Peer-reviewed article
Child marriage: Representation of the marriage of underage girls problem in the Turkish print media
Esra Bayhantopçu ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study looks at how Turkish print media report on the marriage of underage girls. It uses feminist theory to analyse 246 news reports on child marriage. The study finds that the issue is named as a problem in the papers but is not given prominence. It also finds that newspapers tend to normalise underage marriage, especially through the language they use.
Key points
- The analysis is based on 246 news reports related to child marriages.
- Child marriage is identified as a problem in the Turkish print media but has not come to the forefront.
- Newspapers have normalised underage marriage, especially through the use of language.
- Child marriage is described as a social problem that cuts across religions and cultures and can be considered violence against children and women.
Limitations
The abstract does not say which newspapers or time period were covered, or how the reports were selected and coded. It describes media representation only and cannot show how coverage affects attitudes, laws or the rate of child marriage.
Abstract
AbstractChild marriage, specifically the marriage of underage girls, is a crucial social problem that cuts across religions and cultures and can be considered as violence against children and women. Currently, the media is one of the strongest public spheres to combat this problem apart from national and international laws and agreements. This study aims to analyse how the child marriage problem is represented in the Turkish print media within the framework of feminist theory. The analysis is based on 246 news reports related to child marriages. The study found that even though the issue has been identified as a problem in the Turkish print media, it has not come to the forefront. Rather, the newspapers have normalized the issue of underage marriage, especially through the use of language.