A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Rape Reports In China Women's Daily (1992-2021)

The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests,introduced in 1992,was the first basic law in China to focus on women’s rights and interests,and marked the beginning of the legislative process of protecting women’s rights and interests in China.Since the founding of the new China,especially in the last three decades,the equal rights of Chinese women in society have been further strengthened,and the term "half the sky" has become a metaphorical term reflecting the role and status of women.Due to the constraints of the level of social development and the influence of traditional ideas,the phenomenon of belittling,discriminating and even violating women still occurs.Relevant statistics show that almost every day in 2019,there are at least two children victimized by sexual assault,and if we add the sexual assault of adults,these figures are alarming enough.In 2017,the#MeToo movement emerged in several countries,with victims and supporters using the power of the internet to actively raise their voices,making sexual assault and rape a social issue that has received significant attention.Rape is a highly public issue as a crime that seriously violates the personal and sexual rights of citizens.How the mass media produces and constructs discourse on the act and fact of "rape" has a direct impact on the public’s perception and judgment of social reality.Taking Fairclough’s method,the three dimensions of discourse analysis,as the basic theoretical framework,this study attempts to examine the news report on rape in China Women’s News from 1992 to 2021 from the perspective of critical discourse analysis,to explore the characteristics of the news discourse of rape reports in women’s newspapers over the last three decades,and attempts to depict the changes in the image of social reality picture presented therein,and to analyze the reasons for the change in discourse.This study first presents a comprehensive overview of rape reporting in China Women’s News over a 30-year period.In terms of percentage,the reporting has been roughly in line with social reality.The overall increase in the number of reports is inevitably affected by fluctuations in presentation due to factors such as current politics and the importance of the subject matter.The types of news are primarily news,commentary,and newsletters,with a wide range of genres.Sources are mainly official institutions and professional journalists,ensuring the authority and professionalism of the reports.The geographic coverage of the reports mainly covers the eastern part of the country,supplemented by the central and western parts,but the less developed areas need more attention from the central level media,and the number of reports needs to be increased.The following section analyzes a sample of rape reporting discourse in the China Women’s News from the perspectives of text,discourse practice,and social practice.The study finds that at the textual level,the China Women’s News focuses on two main aspects:the subject of the victim and the consequences of the crime through intensive lexical expressions,and at the macro level,it reports on multiple topics through scientific and authoritative discourse,forming a positive discourse style,focuses on presenting negative facts objectively while seeking positive solutions or provoking thoughts,highlights the impact of women’s discourse on a progressive society.The discourse emphasizes the formation of socially progressive ideas.In addition,before the new century,rape reporting was mainly emotional and subjective,aimed at attracting the attention of viewers,but since the new century,it has gradually returned to the essential characteristics of objective and professional journalism,creating a rational and orderly environment for public opinion.At the level of discourse practice,the China Women’s News interweaves and transforms different discourses,demonstrating the characteristic of discourse resistance to the "victim guilt theory".At the same time,the formation of the two archetypes enhances the expressive power of the discourse and allows for a better social consensus.While at the beginning of the new century,the main objective was to present the complexity of women’s and children’s sexual rights and the difficulties in protecting them,since 2013,the focus has been on invoking professional discourse to build a picture of state power to severely punish crimes of sexual abuse against children and to continue to promote education for the prevention of sexual abuse.The focus of the project is on The change in coverage was determined by a combination of factors,including improved systems for protecting women’s rights and interests,the development of "She-conomy",the construction of social gender consciousness,and the reform and development of women’s media itself.From the above analysis,we can summarize the changes in the discourse of rape reporting in the China Women’s News over the past three decades as a process of gradual return and continuous professionalization from a subjective and emotional approach to an objective and rational journalistic nature.Official and elite discourses have become more important,reflecting the reality of women’s and children’s sexual rights at different stages of society,and with the humanistic concern of women’s media,influencing society’s perceptions and behavioral choices regarding the crime of rape and the status of women’s rights.