and the author mention male and female rape. The fact that rape is usually regarded as a crime against women is because - and there is no way round this - more women than men are the victims.

Therefore, though I am confident that this will be completely disregarded, the point being debated here is how the crime of rape -no matter to which gender it pertains - is reported.

And yes, though there are difficulties with identification etc. there are ways round this. Details are not impossible to access though it is perhaps the time and effort needed to do so for an article which a reporter is going to have to fight to get published, that deters many.This issue is in fact one of the many reasons for which I resigned.

Helen,

Good observation there about 'ethnicity' whiteness' 'community' and 'responsibility' and the media's huge appetite for demonising 'Aboriginality'.

My other observation is this –

The banal and erotic voyeurism of the 'black brute', constructed as licentious and uncontrollable - has always been a media favourite.

Jimmy Blacksmith
Marbuk
Mike Tyson.
OJ Simpson…

King Kong is perhaps the best representation of this fear?

the list goes on.

Cheers

Romany,
"And before the usual crew come baying in and turn this into (yet another!) anti-feminist thread with the usual side-paths into domestic violence, their own relationship woes, conspiracist theories and back-lash inevitabilities, I wish to point out that both I and the author mention male and female rape. The fact that rape is usually regarded as a crime against women is because - and there is no way round this - more women than men are the victims."

"and there is no way round this - more women than men are the victims."
This is not a true statement. It would have been fairer for you to say more women report rape than men.

Yes you were generous to have mentioned male rape. The article focused on female rape. Those are the numbers focused on by society because they are the numbers women manufacture to perpetuate the anti-male, anti-father, "man bad" climate feminist desire.

"Only when rape makes front page news whatever the ethnicity of the rapist, can we begin to talk of justice under the rule of law for its victims."

There can be no justice concerning rape/sexual assault or date rape, as long as it is available to women to use as a tool to defame an innocent man and the woman face zero consequences for their actions. Like wise there can be no justice for domestic abuse nor parental child molestation cases as long as women can use these accusations to frame an innocent man and the women face zero consequences for their actions.

In one report I read -68% of reported rape/sexual assault is false accusation and a tactic of revenge. "To teach him a lesson." 42% of the 68% 0f the total allegations are proven unfounded prior to any courts involvement.
In one report posted by the Washington Post June 27, 1992. Of 1842 reported cases of rape from 1990-1991 in Washington D.C. 439 of these cases were proven unfounded prior to a courts decision. "One woman said she lied because she needed an excuse for having being late to work."

I'm going to disagree with one sentiment from this article, and that's the final one:

"And it should not be only their community that needs to look at itself and take some responsibility for the actions of its members."

When a muslim man rapes a woman, it doesn't make all muslim men responsible - same for aboriginal, or white, or whatever colour you care to name.

It really isn't a matter of individual communities taking responsibility for the actions of a few of its members. Our society as a whole needs to look at why these individuals commit rape and do everything in its power to prevent future occurrences.

If our current system of punishment was effective, these violent crimes would simply no longer occur.

There are currently programs being trialed in selected neighbourhoods in the US which have high rates of violent crime. Children are being taught empathy and respect for others in school. They're being encouraged to look at other people and put themselves in their place.

It's going to be a long time before we'll know the results of these trials but I'm encouraged by the fact that they're happening.

aqvarivs, even if you take out 42% it seems unlikely that men gat raped in the general community more often than women. I've never seen any stats on the rate of rape in prison but if the stories you hear are true that might make a big difference.

The article is about female rape, unlike some other articles it did not seek to dismiss the harm suffered by men. The author acknowledged that men do suffer rape too. I'll stick my two bob's worth in where an author finds it necessary to dismiss all men to support their topic but the approach the author took to that seems quite fair. What's your gripe?

On the perception of racism in the handling of rape trials - possibly but my impression is that it is often about gang rape rather than the colour of the rapist. The more high profile rape cases in recent times seem to have involved gangs of particularly nasty perpetrators (sometimes the skin tones of the victim appear to be a significant factor). There is one quite public inquest going on now involving a group of males with what appear to be pale complexions.

Bradley John Murdoch does not look like part of an ethnic minority (not a rape but that might have been the plan). The descriptions of the bikeway attacker on Brisbanes northside seem to indicate an anglo and the media covers that.

There may be an element of racism involved but it may also be that sensationalism sells papers and vicious gang attacks are more sensational.

R0bert