Work

Who counts as a victim? Hierarchies of victimhood in Greek femicide news

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Femicide reporting has long occupied feminist media research, interrogating how news storytelling misrecognizes the killing of women because of their gender. Less examined is how such storytelling constructs hierarchies of female victimhood, valuing some lives while erasing others. We address this gap through thematic analysis of 206 Greek news stories from 2021, identifying five frames that shape narrative context: bureaucratic, cinematic, witnessing, politicized, and interventionist. Each proposes distinct ethical engagements with victims and perpetrators, and variation in frame combinations across stories produces a hierarchy of victimhood from “adventure news” to “ecstatic news” and “emergency news.” We introduce the term femicidal politics of pain to understand news storytelling as a symbolic terrain where shifting frames unequally redistribute empathy, blame, and humanity, shaping which deaths are grieved and which go unnoticed. We conclude with a proposal for news storytelling to frame femicides as political events caused by patriarchal violence and to humanize women.

Source: Popular Communication

DOI: 10.1080/15405702.2026.2680062

Authors: Lilie Chouliaraki, Afroditi Koulaxi, Myria Georgiou

Institutions: London School of Economics and Political Science, Regent's University London

Language: English

Topic: Gender, Feminism, and Media

Subfield: Gender Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Gender equality, Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: London School of Economics and Political Science