This bachelor’s thesis examines the reporting on sexual abuse of minors and adolescents and child pornography in German daily newspapers between 2018 and 2022. It analyses whether the increasing prevalence of these crimes influenced the quantity and quality of reporting against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The research aims to close a gap in the current literature and to generate further questions.The study’s results show that the newspapers examined covered the topic with a consistent frequency despite the outbreak of the pandemic and wars. It was found that increases in case numbers did not affect the frequency of articles on sexual abuse and child pornography. Likewise, no significant influence was observed on the weighting of the articles, i.e. their length and placement. Central perspectives and thematic focuses of the articles were also not affected by the number of reported cases. However, it became apparent that the ranking of key thematic priorities and perspectives changed little and was similar across all newspapers analysed. In conclusion, the findings indicate that certain viewpoints were overemphasised while others were neglected. Furthermore, the results suggest that reporting often focused on sen-sational and severe individual cases, thereby creating a distorted image of reality.
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- Daniela Haindl (Author), 2023, Sexual Abuse of Minors in the Reporting of German Daily Newspapers from 2018 to 2022, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1692033
