I skuggan av en pandemi : En komparativ studie av svensk- och dansk medierapportering angående våld i nära relationer under Coronapandemin 2020

This comparative study examines how the issue of domestic violence is covered and framed in the media during the Covid-19 pandemic 2020. The study compares the potential differences and similarities in the media coverage between the two neighbouring countries Sweden and Denmark. By combining a quantitative content analysis with a qualitative framing analysis the study critically examines the attributes of how domestic violence is covered and framed in the media articles during the Covid-19 pandemic 2020. In both countries the media was quick to cover this issue and has done so quite thoroughly, but even though both countries have similar political views on domestic violence and gender equality, they differed in how they framed the topic. By using the framing theory and the theory of intersectionality to analyse the material the study shows that both countries tended to frame the issue of domestic violence as a social issue that was part of a bigger structural problem. But the study also shows that some of the danish articles had tendencies to present the issue through the perspective of the ​perpetrator and sympathize with the reasons behind the violence. The swedish articles, on the other hand, did not take this perspective. Furthermore the study shows an exclusion of black and coloured people in their choice of pictures and the authors also tend to be white female journalists. ​This study is important because it highlights the media's role in framing the social issue of domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic, and framing in the media plays a big part in shaping society's perception about social issues