Deconstructing sex offender myths :  A discourse analysis of Swedish newspapers representation of perpetrators who committed sexual offence against children 

The aim of this study is to identify the dominating discourse in Swedish newspapers concerning perpetrators who committed sexual offence against children. The study is based on the idea that the media representation play a significant role to the public opinion and awareness of the perpetrators. The study is based upon a selection of 103 articles published between January 2003 and November 2013, taken from four of the biggest daily newspapers in Sweden; Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Expressen and Svenska Dagbladet. The methodological and theoretical approach in the study has been the one of discourse analysis through which one dominating discourse along with two subsidiary discourses could be identified. The discourse considered to be dominating is the one who presents the perpetrators through the discrepancy between the actions committed and the description of the perpetrator. The description focusing on profession, family status, statements from people in the perpetrators surroundings and professional opinions. A general way on how perpetrators are presented was identified, which derived in the conclusion that the perpetrator often not is unknown to the victim. The perpetrator could also be someone close that appear to be trusted and well thought of by individuals and also by society. The two subsidiary discourses that were identified focused on the gender perspective and showed that there are a small discrepancy between how male and female perpetrators are presented in the newspapers