News Media Power and Public Policy: The Mediatized Construction of Women Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation
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Keywords

Gender
Trafficking in women
Prostitution
Portugal
Press

How to Cite

Simões, R. B. de. (2018). News Media Power and Public Policy: The Mediatized Construction of Women Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation. Brazilian Journalism Research, 14(1), 130–151. https://doi.org/10.25200/BJR.v14n1.2018.1039

Abstract

Like other areas of violence against women, sex trafficking has become in the last decade increasingly politicized in Portuguese society, with the news media attaching important visibility to it, both for public awareness purposes and government reaction. This happened after the dismantling of a chain of striptease clubs, suspected of hosting trafficking activities. Known as the “Passerelle case”, this event attracted great media attention and brought to the public sphere the problem of trafficking in women for sexual purposes. This article looks at the Portuguese press to understand in what ways the news coverage of the case paved the way for the social and political acknowledgment of this issue, and to what extent it favored an understanding capable of making a real difference in the lives of women. It argues that, despite the news media’s undeniable involvement in sociopolitical changes claimed by feminism, its emancipatory potential remained unexplored.

Tal como outras áreas da violência contra as mulheres, o tráfico para exploração sexual tornou-se na última década crescentemente politizado na sociedade portuguesa, com os media de informação a concederem a esta prática uma importante visibilidade, tanto no domínio da conscientização pública como no plano da reação governamental. Isso aconteceu após o desmantelamento de uma cadeia de clubes de striptease, suspeita de atividades de tráfico. Conhecido como o “caso Passerelle”, este acontecimento atraiu elevada atenção mediática e fez aflorar no espaço público o tráfico para fins sexuais. Este artigo analisa a imprensa portuguesa para compreender de que forma a cobertura noticiosa do caso abriu caminho para o reconhecimento social e político deste problema e em que medida favoreceu uma compreensão capaz de fazer diferença na vida das mulheres. Defende-se que, apesar do inegável envolvimento dos meios de comunicação nas mudanças sociopolíticas reivindicadas pelo feminismo, o seu potencial emancipatório permaneceu inexplorado.

Como otras áreas de la violencia contra las mujeres, el tráfico con fines de explotación sexual se ha convertido en la última década en un tema crecientemente politizado en la sociedad portuguesa, con una importante visibilidad en los medios para la concienciación pública y reacción del gobierno. Esto sucedió después del desmantelamiento de una cadena de clubes de striptease, sospecha de actividades de tráfico. Conocido como el “caso Passerelle”, este acontecimiento atrajo elevada atención mediática y aportó el problema a la esfera pública. En este artículo se analiza la prensa portuguesa para entender de qué manera la cobertura noticiosa del caso abrió camino para el reconocimiento social y político de la cuestión y en qué medida favoreció una comprensión capaz de marcar una diferencia real en las vidas de las mujeres. Se sostiene que, a pesar de la innegable participación de los medios en los cambios sociopolíticos reivindicados por el feminismo, su potencial de emancipación permaneció por explorar.
https://doi.org/10.25200/BJR.v14n1.2018.1039
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PDF (PT) (Português (Brasil))

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