Framing the istanbul convention: a content analysis of lithuanian media

Framing the Istanbul Convention: A Content Analysis of Lithuanian Media In 2014, Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also called the Istanbul Convention, came into force. This international document was designed to combat all forms of violence, especially domestic violence based on unequal power relations between women and men. Most countries have seen this document as one of the most far-reaching international treaty to tackle violence against women. However, there are still a number of countries, including Lithuania, which have not ratified the Convention. The purpose of this work is to find out how the Istanbul Convention is represented in the Lithuanian media. The goal of this research will be achieved by following three main tasks: 1) Examine the theory of media framing; 2) Analyze the specifics of articles that speak about the Istanbul Convention and attribute them to the appropriate frames; 3) Discover new frames. Qualitative content analysis has been used to answer the main question of the work – how the Istanbul Convention is presented in the context of the media. The three most read news portals in Lithuania - Delfi, 15min and Lrytas - were selected as objects for the purposes this work, and the research covers the period from June 2013 till the end of 2018. During this period, articles that expressed an opinion on the Istanbul Convention were selected and deductively framed on the scale of frames formulated in theory: conflict, human interest, economic consequences, morality and responsibility. Then, using inductive method of content analysis, new frames were formulated to complement existing scientific literature. In conclusion, altogether 94 articles were analyzed. Results has showed that the Istanbul Convention is most often framed in the context of conflict, trying to present different opinions on this international document. The two sides that stand out are the supporters and opponents of the Convention, which reveal various arguments in the news portals on why Lithuania should or should not ratify the Convention. The frame of human interests is also widely used in the context of the Istanbul Convention, thus attempting to show that domestic violence affects all parts of society, undermining the welfare of the whole Lithuania, which necessitates appropriate action, such as ratification of the Convention. The other three frames were not that relevant. Furthermore, two new frames were found with the help of inductive method. First, the frame of international influence is significant in that it shows the attitude of other states to the same problem. In the media debate on the Istanbul Convention, this frame is characterized by the discovery of both positive and negative views of international states. Secondly, the national law frame is quite significant in analyzing the public debate on international treaties such as the Istanbul Convention. In the context of this study, the frame was used to prove how the Convention will benefit the Lithuanian legal system or to try to convince that Convention does not offer anything new and / or useful to existing state legal acts. The suggestion for future research would be to explore what impact the Istanbul Convention media frames has on the readers. Moreover, it would be possible to try to understand the impact of these frames on legislators. Also, it would be interesting to compare Lithuanian media frames with other countries that have not ratified the Convention. Finally, this research can be useful for other similar studies because it provides two new significant frames