Blackwell Reference Online

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An aspect of mass media violence largely ignored in mass communication research and criminology is the effect news coverage has on victims of reported crimes (→  Crime Reporting ). Few studies address the reaction of the social environment to the victims after a crime (→  Reciprocal Effects ). “Secondary victimization” is defined as the victimization of the crime victim due to media coverage. It must also be taken into account that coverage of the crime can benefit the victim reported about, in that it helps them to deal with the fact of having become a crime victim. Several authors have investigated the influence of media coverage on the outcome of trials ( Bruschke & Loges 1999 ). There is only one study published about secondary victimization in the print media ( Kunczik & Bleh 1995 ). The study investigated reports about the crime victims’ experiences with media coverage and assessed the influence newspaper reporting had on how the victims coped with the crime. The particular quality of the experience of becoming a victim of crime had to be considered in many ways. Because of the differences between the crimes studied and the different social backgrounds of the victims, experiences with the media vary greatly and show a broad spectrum of positive and negative experiences. Secondary victimization can occur in the most varied ways and very frequently concerns aspects of ... log in or subscribe to read full text