Mediating Justice in Sex Trafficking
A closer look to media representations and discourses about the sex trade in the context of the Epstein case
María de la Huerga Alonso
Stockholm University Department of Journalism, Media and Communication (JMK) Master of Arts – 120 ECTS Global Media Studies. June 2020 Supervisors: Anna Roosvall & Alexa Robertson
1 Mediating Justice in Sex Trafficking
A closer look to media representations and discourses about the sex trade in the context of the Epstein Case
María de la Huerga Alonso
Abstract
Sex trafficking, the fastest growing form of human trafficking, exacerbates among the world’s most vulnerable and marginalized women and girls. News media, as powerful social institutions, have the potential to shape opinions and attitudes towards critical issues (Sobel 2014). So how does two of the most internationally influential newspapers report about the sex trade? Seeking answers, I study sex trafficking news articles published from January 2019 to February 2020 by The Guardian and The New York times about the sex trade in the context of the highly mediatic Epstein case. From a media justice and feminist perspective (see Fraser. 2009; Silverstone. 2007; Couldry. 2013; Friedman and Johnston. 2013) I design an explanatory sequential mixed method study. In the first stage of the study I conduct a quantitative content analysis of 74 articles to explore wether the Epstein case may be reflected in the reporting on sex trafficking, more generally in the amount of coverage and its content. In the second stage of the study I conduct a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) on a smaller sample of 6 articles, to gain insights into how are victims, perpetrators and patriarchal power abuses in the sex trade discursively constructed. The findings emerging from the study provide empirical evidence to suggest that: (I) marginalized women have unequal accesses to media recognition and representation in the studied sample. (II) These articles tend to underrepresent and misrepresent victims and survivors, their voices and experiences while prioritizing male, powerful and privileged ones. (III) The studied articles contain discourses that legitimize patriarchal views of sexual violence and slavery.
Key Words Sex trafficking, sex trade, human rights, (media) justice, (media) responsibility, postwestphalian, representation, recognition, discourses, power, ideology, patriarchy.
2 Table of Contents
1. Introduction ………………………………………………………………….…………6
1.1 Research Aim and Research Questions ……………………………………….10
1.2 Thesis Structure …………………………………………………..…..….……11
2. Background ……………………………………………………………………………11
2.1 Human Trafficking: Sexual slavery …………………………………….….….12
2.2 The Epstein Case………………………………………………………………13
3. Previous Research and Theoretical Framework .……………………………………15
3. 1 Literature Review: Starting Points and Critique………………………..……..15
3.2 Mediating Justice ……………………………………………………………..17
3. 3 Gendering the Battleground:CDA ………………………………………..….. 21
4. Materials and Methods .………………….…………………………………………..24 4.1 Research Design………………………………………………………….…….26
4.2. Quantitative Content Analysis ……………………………………………..….27
4.2.1 Sampling Procedure & Material Gathering………………………..…..…27
4.2.2 Coding Procedure: Variables and Categories of Analysis ………….……29
4.3 Critical Discourse Analysis ……………………………………………….……32
4.3.1 Sampling Procedure ……………………………………………….….….32
4.3.1Analytical Strategies………………………………………………………33
4.4 Limitations, Reliability, Validity…………………………………………..……34
5. Results and Analysis…………………………………………………………..……..…36
5.1 Quantitative Content Analysis Results..………………………………….…….36
5.2 CDA Results ..………………………………………………………..….……..48
6. Discussion ..…………………………………………………………………..……..…..55
7. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………58
3 References ……………………………………………………………………………… 61
Appendix ……………………………………………………………………………..…65
APPENDIX 1: Codebook ……………………………………………………………..…66
APPENDIX 2: Articles & CDA Schemes ………………………………………………79
List of Acronyms
UN- United Nations
UNODC- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
ILO- International Labour Organization
CDA- Critical Discourse Analysis
NYT- New York Times
US- United States
4 Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all my professors and classmates in the Global Media Studies Master's Program, who have helped me learn and grow these past two years. In particular I would like thank both my thesis supervisors, Anna Roosvall and Alexa Robertson. Not only they are my role models in the scholarly field of media studies, but have also demonstrated to be caring, efficient and professional supervisors. Last but not least, I would like to thank all women in my life who have taught me to fight, listen and never be silent in situations of injustice.
5 1. Introduction
Sex trafficking -one form of trade and slavery- has been around for centuries, but it has grown to unfathomable scale. While human trafficking has become the world’s fastest growing criminal enterprise, sexual exploitation continues to be the most detected form of trafficking across regions (UNODC 2018; ILO 2017). The last United Nations report estimates there are approximately 4.8 million victims of sex trafficking worldwide, of which 99% are women and girls (ibid). It is undoubtedly a gendered issue that exacerbates among females, raising questions about fundamental human rights, gender-based violence and justice (Raymond & Hughes. 2001; Gulati 2010; Johnston & Friedman. 2013; Johnston, Friedman & Shafer. 2014; Sobel 2014). Additionally, the sex trade aggravates among the world’s most vulnerable and historically marginalized women and girls (Kelly. 2004). Such as children, victims of forced displacement, women experiencing poverty, lack of opportunity or access to education, or homeless among others (UNODC 2018: 3, 31). Since it is global problem, is should also matter to global publics, as transnational media flows bring recognition of distant “others” and transborder injustices to new proximities (Fraser. 2009). News media play a key role in shaping public discourse and people’s attitudes around critical issues (Sobel. 2014). As we live in an era of increasing public debates on sexual abuse and women’s rights, it is relevant to investigate how sex trafficking is being covered by journalists. In particular, question arises of wether and how international newspapers are reporting on the issue and deal with its victims and perpetrators. When Jeffrey Epstein, a high profile sex offender, was arrested on July 2019 for sex traffick, a mediatic storm blew up as victims started coming forward to connect Epstein with high profile names like Donald Trump and Prince Andrew (Mazzei & Rashbaum. 2019). Since previous research has shown how celebrity stories may shape and even increase media coverage about deeper social issues (Maxwell et al. 2000; McCarthy 1995), I want to explore wether the introduction of the Epstein case into the public discourse could be reflected in media reporting of the larger issue of sex trafficking.
6 Hence, my broad aim is to study international news media reporting and discourses about the sex trade. Specifically news articles published by The New York Times and The Guardian, before during and after the Epstein case made the headlines. In the first stage of the study I will conduct a quantitative content analysis of 74 articles to explore wether the Epstein case may be reflected in the reporting on sex trafficking, more generally in the amount of coverage and its content. In the second stage of the study I will conduct a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) on a smaller sample of 6 articles, to gain insights into how the sex trade, victims and perpetrators can be discursively constructed in news coverage. Will the misogynistic and patriarchal abuse of power inherent to sex trafficking come across, be challenged or normalized? The point of departure of this study is that media justice is a key principle if the systematic exclusion of vulnerable groups and at-risk societal communities by the media is to overcome (Silverstone 2007; Couldry 2012; Roosvall & Tegelberg 2020). This means that Fraser’s framing of justice (2009; 2012) is central to the theoretical framework of the study. As will be explained later, Fraser’s theoretical approach seeks to expand the boundaries of justice, exploring how it could be reframed as new challenges and struggles emerge from a transnationalizing public sphere. She envisages two different but interlinked dimensions for justice, which are the moral/social scale and the geographical scale. The moral or social scale of justice is bounded by three principles: first, the redistribution of means, second, the recognition of identity and third, political representation. This way, this research builds on the ideas of identity recognition and representation and operationalizes them from a media perspective as two interlocking axes to fight social injustice. In terms of recognition, Couldry has argued not only that media plays a crucial role in providing recognition, but also how injustices arise when certain groups of people are not given proper recognition within media institutions and outputs (Couldry 2012: 112,113). Additionally, while Fraser’s process of representation refers to political representation, Roosvall & Tegelberg (2020) are among those who have pointed out how media has the ability to expose injustices to the public as they are essential framing agents in modern societies.
7 The second dimension of justice in Fraser’s theory is the geographical scale. As she recognizes the challenges of identifying the right scales of justice to resolve conflicts in an increasingly globalized world, she advocates for a reframing of justice that focuses on the “who” - the people involved in it. As stated above, sex trafficking is a global issue in nature. Thus, given the current global media landscape where information travels with absolute disregard for borders (Fraser 2009), a postwestphalian approach to media justice becomes essential in the understanding of a just sex trafficking news reporting. Journalism’s traditional watchdog role, exposing injustices and giving voice to those groups often pushed outside mediatic representations, becomes indispensable in news reporting about the sex trade. Because of this, at the verge between media and justice questions about media responsibility arise, which is the second central concept of this study. In this line of thought, several scholars have pointed out the need for morality and responsibility if the media ecology is to be a just one. Of particular relevance to the study are the ideas of Silverstone (2007) and Couldry (2012), as their insights on media ethics have to do with the creation of common ground of understanding on media responsibility. For both authors media holds great responsibility due to its power in society and its potential ability to mitigate injustices and inequalities. Since previous studies (Gulati 2010; Friedman and Johnston 2013; Sobel 2014) have pointed out media’s blind spots towards sex trafficking victims, their voices and stories, media responsibility becomes significantly useful approach for this study. Lastly, the third central concept in this paper is discourse. As mentioned earlier, CDA will be employed as a methodological tool to study the construction of the sex trade in news reports. But it is a theoretical model as well as a method (Hansen & Machin 2013: 117). The field of CDA has traditionally brought up questions about processes of critique, power and ideology in a continued attempt to confront social injustices. In particular, it has been used to study how certain knowledge that perpetuates hegemonic power and ideological dynamics is produced and reproduced in society by texts and discourses (Van Dijk. 2003; Fairclough 1989).
8 Because of the gendered nature of the violence in the sex trade, I have chosen to use a feminist approach to CDA that brings misogynistic power abuses and patriarchal ideology to the center of the discussion when analyzing sex trafficking news media discourses. What this means in practice when applying a feminist approach to CDA to news reports will be explained in Section 4. Materials and Methods. When it comes to previous research of relevance to this study, Gulati (2019) Sobel (2014), Johnston and Friedman (2013), and Johnston, Friedman and Shafer (2014) have documented a number of problems in news coverage of human and sex trafficking. Some of their findings underscore an over reliance on official sources, a dominant focus in policymaking and crime and narratives that leave the victims’ experience outside of the stories. These findings, which will be further discuss in Section 3, suggest a tendency to mis- represent and under-represent both the victims as well as the scope of the problem. As will also be argued in Section 3, scholarly research in the media studies field has mostly focused on the conflict of human trafficking as a whole which is extremely broad, while sex trafficking specifically has received significantly less scholar attention. Additionally, given the gender-based oppression intrinsic to both human trafficking and the sex trade, it is striking how rarely previous studies have employed a feminist perspective that brings patriarchal power relations to the discussion when studying trafficking news media coverage. Neither media justice and nor media responsibility have been addressed in this particular scholar context. Moreover, most of the previous studies have been published between 5-10 years ago and mostly relied on quantitative content analysis as the only method. Also, they heavily focused on articles only published by U.S newspapers while European outlets have been overlooked. This literature gap is also a crucial reason that motivates the present study. Take as a whole, these considerations mean the study reported here will shed new light on how international news media informs the public about sex trafficking, its victims and perpetrators, by looking at news coverage and discourses. Specifically, what these media representations can tell us about media’s responsibility in portraying justly or unjustly marginalized others.
9 1.1 Research Aim and Research Questions
The aim of this study is to shed new light on how international news media informs the public about sex trafficking, its victims and perpetrators. I do so in the context of the Epstein scandal to analyze how it may be reflected in the reporting of sex trafficking and what these media reporting and discourses can tell us about media justice, responsibility and representation of power abuses in the sex trade. In order to do so, I analyze news articles published between January 2019 and February 2020 in the online editions of The Guardian and The New York Times. This way the study is conducted in two stages. In the first stage I conduct a quantitative content analysis on a sample of 74 articles to document the amount and content of sex trafficking news reporting. In order to achieve this, I pose the following research questions: RQ 1. To what extent were sex trafficking stories related and unrelated to the Epstein case reported before during and after the scandal? RQ 2. What were the dominant actors, sources, themes and geographical scales presented across articles and throughout the studied period? RQ. 3 What were the dominant sex trafficking causes and remedies presented across articles and throughout the studied period? Further information about how the elements presented in RQ 2 and RQ 3 will be operationalized can be found in Section 3. In the second stage of the study I will conduct a Critical Discourse Analysis in a smaller sample of 6 articles in order to do two things. The first is to study how sex trafficking, its victims and perpetrators are discursively constructed. The second goal is to examine wether there is anything in these discourses that could be thought to either perpetuate or challenge the power abuses and patriarchal ideology inherent in the sex trade. In order to achieve this, I pose the following research questions: RQ 4. How are sex trafficking, its victims and perpetrators discursively constructed in the chosen news articles? RQ 5. Is there anything in this discourses that could be thought to either perpetuate or challenge the misogynistic power abuses and patriarchal ideology in the sex trade
10 The answers to all these questions matter to study in various ways. They will establish how much attention sex trafficking receives in the chosen newspapers and time periods, as well as the recognition and representation of the different actors involved in it, from victims to perpetrators. These questions will also provide answers about international discourses on the global sex trade. Additionally, the results will also uncover who has agency, who gets to speak and in what terms in the selected sample, which is a crucial part on the study of transnational media justice, responsibility and power. Lastly, the answers to these questions matter because media discourses are crucial in the pursuit of social change, justice and shape of power relations.
1.2 Thesis Structure
In Section 2, I provide background information on sex trafficking. By introducing historical information on the sex trade, I emphasize the transnational and gendered nature of the issue and present the Epstein criminal case. In Section 3, I begin by reviewing previous research that is relevant to the present study and continue by discussing the central theoretical concepts and approaches that guide this paper. Section 4 focuses on the material, sampling procedure, research design and methods used to answer each of the research questions. It also discusses the research limitations in terms of reliability and validity. Then, Section 5 presents the results emerging from the quantitative content analysis and the CDA, while providing meaningful answers to the formulated research questions. Section 6 engages in a discussion of the results and poses questions for future research. Finally, Section 7 highlights the most significant conclusions from the study and its significance for the field.
2. Background
In this section I introduce the reader in the underground world of human slavery in order to zoom in the problem of contemporary sex trafficking. While I provide relevant historical and contextual information on the issue, I elaborate on the fundamental rights that are being systematically violated through this practice and the transnational and gendered nature of this form of slavery. Later, I move on to present the Epstein criminal case and consequent mediatic storm formed around it in connection to the scope of the present study.
11 2.1 Human Trafficking: Sexual slavery
Records show that slavery systems have existed among populations and across territories from ancient times. However, efforts to address and fight against the systematic exploitation of individuals only became part of the international community’s agenda in the late 1990s, according to the United Nations (UN. 2014: 2). In fact the first recognized definition of human trafficking was incorporated in 2000 for the first time United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and it reads as follows: “ “Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.” (UN. 2014: 2)
Furthermore, the United Nations also highlights that trafficking affects all regions and most countries in the world, targeting women, men and children for a variety of purposes such as forced labour, removal of organs, forced marriage and sexual exploitation (UN. 2014). However, according to latest report by the International Labour Organization (2017), among the approximately 40 million people that are estimated to be current victims of modern day slavery, women and girls account for 71% of the victims (ibid. 2017: 5). This number acquires a horrific dimension as females constitute 99% of sex trafficking victims (ibid. 2017: 8), being sexual slavery the most detected form of human trafficking worldwide (UNODC. 2018: 10). Indisputably, females are most affected by human trafficking in general and sex trafficking specifically. In the process, many of their human rights are systematically violated, such as their right to liberty and security, to be free from gendered violence, to not be submitted to servitude and to not be discriminated in the basis of race, color, and sex, among others. (UN. 2014: 4).
12 As this research studies media coverage and discourses on sex trafficking, its victims and perpetrators, all of the information presented above highlights the need for a feminist approach connecting patriarchal structures that lead to women’s oppression through media discourses. Furthermore, the inherent vulnerability and marginalization of these women emphasizes the need to analyze their recognition (or misrecognition) and representation (or misrepresentation) in the media in terms of media responsibility and justice (Fraser. 2009; Couldry 2012; Silverstone 2007). Moreover, the available data not only shows sex trafficking to be a gendered problem, but also unveils the transnational and global nature of the conflict. Given the current globalized public sphere, this Fraser’s (2009) proposal on reframing justice by circumscribing the “who” of justice within a postwestphalian approach.
2.2 The Epstein Case
2.2.1 The Case and Criminal Records On July 6, 2019, Jeffrey E. Epstein -a registered sex offender and millioner financer- was arrested under sex trafficking charges and sexual abuse of underage girls (Mazzei & Rashbaum. 2019). As dozens of victims continue to come forward connecting Epstein with powerful figures like Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton or Donald Trump, the case continues to receive significant media attention as the criminal investigation develops. However, it is necessary to review his most notorious previous cases since by the time he was arrested in July 2019 he already had a long criminal record dating back to 2005. Some of the charges involved molestation of minors and solicitation of prostitution with a 14 year old minor, among other (McLaughlin and Frias. 2019). In 2008 Epstein served only 13 months in jail in Florida after pleading guilty for soliciting a minor for prostitution. This was the result of a widely controversial plea deal negotiated between Epstein and Alexander Acosta, who was then the United States attorney in Miami (Pilkington.2019). By 2015 several civil lawsuits had been filed by victims and accusations from survivors were made against Jeffrey Epstein and his then partner Ghislaine Maxwell, alleging they had been continuously abused as teenagers by Epstein and several of his friends as well as recruited for sexual exploitation (McLaughlin and Frias. 2019).
13 The year after, a woman filed a lawsuit claiming Donal Trump and Epstein brutally raped her at an orgy hosted by the later one when she was 13 years old. While Trump denied the accusations the woman abruptly dropped the lawsuit later that year, according to one of her layers, due to several threats (Yuhas. 2016). In 2018, before several of Epstein’s accusers had the chance to testify in a civil lawsuit set for trial, he reached a settlement with them for an undisclosed amount of money. (McLaughlin and Frias. 2019).
2.2.2 The Context and the Media In November 2018 investigative journalist Julie K. Brown published in the Miami Herald the three part series “Perversion of Justice: Jeffrey Epstein” based on her year-long investigation into Epstein’s criminal past. Brown identified around 80 women who said to be victims of sexual abuse and rape. Some of them, young as 13 years old at the time of the abuse, were not only abused by Epstein but also trafficked to other men in his inner circle with the purpose of sexual exploitation. The journalist persuaded several of them to narrate and share their stories (Pilkington.2019; Brown. 2019). Shortly after the stories broke, investigations and court rulings concerning Epstein’s alleged criminal activity followed. In February 2019 a federal judge ruled that the 2008 agreement between Epstein and prosecutors, including Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, was illegal. The ruling determined that Acosta had violated the law by favoring Epstein to sign the deal without telling the victims in advance (Berman. 2019). After months of investigation, on July 2019, prosecutors were able to arrest Epstein under charges of sexual abuse, sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit sex traffick (McLaughlin and Frias. 2019). After pleading not guilty to all charges he was jailed and denied bail afterwards. On August 10 he was found dead in his cell by apparent suicide according to official records.Weeks later the federal sex trafficking charges against Epstein were dropped as prosecutors moved to dismiss the criminal indictment against him (Helmore. 2019; Pengelly. 2019). However, several criminal investigations have been opened into other people associated with Epstein and members of his inner circle based on the victims’ stories (Reilly 2019; Helmore 2019).
14 3. Previous Research and Theoretical Framework
In this section I begin by reviewing previous studies that are relevant for the present study. I focus on the authors’ most valuable findings that laid the ground as starting points for this study and I discuss possible limitations in previous literature and research gaps. Then I continue by discussing central theoretical concepts and approaches that I use to articulate the epistemological framework that guides this paper.
3. 1 Literature Review: Starting Points and Critique
Scholarly research in the field of media studies have mostly focused on the problem of human trafficking in general, which is extremely broad, while sex trafficking specifically has received significantly less scholarly attention. Yet it is necessary to look at both, what has been done and what hasn’t in order to shine a light on potential contributions to the existing research spaces. Thus, in this section I present the most interesting and relevant studies for the present study. Johnston and Friedman (2013) investigated narratives of blame in sex trafficking news coverage and suggested that articles placed blame in traffickers and even the victims more often than in the men who paid for sex and abused them. Later on, Johnston, Friedman, & Shafe (2014) analyzed major U.S newspaper articles and highlighted that most articles didn’t contemplate the “why” of the issue, neglecting reasons and remedies surrounding the sex trade. Also, they found that while stories relied on official sources they often lacked the victim’s side of the stories. All these are valuable findings for future research as they suggest tendencies to under- represent and mis-represent victims and their stories, as well as a lack of investigative work on the underlying causes and potential solutions to fight the sex trade. Lastly, their results also show that most sex trafficking articles were event-driven. Therefore, they concluded this was problematic as coverage would arise from a specific event which portrayed the sex trade as an episodic issue rather than thematic.
15 However, I argue further research could be needed to determine wether an event-driven tendency as presented above is a problematic characteristic in itself. For instance, a particular event might help increase news coverage about an issue long ignored by media. This way coverage could move away from the particular incident and cover broader social problems involved in it. In this sense, previous studies found that celebrity involvement in stories have the potential to catapult media’s attention on underlying social issues for a period of time (Maxwell et al. 2000; McCarthy 1995). One study in particular (Maxwell et al. 2000) found that the mediatic attention on domestic violence intensified upon the O.J Simpson case, leading to an increase on news media coverage on domestic violence stories unrelated to the case. Thus, the incident served as a hook to bring domestic violence into the public discourse while before it was often ignored. In accordance with this line of thought, similar circumstances exist around both the O.J Simpson and the Epstein cases. High profile public figures and celebrities are involved in both of them, the Epstein scandal ran for months like the O.J Simpson case did and both concern violent crimes against women. Hence, it is interesting to study the extent to which stories related and unrelated to Epstein were reported during the selected time period. Furthermore, previous research provides support in my strategy of analyzing more than news coverage quantity and looking at content. Thus, the aforementioned study (Maxwell et al. 2000) showed that media’s framing and focus of domestic violence didn’t change after all. For this reason, the present study will not only study the amount of media coverage given to sex trafficking in light of the Epstein case, as posed in research questions 1. But also diverse elements in the articles content such as themes, actors, sources and geographical scales as posed in research question 2, as well as remedies and causes as posed by research question 3. Moving on to the other two relevant studies, Gulati’s study (2010) monitored news articles published by U.S news outlets and concluded that they legitimized dominant views on human trafficking by mostly relying on official sources, while marginalizing alternative ones. This way, articles lacked criticism over the issue, focused heavily on crime and very few included the victim’s voices in the narrative. Sobel (2014) found similar results when comparing news coverage published in the USA, India and Thailand. The scholar also found a dominant focus in crime and policymaking while the victim’s stories remained unexamined.
16 In sum, Gulati and Sobel also found significant problematic patterns which pushed the victims’ voices outside the narratives while perpetuating hegemonic ideas on the sex trade. While previous studies present extremely valuable findings, it presents potential limitations leaving some research spaces unexplored. Firstly, it has mostly focused on U.S news coverage, leaving European news outlets completely unexamined. Nonetheless, according to the U.N report Western Europe is one of the four world regions where sex slavery is the most prevalent form of human trafficking (2017:30). Secondly, previous research have mostly been published between 4 and 10 years ago. Consequently, this study aims to fill that research gap by focusing on recently published online articles by both British and U.S based newspapers. Additionally, previous literature has heavily relied on quantitative content analysis to conduct their research. Nonetheless, the application and combination of other methods like CDA in this case, could help different findings to emerge. Furthermore, like Hansen and Machin argue, content analysis may be able to show us patterns systematically in a reliable way, but it can’t allow us to draw deeper meaning from the results or its social significance (2013:112). This, must be achieved through both a qualitative method and a clear theoretical framework. This way the present research also aims to fill this gap concerning the methodology employed. Last but not least, another gap concerns the theoretical framework employed by scholars when studying human or sex trafficking in relation to media. In many of the above studies (Gulati 2010; Sobel 2014; Johnston, Friedman & Shafer. 2014), Entman’s framing theory (1993) guided their epistemological approach. I argue that repeated use of same theoretical lenses may leave very little room for new ways to explore and interpret the material, what could limit the ability of new results to emerge as well. It is in part by interpreting its results within the framework of a previously unused theoretical perspective that this study helps to fill the gap. That theoretical perspective is presented below.
3.2 Mediating Justice & Responsibility
The news stories published by the Miami Herald, sparked amidst a cultural context fueled by the #MeToo movement, shed a light on the power dynamics behind high profile criminal cases and the protective shield around wealthy well connected men.
17 The stories uncovered how Epstein, embodying male privilege, perpetuated sexual violence against girls and women over time, while protected by his elite impunity. Consequently and most importantly in light of the present study, these investigative news stories have set an example of how “media is fundamental not only for democracy in itself but also for the pursuit of justice in general” (Sen, 2010: 254). Thus, as argued above it is worth examining international news coverage of sex trafficking, and especially what it tells us about media justice, media responsibility and how media discourses may express, perpetuate or challenge the patriarchal ideology and power abuses intrinsic in the sex trade. As this section focuses on media justice and responsibility, Fraser’s ideas on justice (2009; 2012) are most useful to start laying the theoretical ground. As mentioned earlier, Fraser’s theoretical approach seeks to expand the boundaries of justice and reframe it within new challenges and struggles emerging from a transnationalizing public sphere. For Fraser there are two different but interlinked dimensions for justice, the moral/social scale and the geographical scale, which I further opperationalize from a media perspective. The moral/social scale in Fraser’s theory is bounded by three principles: first, the redistribution of means, second, the recognition of identity and third, political representation. These three concepts connect economic, cultural and political remedies respectively as three interlocking axes to fight social injustice. However, this study explores the possibility to articulate recognition within the cultural realm and representation within the political sphere through a media perspective as another fundamental way to pursue justice. In terms of recognition and the media, Couldry has explained how injustices arise when certain groups of people are not given proper recognition within media institutions and outputs (Couldry 2012: 112,113). It is therefore an injustice when someone is prevented a lack of voice, access or participation to any means of media recognition. Given the highly mediatized nature of our current societies, media unequivocally plays the crucial role in providing recognition to individuals as moral and social agents, which is linked to the “fundamental value of giving them a voice and allowing them to participate in social processes” (ibid:113). Couldry avoids to formulate this ideas in terms of any specific models of democracy as he aims to build a normative and global understanding about media justice. Nonetheless he does acknowledge the potential of media recognition to contribute to a more just and effective democracy (Couldry 2012: 103).
18 This resonates with Sen’s ideas (2010) on the importance of a healthy media ecology for the pursuit of justice and democratic processes. He recognizes three elemental contributions media makes in this sense: (i) freedom of speech to understand the world better, (ii) the dissemination of knowledge, and lastly and most relevant for the present discussion (iii) the protective function in giving recognition and voice to the neglected and disadvantage (ibid: 252-254). In terms of representation, in Fraser’s theory (2009) it concerns the need for fair political representation as a path to justice, with a key role assigned to political participation. This way, when individuals are excluded from political participation a misrepresentation occurs, and consequently a form of injustice takes places. However other authors (Silverstone 2007; Roosvall & Tegelberg 2020) have pointed out the power of proper media representation to expose injustices to the public as they are essential framing agents in contemporary societies. Hence it can be argued that the right to a fair media representation is equally important to the right of political representation, in the pursuit of justice. Like Silverstone argues, media are also institutions that can act justly, but also unjustly by underrepresenting or denying the voices of others. Therefore, if they can’t speak up or they can’t be heard; “if distortion outweighs translation, we are condemned at best to silence and at worst to the disasters of misrepresentation and misunderstanding” (Silverstone 2007: 145). Silverstone specially refers to the voices of the diasporic and the marginal others, the minorities. Accordingly, sex trafficking is a gender-based violence and exploitation whose victims are among the world’s most vulnerable and historically marginalized women and girls (Kelly 2004). From children, victims of forced displacement or women in situation of poverty, to women who lack opportunities or access to education, among others (UNODC 2018: 3, 31). In addition to this, as suggested by events following the publication of the Miami Herald stories, media has the potential to contribute to processes of justice. Not only because it has the power to influence and shape public discourses, in this case about sex trafficking and its victims. But also because it has the potential to impact policymaking (Sobel 2014; Johnston, Friedman & Shafer. 2014) as well as the criminal justice system, encourage action and shape people’s attitudes towards the issue.
19 Therefore, the media justice that this study seeks to operate with shall be one based on the fair recognition of sex trafficking victims, which concerns the extent of their participation in the news articles through their voices and experiences, as well as on the fair representation of the issue. This means the discursive construction of sex trafficking, the violence against the victims, and the perpetrators role in all these processes. Continuing with Fraser’s theory, the second dimension she proposes for justice, which intersects with the moral/social scale presented above, is the geographical scale. While the first one addresses “what” counts in the framing of justice as argued above, the geographical scale addresses “who” counts as a subject of justice (2009: 10). As we live in an increasingly globalizing world, Fraser proposes that trans-territorial issues should be framed by thinking who are victims of transborder injustices. Given the global and transnational nature of sex trafficking, a postwestphalian approach is essential in order to understand the injustices emerging from the sex trade, but also to recognize its victims as transnational communities of risk. In this sense, the postwestphalian frame to justice becomes most useful in the articulation of a media justice framework in this study. Like Fraser points out, communications are increasingly expanding through deterritorialize cyberspaces through global mass media. Thus, discourses concerning and impacting women who are victims of the sex trade, flow beyond borders and traditional territorial states. Therefore, the reason why the postwestphalian approach becomes crucial is twofold since it concerns both objects of study: the global scope of the sex trade as well as transnational public opinion shaped through international media. Journalism’s traditional watchdog role, exposing injustices and giving voice to those groups often pushed to the margins of media representations, becomes indispensable in news reporting about the sex trade. Because of this, at the verge between media justice and an increasing transnational mediapolis, questions about media responsibility arise. How can or should media justice be practiced? Through what means could its practice be ensured at a global scale? Authors like Silverstone (2007) and Couldry (2012) have proposed some answers to these long disputed questions in the form of media ethics and responsibility.
20 For both authors media are powerful social institutions, and as such, they carry great responsibility in providing recognition. This way, for them media communications must be guided by ethical and moral compasses at an individual, collective and institutional level. Silverstone highlights that media responsibility requires more than principles and procedures for its application, emphasizing the role of individual action to achieve a just mediapolis. He compares regulation to grammar by arguing that while it may address rules of the language, it does not control the ways in which language is spoken and its content (2007:174). Hence, while skeptical towards institutional regulations underlined the importance of ethical obligations. Nonetheless, Couldry (2012) shows skepticism in the formulation of responsibility as an obligation due to the impossibility to oblige such principles. The systematic enforcement of responsibility to achieve media justice in the current global media landscape remains unclear. But neither it is the goal of the present discussion to find an answer to it. However, what becomes unquestionable is jouranlists’ responsibility to listen, tell the truth and give a fair recognition and representation to others.
3. 4 CDA: Gendering the Battleground
As mentioned earlier, discourse is the third key concept in the present study, which will be addressed as both a theoretical concept informed by CDA theory and as object of analysis in the second stage of the study where CDA will be employed as the method of analysis. Since its inception in the 1980s in the field of linguistics, critical discourse analysis (CDA) and critical discourse studies in general (CDS) have widely developed across disciplines in the social sciences around the globe. Nonetheless, like Krzyżanowski underscores, they have often been misunderstood as merely methodoligical tools of analysis while disregarding how in this case method comes hand in hand with its theoretical foundations (2016: 254). CDA as theoretical model has traditionally brought up questions about processes of critique, power and ideology in society. Specifically, how meaning and knowledge perpetuating these power and ideological dynamics are produced and reproduced in society by language, texts and discourses (Van Dijk, 2003; Fairclough 1989).
21 This way, discourses are understood across the discipline as the underlying ideas to discover in texts by looking at diverse linguistic and grammatical choices in them (Hansen & Machin 2013: 117). Although different schools and traditions in CDA approach the study of discourses from different angles, their theoretical and methodological models share some common ground rooted in critical theory. Among this common ground there are three elements specially relevant for the present research. First, the drive to confront injustice and empower oppressed individuals and social groups. In this case, to confront the injustices emerging from the sex trade and empower its victims, survivors and all other women and girls at risk of sexual violence and exploitation. Second, CDA is also based on the idea that individuals have unequal access to ways of disseminating their ideas in society, specially through institutions like media (Samaie & Malmir. 2017:1353). This notion is closely related and complements the processes of (mis) recognition and (under) representation of others in terms of media justice and responsibility (Fraser 2009; Couldry 2012; Silverstone 2007). Third, at the core of the CDA also lays the ambition to examine how discourses, through linguistic processes, create meaning and knowledge. Because by perpetuating or challenging certain knowledge, discourses shape social relationships of power and dominant ideologies (Hansen and Machin. 2013; Meyer and Wodak. 2001). This third element is also useful in the present research, as I propose it would be insufficient to study how the sex trade is discursively constructed without examining from a feminist perspective the larger misogynistic power abuses and patriarchal ideology intrinsic in it and surrounding it. Other scholars have also applied a feminist approach to discourse analysis to study news media coverage of violence against women, and they found discourses to normalize hegemonic views of male violence. Friedman and Johnston (2013) for example, explored narratives of blame in broadcast and online news coverage of sex trafficking and found discourses to be mainly driven by official sources who blamed traffickers primarily for the problem while “customers” were blamed less often than their own victims. Berns (2001) found in domestic violence media discourses what she called a “patriarchal resistance” perspective. By using several strategies, discourses would reframe the problem as human violence by de-gendering the problem, so men are not held accountable, and gendering the blame so women are framed as co-responsible.
22 I acknowledge in this study that the sex trade is without a doubt a complex and trans- territorial conflict that overlaps with other societal issues like prostitution, rape and domestic violence among others. As a result, defining the specific ideological and power structures that allows it to emerge is a challenging task open to discussion. However, male dominance and violence against women are the two common denominator present in all of the aforementioned issues. Additionally, sex trafficking is unequivocally a gendered issue that commoditizes and exploits women’s bodies for generally male pleasure (Johnston and Friedman 2014). In fact, the number of current victims which is close to 5 million women and girls according to the UN (UNODC 2018; ILO 2017) would not continue to exist and increase without an equally existing and increasing male demand. In this line of thought, women are enslaved as their bodies are exploited by traffickers as means of production, and raped by men who perceive it as service or product to be consumed. Practices deep rooted in patriarchal ideology and maintained by misogynistic power abuses. In the sex trade, the relationship between power abuse and patriarchal ideology seems specially symbiotic as both coexist as parasites in society by feeding each other through the sexual violence they mutually legitimize against women. Consequently, in the study of sex trafficking news media coverage, CDA is preferable as it will allow me to investigate how oppression, power abuse and patriarchal ideology are expressed, legitimize or challenged through media discourses. To do so, the present research poses two different but complementing research questions. Research question 4. How are sex trafficking, its victims and perpetrators discursively constructed in the chosen news articles? and research question 5. Is there anything in this discourses that could be thought to either perpetuate or challenge the misogynistic power abuses and patriarchal ideology in the sex trade? Because of the power media holds in society as both framing agents (Roosvall and Tegelberg. 2020) as social institutions (Silverstone. 2007), and its potential to shape people's attitudes and opinions (Sobel. 2014) it is both meaningful and consequential to rise questions about how media discourses are creating meaning and addressing power relations in the sex trade. By critically studying these discourses I hope to encourage future studies to apply feminist views when addressing sexual exploitation and to contribute to find ways to achieve transformative social change.
23 4. Materials and Methods
The empirical material considered for this study consists of online articles of diverse genres (news reports, features, editorial/opinions etc) published by two major international newspapers: The Guardian and The New York Times. Several factors were considered when choosing these two newspapers, including geographical scope, scale of production and circulation as well as readership reach, material availability and language. This way, significant similarities between these two newspapers were taken into consideration. Let's first focus on the geographical scope, circulation and scale of production of the chosen newspapers. Although The Guardian -a British daily newspaper- and The New York Times -an American newspaper based in New York- are national newspapers per se, they both have achieved international scope, circulation and reputation. They both have a “World News” section dedicated to global news, featuring first in both websites. Additionally, The Guardian’s main online edition is its International Edition, while it also has UK, US and Australia editions for more national oriented content. Meanwhile, The New York Times has one main edition but it offers a Spanish-language and Chinese-language version of its online edition with more content specifically targeted for Spanish and Chinese speaking readers. These traits support the argument that both newspapers can be considered “international” as much as national: they focus on global news, while their digital online editions also allow a high international circulation of their content as well as a global readership. Moreover, like Leuven and Berglez argue, it is also possible to find global reporting in national and international news media as the can actively internconnect the local with the global (2015). Furthermore, The Guardian and The New York Times have also proved to be interested in developing an international scale of production by opening newsrooms outside of their respective countries, like in France and China, as well as by working with a vast amount of foreign correspondents across nations. Language is another key factor involved in the selection process of the news outlets. Because of the methods employed in the research relying so much in language, it was decided that all materials under analysis needed to be in the same language.
24 Due to my language skills and the several reasons motivated above, English was the chosen language. Subsequently, only newspapers with English as their primary publishing language were considered. Selecting The Guardian and the NYT is also a decision grounded on the present study’s framework and object of analysis. Firstly, both newspapers are known for taking media responsibility and media justice seriously, for example by often reporting diverse cases of abuses and misuses of power. Thus it is interesting to study what their reporting on sex trafficking says in terms of media justice and journalistic responsibility. Furthermore, their level of visibility, international readership and potential to shape opinions as mainstream international news outlets, translate into greater responsibility when it comes to media recognition and representations of others. Secondly, as already established, the global aspect of the sex trade and media justice are elements of interest in this study. Since there are no recognized global newspapers as opposed to TV broadcasters, The Guardian and New York Times are effective alternatives when it comes to global news reporting. In this case, to study what their news reporting of the sex trade can tell us about global discourses on the sex trade. Having explained why I chose these two news outlets, I move on to argue the reasoning behind the selection of online articles as my main material for this study. Material availability was a key factor. During a preliminary search at the initial stage of this study it seemed difficult to find sex trafficking news reporting in traditional media like television. Material availability conditioned by newspapers’ ideological alignment is another reason why online articles published by The Guardian and The New York Times were chosen. During the mentioned preliminary search it was difficult to find articles about the sex trade in conservative and more national newspapers. While this is a meaningful finding itself, it did not correspond with the main aim of studying coverage content and discourses since to do so there needs to be a reasonable amount of articles in the sample. This way, The Guardian and The New York Times, whose reporting and readership share a common space within political and cultural progressivism, seemed to have a bigger interest on the topic.
25 In this sense, the fact that both share similar ideological stances is an intentional choice since this research does not aim to compare reporting between newspapers. Instead the comparative element in this study aims to trace differences, similarities and trends across international news media coverage and discourses on the sex trade. Specifically, before, during and after the Epstein scandal in order to see if the introduction of the case into public discourse could be reflected in the media reporting on the larger issue of sex trafficking. In sum, by considering articles across editions, sections and genres from two main international newspapers, this study aims to provide a rich and ample set of materials for analysis. Lastly, limitations concerning the materials are acknowledge and further explained later in the 4.5 Limitations, Reliability, Validity subsection.
4.1 Research Design
The methodological procedure designed for the present study case is an explanatory sequential mixed method design. As explained by Creswell (2017), this approach involves a two-stage data collection. First, quantitative data is collected in the first level analysis, which in this research is achieved through a quantitative content analysis, and then uses these results to construct the second qualitative level of analysis. In this case, a critical discourse analysis is employed. The goal is not only to help understand some of the quantitative results, but also to provide more depth and insight into the results and subsequent questions arising from them. This way, this study has designed both stages of analysis with two methods that complement each other. The quantitative content analysis will allow: (i) to study the amount of media attention the sex trade receives in the context of a high profile sex trafficking case, (ii) to analyze shifts and trends of different elements in the news coverage, (iii) and it will allow to conduct a strategic sampling later for the CDA based on the results emerging from it. While the content analysis will allow to track trends in a systematic and reliable that a qualitative method can´t provide, the CDA will enable to examine deeper meanings in sex trafficking news articles that a quantitative method alone wouldn't allow. Thus the CDA will allow to: (i) study how the sex trade, victims and perpetrators are discursively constructed in news media, (ii) and how these discourses express the misogynistic power abuses and patriarchal ideology inherent in the sex trade.
26 Following this section, the section begins by presenting the quantitative content analysis sampling and coding procedure. Then, it it motivates the sampling process for the CDA and the analytical tools employed to study the sample. Lastly, limitations, reliability, and validity issues are addressed.
4.2. Quantitative Content Analysis
4.2.1 Sampling Procedure
Articles published by The Guardian and The New York Times were retrieved from LexisNexis Academic database. The main search term used in this study included the word “sex” with any variation of the word “traffick” (trafficking, trafficked, trafficker). The initial goal was to monitor articles published before, during and after the scandal, in a one year time period. However, a sample contemplating articles published during an overall of 365 days was materially unmanageable for this research. Therefore, a choice was made to focus on three time periods of 2 months each in a one year time period. Each of the three periods was design to correspond with different events that could define the time before, during and after the Epstein scandal. Epstein was arrested in July 6, 2019, and the case against him was closed weeks after his death in August 10, 2019, hence July and August were the months selected for the “during the case” time period. Then January and February 2019 was set as the first time period, corresponding to “before the case” while January and February 2020 were selected for the last and third period as “after the case”.
1. First Period: January 1st 2019 - February 28th 2019. This search resulted in 135 articles. 2. Second Period: July 1st 2019 - August 31st 2019. This search resulted in 464 articles. 3. Third period: January 1st 2020 - February 29th 2020. This search resulted in 165 articles. The preliminary result from the three time periods combined was a total of 764 news articles. Then, some articles were removed or kept from the preliminary sample for further coding following this criteria:
27 1. Only those articles that focus on sex trafficking as the main theme will be coded further while those that only mention or discuss it as a secondary topic will be discarded from the sample. In order to determine which articles addressed sex trafficking as the main theme, as opposed to those were it is only mentioned/discussed, all of the following criteria must be fulfilled: 1.1 The news article’s story mainly revolves around one or more aspects involved in sex trafficking. 1.2 At least one of the following terms must appear in the headline or byline or lead: -Sex -Traffick /trafficking -Exploitation -Slavery -Sex + traffick /trafficking/exploitation /slavery -Human + traffick/trafficking/exploitation/slavery -Trafficker and/or trafficker’s name -Victim and/or victim’s name -Sexual abuse/assault -Rape/raped -Justice
2. Articles containing a coincidental combination of the search terms that are inconsistent with the notion of sex trafficking following the United Nations definition are excluded from the sample. 3. News briefs, movie and theater reviews are excluded from the sample. 4. Duplicated articles are also excluded from the sample. 4.1 Articles that are copies from previous articles with different titles but with more than a 90% coincidence in content based on lexis nexus tools are also considered to be duplicated articles and therefore excluded from the sample.
28 Finally, based on this criteria, 690 articles were removed from the preliminary sample of 764 and 74 were kept for further coding. The final sample of 74 articles aims to provide a rich representative sample of articles to study international news media coverage about the sex trade under the above given conditions.
4.2.2 Coding Procedure: Variables and Categories of Analysis
Once the final sample was retrieved from Lexis Nexis data base, the material was exported and manually transferred to Excel in order to be coded according to the codebook. Nonetheless a two rounds of test coding were implemented before beginning the final coding process. After the first one, necessary changes were made in the codebook to increase its reliability. Then a second round was implemented in order to ensure its efficient operation. The codebook includes 9 different variables, each of them designed to answer the research questions posed for the first level of analysis, thus, RQs 1, 2 and 3. A couple other variables were designed as primarily exploratory variables. I now proceed to explain this further.
To answer Research Question 1. To what extent were sex trafficking stories related and unrelated to the Epstein case reported before during and after the scandal? the following variable was created:
-Variable 2. Relation to the Epstein case. Through this variable sex trafficking articles are coded as either “related” or “unrelated” to the Epstein case. Then, by breaking down the related and unrelated articles through the three selected time periods I compare the coverage before, during and after the scandal. This enables me to trace down when and where media directed their attention to. Wether journalists focused in up in the realm surrounding a high profile case or they increasingly dove in the underground world of sex trafficking to tell other stories about the broader issue.
To answer Research Question 2. What were the dominant actors, sources, themes and geographical scales presented across articles and over time? the following variables were created:
29 -Variable 4. Primary Actor. This code question aims to detect who is the main protagonist in each sex trafficking article. Thus, it allows to trace patterns across articles on what individuals and whose actions and experiences does the narrative primarily revolve around. Actor categories along with descriptions and examples are specified in Appendix 1. It is worth noting a decision was made to code for groups of individuals as primary actor when it’s not possible to identify one single person as primary actor, but instead several people belonging to the same category. This decision was adopted after test coding in order to increase valid results as it was clear that very often an article would not exclusively focus in one person but in many who have similar life experiences, like in the case of survivors and victims. -Variable 5. Primary Source. With this code question it is possible to analyze whose voices participate primarily in the narrative. Like in Variable 4, sources categories are specified in Appendix 1while groups of individuals can also be coded as primary source following the same reasoning as in primary actors. Finally, patterns across the sample can be drawn to examine whose voices do readers get to hear the most and least; who has access to disseminate their ideas in media. These interrogations, along with the ones seeking to trace down primary actors in narratives are informed by the theoretical concepts articulating this study in terms of recognition and representation of others in the pursuit of media justice and journalistic responsibility. -Variable 6. Theme. This variable is designed to study what topics and news angles primarily circumscribe sex trafficking stories. Furthermore, it is equally relevant to cross compare themes with primary sources/actors to study “who” gets to speak and act under “what” contextual circumstances. This way themes were divided into 8 categories: (6.1) Criminal Investigation, (6.2) Criminal justice, (6.3) Economy/Finance, (6.4) Human rights/ Justice, (6.5) Policymaking, (6.6) Public Health, (6.7) Migration and (6.8)Other. -Variable 7. Geographical Scale. This coding question aims to analyze how do journalists build the scope of the issue of sex trafficking geographically. As already stablished, the sex trade is a trans-territorial global conflict. Drawing on Fraser (2009) in such circumstances we must rethink justice by focusing on who are the victims of transborder injustices. In this case, women and girls who are sex trafficking victims are as well transnational communities at risk.
30 Therefore a postwestphalian approach that recognizes this becomes essential in sex trafficking articles in the pursuit of media justice. Accordingly, articles are coded following these categories: (7.1) Local/regional scale, (7.2) National scale, (7. 3) International Scale, (7.4) Transnational scale and (7.5) Global scale.
To answer Research Question 3. What were the dominant causes and remedies presented across articles and over time? I designed the following code questions: -Variable 8. Root cause. This variable was designed to analyze how often articles discussed any deeper societal factors that ignites, perpetuates or exacerbates the issue of sex trafficking. And if they do, to study which factors were most frequently identified as those root causes. This way, articles which did address a root cause, were coded as follow: (8.1) Patriarchy, (8.2) Legal framework, (8.3) Corruption, (8.4) Poverty, (8.5) Victim’s homeland, (8.6 )Victim’s choices (8.7) Prostitution & sex trade, (8.8) Migration, (8.9) Climate Change and (8.10) Other. Those that didn't address any root cause were coded as (8.11) None. -Variable 9. Remedies. This variable monitors wether articles explore possible remedies that may help in the fight against the sex trade, and if so, it codes for those specific remedies as follows: 9.1 Gender equality, 9.2 Migratory/Border regulation, 9.3 Prostitution decriminalization, 9.4 Prostitution legalization, 9.5 Prostitution abolitionism, 9.6 Prostitution neo-abolitionism, 9.7 Prostitution illegalization, 9.8 Other sex industry related regularization, 9.9 Education /Awareness, 9.10 Governmental support/protection. These coding questions go in line with the ideas of media justice and responsibility guiding the study. Given the complexities inherent in the sex trade and unquestionable oppression and marginalization its victims are subjected to, exploring why it occurs, seeking accountability and possible solutions should be expected in news media in their role as watchdogs. Lastly, variable 1. Article Genre and variable 2. Author’s Genre were designed as exploratory variables. This way, by monitoring other elements in the articles beyond the ones that exclusively concern the research questions, there is more space to study if certain findings could be also determined by external factors beyond the ones under study.
31 In this case the gender of the article’s author, given the importance of gender in the present study, and the genre of the article, given that articles are the unit of study, are two important variables that could potentially have an impact on the results. Also they are designed to give orientation and help strategically sample articles for the CDA analysis.
4.3 Critical Discourse Analysis
4.3.1 Sampling
As explained earlier, one of the benefits of using an explanatory sequential mixed method design is how the data and results emerging from the first level of analysis can help construct different processes in the second level of analysis (Creswell. 2017). In this case, the quantitative content analysis findings, combined with a purposive sampling approach, help design the CDA sampling process. After the first level of analysis was concluded, a decision was made to perform the CDA only on articles corresponding to after the scandal based on its findings, which are detailed in section 5.1 Quantitative Content Analysis Results. In sum, the results showed that changes in the different elements of the articles’ content -sources, actors themes, scales, causes and remedies- seemed to be more conditioned by their relation to the case rather than by when they were published. Furthermore some crucial elements such as sex trafficking root causes and remedies were mainly if not only addressed after the scandal. After selecting the time period based on the content analysis results, I continued the sampling through a purposive approach. This implied the identification and selection of articles that were “information rich”(Patton, 2002) cases for the purpose of the study. Thus, 6 articles out of 19 were chosen and the reason is twofold. First, the 6 articles were the only articles in that period coded as features, which is a genre that by its nature allows richer ground for a CDA analysis in the search for meaning creation. Second, is an even number that allows to split the sample to study three articles unrelated to Epstein and three related, which is relevant since it is my objective to look at differences and trends in sex trafficking reporting in the context of the high profile case.
32 4.3.2 CDA Analytical Strategies
Drawing on several scholars CDA strategies, I combine a set of analytical tools that are most useful to analyze the selected news articles. Through each of them, specific questions can be ask in terms of meaning, power and ideology when analyzing word, grammatical and lexical choices employed in the texts. First, a lexical analysis is employed following Hansen and Machin (2013) Kress (1989) and Fairclough (2000). This way, word choices are examined, how they are used, what meaning they create, what are they emphasizing or instead, what are they obscuring. Absences of certain words and the abundance of other specific words can be also as meaningful when reporting on the sex trade. The over-lexicaliztation of certain words normally intends to draw attention to something particularly problematic or ideologically contentious, but it can also distract readers from other elements (Hansen and Machin.2013: 123). Moreover, this can also reflect the author’s underlying worldview by bringing attention to particular elements and distracting from others. In this sense, looking at presuppositions, in other words, what concepts are being taking for granted as truths, can also be revealing. Presuppositions can construct certain process and ideologies as truth, as knowledge. Therefore the author of a text can create and shape collective meaning of what is accepted or challenged in society. Another analytical tool is the processes of naming and referencing social actors and other individuals in the articles such us sources. While the content analysis shed a light about whose voices and experiences were most and least likely to be heard and participate in sex trafficking news articles, CDA will reveal the way people are referred to. This is significant because like Kress (1989) and Fairclough (2003) have noted, it can influence the readers on how they perceive these individuals. Also, what space they occupy in our collective imagery of the social world as well as how readers react to their stories. Perhaps certain ways of naming them can help legitimize them or discredit them, for example. In sum, this analytical tool looks at trends and differences on how specific words are used to adhere certain attributes to individuals.
33 In a similar way, Leeuwen’s classification of social actors (1996) is also usefull to study deeper meanings created around social actors and the ideological impact these lexical strategies have. Specifically, four will be used: (i) individualization/personalization of actors, (ii) nominalization/functionalization, (iii) anonymization, and (iv) aggregation. Analyzing how action in itself is constructed in the articles can also be extremely revealing as it can shape the way experiences and intentions are perceived. It is of special interest for this paper to look at them in terms of how processes of accountability, responsibility and power are shaped. To do so I will examine verbs and action words through three different CDA analytical strategies. First, quoting verbs (Hansen & Machin 2013:140) are the specific words describing how a person has spoken, by either a citation or quotation, which carry significant implicit meaning. For instance,“she insisted” and “she claims” are two ways of defining the way in which a person has spoken and participated in the narrative with implicit different meanings. While the first one has a more neutral tone, the second one invites the reader to doubt. Another strategy is to focus on where the emphasis is placed in a sentence by looking at how action is structured. Such variations of word orders can potentially mark ideologically discourses (Van Dijk. 2003: 54). I will specially focus on two formulations of action. The first one is through passivated verbs with and without agents, because this can emphasize or hide who acts and therefore place or obstruct accountability (Fairclough 2000:163). The second one is the strategic location of verbs in sentences and clauses. By placing words and actions at the beginning of a clause, an author is able to more draw attention to it while moving it to he back of the sentence can make the agency of the action less prominent (Van Dijk. 2003: 54). The last analytical tool employed is suppression, which looks at key absences in the text that can unveil what is it the reporter is avoiding to mention. (Hansen & Machin. 2013: 131). This can be done for instance by avoiding a particular word specially relevant in a topic but strategically being left aside. Also by giving certain concepts the agency to act while leaving the actual agents out of the discourse (ibid 2013: 131).
34 4.4 Limitations, Reliability, Validity
I acknowledge there are some limitation problems related to previous research and language, as well as materials. There may be more relevant literature as well as previous studies on media and sex trafficking that might have been helpful to use. Nonetheless, as my native language is Spanish and second language is English, I could only access literature and previous studies written in one of those languages. Concerning materials, it would have been ideal to consider a bigger sample involving coverage from more newspapers and time frame, for instance a full year worth of coverage. However, due to time and extension limitations circumscribing this paper I aimed to solve these limitations by strategically designing the sample. This way, two of the most internationally influential newspapers were selected, The Guardian and The New York Times, and three strategic time periods within a year corresponding to two months before, two during and two after the Epstein case. Other limitations concerning the nature of the methods employed, quantitative content analysis and CDA, were solved by combining them in an explanatory sequential mixed method design. This way, while the content analysis will enable to study trends in a systematic and reliable that a qualitative method can't provide, the CDA will allow to examine deeper meanings in sex trafficking news articles that a quantitative method alone wouldn't permit. In addition, other issues concerning reliability have been addressed in both levels of analysis by ensuring accuracy in the design of the research, methods and its application. In the first level of analysis, by writing a clear and consistent codebook after running several rounds of test coding in order to increase consistency in its application. In the second level of analysis, by designing clear set of CDA analytical tools. All of which was circumscribed by a solid theoretical framework informing all processes, from research design, method, analysis and interpretation of results.
35 Lastly, in terms of validity this paper, as a case study, acknowledges it can mainly draw conclusions from the specific questions it posed and materials it analyzed. Thus it would not be possible to generalize its results. However, this was never the intention of the present paper. Instead it aims at looking closer at more fundamental traits, tendencies and meanings in news reporting of the sex trade in the chosen articles. This in itself is meaningful because, like Flyvbjerg argues (2006), formal generalization as the main source of scientific progress is considerably overrated in the social sciences, whereas “the force of the example" is underestimated (ibid: 10; 12). Thus, the force of the example is just as legitimate in the search of knowledge and progress.
5. Results and Analysis
This section is divided in two parts. The first one presents the main and most significant results found through the quantitative content analysis performed in the first stage of the study. By answering Research Questions 1, 2 and 3, this first part introduces results along with graphics and compelling data found across the analyzed sample. The second part, by answering to Research Questions 4 and 5, develops the most significant results found through the CDA analysis performed in the second stage of the study.
5.1 Quantitative Content Analysis Results
Research Question 1. In light of the 2019 Epstein criminal case: to what extent was sex trafficking stories related and unrelated to the case reported before during and after the scandal? From the total amount of 74 articles under analysis, having all three time periods combined, 47 articles (63,51%) were related to the Epstein criminal case while only 27 (36,49%) were unrelated. But let’s break down the data to see the distribution of these articles over time in the three chosen time periods corresponding to before, during and after the scandal.
36 Figure 1
30
25
20
15 2.1 Related 2.2 Unrelated 10 Number of Sex Trafficking Articles Trafficking of Sex Number
5
0 Jan feb jul Aug Jan feb 2019 2020
Sex trafficking articles (n=74) across three time periods selected: before, during and after Epstein case.
As Figure 1 indicates, there are two significant findings. First, the amount of stories about the sex trade unrelated to Epstein remains unchanged before the scandal (January- February 2019) and after (January-February 2020). And second, articles unrelated to Epstein decreased during the scandal (July-August 2019), while Epstein related articles remarkably dominated media’s attention. Thus, media’s attention notably revolved around the Epstein case, while unrelated sex trafficking stories did not increase during or after as compared to the period before the case. These results are meaningful in the context of previous research and in the development of the present study. As explained before, diverse scholars argued different perspectives in event-driven news coverage. Johnston, Friedman, & Shafe (2014), found event-driven sex trafficking coverage problematic as the problem was mostly published and confined within a particular case which prevented readers to understand sex trafficking as part of a broader ongoing network (ibid. 2014: 431). On the other hand, Maxwell et alet al. (2000) found how a particular event where celebrities were involved served as a hook which resulted in a long- term increase of domestic violence media coverage.
37 Nonetheless, the results in the present study show that media’s attention did not move away from the Epstein case. This way, sex trafficking stories received as little amount of coverage after the scandal than before. Furthermore, the spikes in articles related to the Epstein case seem to correspond to Epstein’s criminal case and personal related events such as Epstein’s arrest, jail time, court hearings and eventual suicide. However, victims and survivors have been filing lawsuits against him as well as making public claims and allegations for years before his arrest up until today. Consequently, this begs the question of who gets to receive media representation and recognition in these articles? Under what circumstances? The same applies to all other sex trafficking stories in the sample across time periods and the individuals involved in them. Who gets to speak and tell their story? Who gets to act and play a part in the narrative? What are the dominant thematic and geographical circumstances surrounding them and the larger issue of the sex trade? The answer to these interrogations, which are related to processes of recognition and representation intrinsic in media justice and responsibility, are explored through the results generated for Research Question 2. What were the dominant actors, sources, themes and geographical scales presented across articles and over time? To answer this question I will first present the most significant findings for each variable and later explain the most interesting ones when comparing results between before, during and after the Epstein case.
Actors In the total sample of 74 sex trafficking articles victims and survivors were surprisingly the most common primary actors, yet they were only leading actors in 32,43% (24 n) of all articles. The next three more common primary actors in the ranking were: sex offender/John who were primary actors in 16,22% (12 n) of the articles, then business/economic actors who were the leading actors in 12,16% (9) of the stories, and Royal Family Members who were the primary actor in 12,16% (9) of articles.
38 Results are even more interesting when this data is analyzed in the context of articles related and unrelated to Epstein. As Figure 2 indicates, in Epstein related articles, sex offenders, johns, and Royal Family Members take more often the leading role as primary actors, even more than victims and survivors. On the other hand, in those articles unrelated to the case, victims and survivors tend to take a leading part in the stories by a large margin. These results are significant because they seem to reveal that in those stories where high profile individuals were involved, they are the ones taking a leading part in the narrative more often than other individuals, including the victims. Meanwhile when articles move away from a high profile celebrity case, victims and survivors get higher recognition and representation than other individuals by a large margin.
Figure 2
30 4.9 Victim/survivor
25 4.11 Sex offender/John
4.5 Business/economic actor 20 4.3 Royal Family Member
15 4.7 Judicial power
4.10 Trafficker/Pimp 10 4.18 None
Number of Sex Trafficking articles Trafficking of Number Sex 5 4.6 Celebrity
0 4.8 Police/military 2.1 Related 2.2 Unrelated
Primary actors in sex trafficking articles (n=74) related and unrelated to the Epstein case.
Actors Between Time Periods When breaking down the data through the periods before, during and after the Epstein case, there are two results worth looking at. Firstly, victims and survivors moved from being the most prevalent primary actor before and during the Epstein case, to come in third place after the scandal. In relation to this shift comes the second interesting finding, as the data shows that after the case Royal Family Member has become the leading actors in sex trafficking articles while sex trafficker/johns are the second ones.
39 The spikes on Royal Family Member and sex trafficker/John as primary actors in the last period seem to correspond to the accusations against Prince Andrew, and other high profile individuals related to him and Epstein. All in this together seems to show that upon the mediatization of the Epstein case, news coverage on the sex trade has moved from focusing on the victim’s actions and life experiences to prioritize those of royalties’ and perpetrators’.
Sources In order to get a more complete picture of who gets recognition and representation in the chosen articles, not only I look at primary actors but also at primary sources. Because is not only meaningful who has agency and participates in the narrative trough actions and experiences, but also who gets to talk and inform about them; who is given or denied a voice in the narrative. Across the sample of 74 articles, having all periods combined, in 25,68% of the articles (19n) it was not possible to identify a primary source at all. Nonetheless, one of the most surprising results is that the most prevalent primary source are members of the judicial power. Thus, judges, prosecutors, District/State’s attorneys etc were the primary source in 20,27% of articles (15n). The next three most recurrent primary sources are victims and survivors in 17,57% of articles (13n), professionals in 12,16% of articles (9 n) and politicians in 6,76% of articles (5 n). In general institutional and public sources dominate the narrative while civil voices are completely absent, except for the voices of survivors who, as mentioned, only appear as primary sources in 13 our 74 articles. These results go in line with Johnston, Friedman, & Shafe’s results (2014) and Gulati’s who found that sex trafficking stories mostly relied on official sources while they often lacked the victim’s side of the stories. Furthermore, more meaningful findings come to light when cross comparing the primary source variable with the primary actor variable since different groups of individuals seem to dominate each variable. In other words, when looking at the top primary actors in stories, who are the most dominant voices in those stories?
40 TABLE 1 Cross Comparison of Top 6 Primary Actors by dominant Primary Sources
Main Sources per Primary Actor % of Articles Number of sex Trafficking Articles (N=74) 4.9 Victim/survivor (Primary 38,71 24 Actor) 5.9 Victim/survivor 45,83 11 5.18 None 16,67 1 5.12 Professional 16,67 3 5.2 Politician 12,50 4 5.7 Judicial power 4,17 1 5.17 Other 4,17 4 4.11 Sex offender/John (Primary 19,35 12 Actor) 5.7 Judicial power 50,00 1 5.18 None 25,00 6 5.12 Professional 16,67 3 5.9 Victim/survivor 8,33 2 4.5 Business/economic actor 14,52 9 (Primary Actor) 5.18 None 55,56 1 5.5 Business/economic actor 22,22 2 5.13 Expert 11,11 5 5.8 Police/military 11,11 1 4.3 Royal Family Member 14,52 9 5.18 None 22,22 2 5.12 Professional 22,22 1 5.7 Judicial power 22,22 1 5.10 Trafficker/Pimp 11,11 2 5.5 Business/economic actor 11,11 2 5.3 Royal Family Member 11,11 1
41 4.10 Trafficker/Pimp (Primary 6,45 4 Actor) 5.7 Judicial power 75,00 2 5.10 Trafficker/Pimp 25,00 1 4.7 Judicial power (Primary 6,45 1 Actor) 5.7 Judicial power 50,00 4 5.12 Professional 25,00 3 5.18 None 25,00 1 Total 100,00% 3
Two of the results in Table 1 are particularly interesting. First, victims are most likely to become primary sources when they are also the lead actors in the stories. Nonetheless, in half of those stories (45%) they get to be the primary source in the narrative. In the other 55% of articles professionals such as lawyers, politicians and members of the judicial power become primary sources or no primary source is identified. This relates to the second relevant finding, which uncovers a tendency to increasingly prioritize public and institutional sources over the victim’s voices as primary actors rank higher in the social hierarchy. For example, when a Royal Family Member is the primary actor in the article, the most dominant sources in those cases are professionals (22,22%) members of the judicial power (22,22%) and Royal family members (11,11%). Meanwhile, the voices of victims and survivors are nowhere in these articles.
Sources Between Time Periods When breaking down the data to trace down differences and similarities between time periods, the results show a similar tendency as the one presented above. This way, members of the judicial power are the primary source category that most significantly increases during and after the Epstein case as compared to before. Professional sources exponentially increase during and after the scandal than before. Meanwhile, victims and survivors stay as low after the Epstein case as before the case. They only significantly increase during the months of the scandal, becoming the most dominant primary source in that period.
42 Themes In terms of dominant themes across the sample, criminal investigation was clearly the dominant theme in 56,76% of sex trafficking articles (42 n). This could be associated with the high amount of coverage dedicated to the Epstein case as compared to unrelated stories. The following most common themes are criminal justice in 17,57% of articles (13 n) and Human rights and justice in 13,51% of articles. They are followed by policymaking (5,41 %), economy/finance (2,70%) and migration (2,70%). These findings go in line with Gulati’s (2010) who argued that most human trafficking articles heavily focused on crime while lacked criticism over the issue. In this sense, the results presented in this study also show journalists tendency to focus on criminal investigation related stories. These findings are meaningful because there seems to be a lack of attention over those themes that involve structural processes, transformative change and reflexivity of deeper societal problems such as the criminal justice system, human rights and social justice.
Themes Between Time Periods When breaking down the data over time across the time periods, two findings are relevant. Firstly, that the spikes in the criminal investigation theme seem to correspond to events related to the Epstein criminal investigation. Secondly, other themes that were more prevalent before the scandal such as criminal justice and human rights, not only they don't increase during July and August, but they diminish after the scandal. Instead, criminal investigation continues to be the dominating theme afterwards. This is meaningful because the results seem to indicate that the theme dominating sex trafficking articles during a high profile case, continues to dominate and shape the subsequent sex trafficking news coverage after the scandal as well.
Geographical Scales Lastly, in terms of geographical scales, the data shows a clear tendency for journalists to geographically convey the issue of sex trafficking as a local and regional issue, which was the case in 64,86% of articles (48 n). Meanwhile the international scale is the second most prevalent being present in 27,03% of articles (20 n).
43 The transnational scale and global scale are only applied in 4% of articles each of them (3n). Lastly, a global scale is not present in any of the articles. These results are striking and could be problematic in two ways. First, because by heavily reporting sex trafficking, a transnational and global issue, as a local and regional problem, it could prevent the readers from understanding the real complexities and globalizing dynamics intrinsic in the sex trade. Second, echoing Fraser’s ideas on justice (2009) in a transnationalizing public sphere applied to media justice, a miscarriage of justice takes place when the wrong scale of justice is applied in a conflict. Following this idea, a postwesphalian approach should guide media to represent the sex trade as a global and trans-territorial issue while its victims as transnational communities of risk. Specially in international online news coverage with the potential to travel across borders shaping transnational public opinions.
Geographical Scales Between Time Periods When comparing the different geographical scales between the time periods before, during and after the scandal, there is one interesting result. The data shows that the local/ regional scale is the dominant scale before and during the scandal by a large margin. Nonetheless, the international scale begins to spike during the scandal and becomes the dominant scale, by a narrow margin, after the case. This way sex trafficking articles framed the issue being an international conflict more often during and after the scandal than before. Lastly, portraying justly marginalized others is an intrinsic part of media justice and responsibility. But is equally important to portray justly the conflicts they are victims of, circumstances around it as well as seeking accountability for the perpetrators. This way, exploring the underlaying causes, triggering factors and possible remedies is part of journalism’s responsibility to tell the truth and give a fair recognition and representation to others. For this reason, I pose Research Question 3. What were the dominant causes and remedies presented across articles and over time?
44 Dominant Causes According to Figure 3, across the sample of 74 articles the vast majority of them did not address any underlying causes of sex trafficking. Meanwhile the few causes that are addressed by journalist mostly appear in stories unrelated to Epstein. This is significant because there seems to be a higher interest in exploring the “why” of the sex trade and blame when stories move beyond the case towards other stories. Lastly, when analyzing the data across time periods there seems to be no relevant patterns before, during or after the Epstein case. Thus, articles addressing root causes are spread out through time periods without following specific differences or patterns between them.
Figure 3
2,70% 1,35% Dominant Causes 1,35% 2,70% 4,05% 8.11 None 4,05% 8.4 Poverty 4,05% 8.7 Prostitution & sex trade
8.3 Corruption
8.1 Patriarchy
8.2 Legal framework
79,73% 8.9 Climate Change
8.5 Victim’s homeland
Dominant causes in all sex trafficking articles (n=74)
Dominant Remedies
Like Figure 4 indicates, an overwhelming majority of articles did not address or suggested any remedies that may challenge sex trafficking or bring an end to the crime. Interestingly enough, the few published articles addressing possible remedies were all unrelated to Epstein and they were all published after the Epstein case, except for one that was published during the case. Most interesting, all remedies appeared in news articles unrelated to Epstein.
45 Figure 4
Dominant Remedies 1,35% 1,35% 1,35% 2,70% 9.12 None 2,70%
9.10 Governmental support/protection 9.8 Other sex industry related regularization 9.3 Prostitution decriminalization
9.1 Gender equality
90,54% 9.2 Migratory/ Border regulation
Dominant remedies in all sex trafficking articles (n=74).
Other findings 48% of the articles were written by female reporters while 47% by male reporters. However the authors gender did not seem to particularly influence any type of trend across articles. Concerning the articles genre, 49% were news reports, 38% features, 12% Editorials/ opinions and only 1% investigation. The prevalence of news reports are consistent with the event-driven reporting around the Epstein case, whereas most features were published before and after the case.
Summary In sum, the first level of analysis have uncover several revelatory findings. First, regarding the amount of media coverage on sex trafficking, the results how that news media’s attention did not move away from the Epstein case across time periods. This way, journalists reported as little on other sex trafficking stories after the scandal as before, while stories about the Epstein case were the only ones substantially increasing. Thus, it seems like with the introduction of the Epstein case into public discourse, journalists did not used that particular incident to increase news coverage on broader stories and social problems involved in the sex trade.
46 Regarding different elements in the content of the articles such as actors, sources, themes and geographical scales there are also several interesting results. Victims and survivors experiences and voices are more often present in sex trafficking articles that are unrelated to the Epstein case. Furthermore, when there are high profile individuals involved in them, such as political, economical and public elites, it is their experiences and voices that tend to dominate the articles over the victim’s. There is specially a strong tendency to prioritize authorities and institutional sources, which goes in line with a heavy focus on the criminal investigation theme. Meanwhile, other themes involving deeper and more reflexive views on the sex trade in connection to structural problems such as the justice system or human rights, are often neglected across time periods but examined more often with stories unrelated to Epstein. With regard to geographical scales, sex trafficking is predominantly identified as a local and regional problem across articles. Nonetheless, there seems to be a shift in the period after the scandal as during those months it is increasingly being framed as an international problem. However, it is rarely portrayed as a transnational or global conflict. In respect of articles addressing underlaying root causes in the sex trade and possible remedies, the results show that an overwhelming majority of articles tend to neglect both across articles. Interestingly, most of the articles proposing remedies were published after the scandal. While the first level of analysis has provided consistent results on quantity and content of sex trafficking articles related and unrelated to Epstein across time periods, questions about what type of meaning and knowledge these articles create arise. In terms of actors and sources we now know whose actions tend to dominate the narrative and whose voices we hear most and least. But how are these individuals portrayed? How are victims, sex offenders and traffickers constructed in these articles? We also know the dominant themes and geographical scales surrounding these articles. But how is the problem of sex trafficking discursively conveyed to the readers? We also know that very few articles mention causes and remedies. So where is responsibility and accountability placed then? How are power abuses and patriarchal ideology in the sex trade expressed in these discourses? Most importantly, the content analysis allowed to mostly analyze coverage frequency and quantity as well different elements in the articles. But what about the hidden elements in them? In order to study what is being said but also what is being silenced, I use CDA.
47 5.2 Critical Discourse Analysis Results
The following are the results from the CDA conducted in a sample of 6 articles. All of them can be found in Appendix 2 and each one is followed by a CDA scheme. Meanwhile, this section synthesizes the most relevant results found across the 6 articles combined and presents them by themes. This approach of presenting results aims to provide a more compelling and direct answer to the research questions posed for this level of analysis: RQ 4. How are sex trafficking, its victims and perpetrators discursively constructed in the chosen news articles? and RQ 5. Is there anything in this discourses that could be thought to either perpetuate or challenge the misogynistic power abuses and patriarchal ideology in the sex trade?
Victims Over-lexicalization, which is the repetition of certain words, (Hansen and Machin. 2013:123) is a common technique in news discourses about sex trafficking as a way to draw attention to particular aspects about the victims and survivors. There was a clear tendency to over-lexicalize words and terms related to the victim’s young ages. Hence, formulations like “young girls”, “young women” , “teenagers”, or frequent references to their age were often found in articles. “Mr. Epstein, a wealthy financier who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail last year, was bringing girls as young as 11 and 12” ( Watkins. 2020. Para. 3). A story about a woman repeatedly trafficked in London, for example, narrates “A young and highly vulnerable British sex trafficking victim was re- trafficked by county lines drug gangs” (Kelly. 2020. Para. 1). Such emphasis on the victim’s age could highlight the cruelty of the crime. But at the same time the reason why sex trafficking victims can be this young is left unexamined. This way, their youth could be used as a way to sensationalize the conflict while drawing on stereotypical images of the sex trade. There is also an over-lexicalization of the terms “alleged” and “allegedly” when followed by the word “victim” or followed by the description of some type of sexual abuse or crime.
48 For example, the last article mentioned above (ibid) explains how the girl “was allegedly sexually abused while in foster care”. It is worth noting how these terms tend to be over used more frequently when the victims point towards high profile privileged men as their abusers. This is the case in articles involving Epstein or Prince Andrew for example. “Berman's comments prompted furious responses from lawyers of Epstein's alleged victims who are involved in a separate civil lawsuit” (Davies. 2020. Para 10) or “…significantly expanding the scope of his alleged conduct…” ( Watkins. 2020. Para 1). The use of these words invite to second guess the truthfulness of the victims’ account. It is indeed a common journalistic practice to use such terms for the sake of journalistic neutrality when reporting on crimes that have not been backed up by a court ruling. Nonetheless this type of language, emanating from criminal law, makes sense within the realm of an operative justice system. Nonetheless, what happens when miscarriages of justice occur? Like in the Epstein case after his suicide. Or in cases of social injustices that never reach the justice system? Like in the case of many of other sex trafficking cases. Let's take the Epstein case as an example. Why does a non-existing court ruling have more power to determine what is truthful and what is not, in a mediated public space, than the individual stories of dozens of women? Critical discourse analysis in this case might serve as a tool to help news media rethink what journalist presuppose “knowledge” is, and when does taking a neutral position can lead to side with the oppressor. There are more ways in which reporters invite to doubt the victims’ stories and abuses they were subjected to. This technique intensifies again among articles involving high profile individuals as perpetrators. There was often a syntactical juxtaposition presenting the victim's story first, to later be denied by the perpetrator. For instance, after two women are cited describing how Prince Andrew was involved in Epstein’s crimes and raped on of them, this is followed by “Prince Andrew has denied any wrongdoing. He also maintains he did not know Mr. Epstein was sexually abusing teenage girls” (Hong. 2020. Para 25). This syntactical composition of an affirmation followed by an immediate denial encourages its delegitimization.
49 All these lexical and grammatical choices appear strategically in the articles as “discursive protective shields” around high profile individuals, specially men. Thus, in other trafficking stories the victim's account of events encountered less grammatical choices encouraging disbelief and were less challenged by counter arguments. Nonetheless, other problematic strategies came up in news discourses about victims and survivors, for example, in the way they are named and referenced to. Naming and referencing strategies in discourses are powerful because they can determine the specific ways in which people are viewed, perceived and placed in the social world (Fairclough 2003; Hansen and Machin 2013). In this sense, drawing on Leeuwen’s (1996) classification of referential choices for social actors, trafficking victims and survivors were often collectivized in generic terms as “women and girls” or “victims” and rarely individualized. Aggregation techniques were usually employed, referring to them as groups, numbers and statistics. For instance, an article about the link between climate breakdown and increasing gender-based violence and trafficking reports “Globally, about 12 million more young girls are thought to have been married off after increasing natural disasters” (Harvey 2020. Para 12). Another article about Epstein’s sex trafficking ring describes how he was charged with “sexually exploiting dozens of women and girls in New York and Florida” (Watkins. 2020. Para 4). Furthermore, only half of the articles referred to any of the women by name, while the other half they were completely anonymized. In some cases sources or other individuals can be anonymized as a journalistic practice to protect their privacy, but fake names or nicknames could also be given to help readers connect with that particular person and her story. Thus, while the content analysis pointed at victims as most common primary actors in the stories, CDA reveals they do so in a generic way. Like Hansen and Machin underscore (2013: 126,127) when people are not individualize it is difficult to associate with them as real people. Hence, such generic referencing techniques may reduce them to the role they are assigned to in the discourse and dehumanize them. It is also relevant analyzing what is absent and suppressed in texts when discursively constructing trafficked women and their experiences. For Fairclough (2003) looking at what is absent in discourses can often shine a light towards what the author is hiding and eluding from us. For example, it is striking how absent the word “survivor” is in these discourses, yet many of the women are formerly trafficked victims and therefore survivors.
50 But there are more significant absences. Most discourses did not include any references to the victim’s background or personal history beyond the abuse. The only article that included the woman’s background did so in order to make an explicit reference to her “history of sexual and drug abuse and exploitation and grew up in the care system” as well as her “complex physical and mental health issues and has attempted suicide on multiple occasions” (Kelly. 2020. Para 3). For Friedman and Johnston (2013), who found that often women and girls entered trafficking news discourses with a dark past involving drug abuse and gang affiliations, those statements suggested that the abuse their endured was simply a natural extension in their lives. Such discursive choices could be positive if they were done with the purpose of rhetorically suggest that trafficking exacerbates among highly vulnerable women as they become easier targets for men to abuse. Nonetheless, the statement mentioned above, combined with the general lack of women’s background across texts emphasize stereotypical ideals of victimhood in many ways. Mainly because their only way to participate in news discourses is by exclusively existing through their victimization, yet discourses could also describe their journey of recovery leading to empowerment. Also, because such contextual absences portray them as targets of sexual violence, leaving unexamined the male oppressive and abusive powers which dragged them there.
Perpetrators: Johns and traffickers
One of the most common and problematic discursive choices in these articles was the description of men’s sexual violent crimes against women through the formulation of passivated verbs with and without agents (Hansen and Machin 2013: 131), strategic grammatical positioning of actions (ibid: 147) and inaccurate lexical choices. Let's take a look at each of these three elements through examples. In terms of passivated verbs to describe sexual violence, an article reported “sexual abuse was found in the illegal fishing industry in south-east Asia” and “Sexual violence is used to suppress them, undermine their status within the community” ( Harvey. 2020. Para 9, 10). In this case, the agents, the abusers, are suppressed grammatically in such formulations, even the subjects -the victims- are sometimes absent as well like in the first fragment.
51 Similar formulations are found across all articles. Another article reports “she was allegedly sexually abused while in foster care” (Kelly. 2020. Para 3). Through the lenses of critical discourse analysis, this suppression of the agent in sentences operates to hide who acts, and therefore who is ultimately responsible for such action or event (Fairclough. 2000). In this cases, the men who abuse them and raped them operate invisibly in these discourses, and consequently continue to be unaccountable. In several instances passivated verbs are combined with strategic grammatical positioning of actions. This last discursive mechanism refers to the manipulation of action by strategically placing verbs and action within a sentence (Hansen and Machin. 2013:147; Van Dijk. 2003: 54). This way, certain actions may be emphasize or downplayed depending on where the verb is located. For instance, in the sentence “Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by Epstein” (Davies. 2020. Para 7), the action emphasis lays on Virginia since “she was trafficked” is the dominant clause in it. But if the reporter would have written “Virginia Giuffre claims that Epstein trafficked her” then “Epstein trafficked” becomes the dominant clause in the description of sexual exploitation. These two syntactical strategies are often combined with a third one mentioned earlier, which is inaccurate lexical choices. The following excerpt is a clear example, “ (Giuffre) has alleged she was instructed to have sex with Andrew on three occasions from the age of 17”. First, “She was instructed” is a passivated form, thus the person who instructs is obscured. Second, it is also the dominant clause in the sentence, hence the emphasis lays on her being instructed to have sex. Third the lexical choice “to have sex with” when describing rape is not only inaccurate but also deeply problematic because it misinforms and misrepresents the sexual violence perpetrated by men in every case a women is sexually trafficked and exploited. Each of these three strategies combined operate as overlapping veils obscuring the role Andrew plays in that rape. Lastly, the term “to have sex with” implies consent, something inconceivable in situations of trafficking. This is also meaningful because even though the victim's age is given, the fact that she may not be legally competent to give consent anyway because she is underage is not explored.The verb form and grammatical positioning of actions are specially revealing when contrasting the description of men’s incrimination with the formulation of men’s exculpation in sexual violence. As shown above, their incrimination tends to be obscured and relegated to the back of the sentence in a passivated form.
52 However, their exculpation and denial of the abuse is formulated in active form and brought to the front of the clause, which is use by authors to draw more attention over who has agency in the sentence (Van Dijk. 2003: 54). This strategy is visible when comparting these two formulations, first, an incriminatory one and second, an exculpatory one: “ She was forced to engage in sex acts with Mr. Epstein and others” (Watkins. 2020. Para 21) and “All of the men have denied any wrongdoing and denied knowing about Mr. Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking.” (Hong.2020. Para 18). This way, the “discursive protective shield” around men that I argued earlier continues to persist. Is not only present around pwoerful men invovled in high profile cases but also it seems to manifest through different lexical and grammatical choices in other articles as well. Furthermore, there are two further problematic lexical strategies when discursively constructing traffickers. On one hand, some discourses individualize responsibility so strong around one single figure that neglects to open the scope towards the rest of individuals that participate in women’s oppression. This is specially the case in articles related to Epstein. Thus, articles tend to over-focus on that one individual's role, from his modus operandi, tactics and even more explicit details of the abuse and trafficking. On the other hand, in those sex trafficking articles unrelated to Epstein, traffickers are not individualize. But rather they can appear behind concepts such as “criminal gangs”. For example, “As a teenager she fell under the control of county lines gangs who advertised her for sex on escort websites.” (Kelly. 2020. Para. 4). Like Hansen and Machin point out, by giving certain concepts the agency to act while leaving the actual agents out of the discourse (ibid 2013: 131). In fact, the more abstract the concept becomes the harder it is to establish a relationship between the trafficker's role, the abuser's role and the oppression inflicted to the victim. This is the case in the article linking climate change and trafficking, which for instance reports “Climate breakdown and the global crisis of environmental degradation are increasing violence against women and girls” and “There is enough clear evidence to suggest that climate change is increasing gender-based violence," (Harvey. 2020. P.1, P.5). This is significant, because while climate change may be and exacerbating factor in the sex trade, the oppressor's role becomes suppressed in the text. Meanwhile the readers are left wondering who is really behind that violence. Lastly, Johns, the men who pay for sex and so called “costumers” are nowhere to be found in these articles. They are not refered to nor mentioned.
53 Much less brought under the spotlight in their role in the perpetuation of the sex trade. This is striking, as they are the demanding side of the sex trade which inevitably generates the increasing offer. Additionally, because they are the ones who materialize and inflict the physical sexual violence upon women. This way, the “discursive protective shiled” around men involved in the sex trade opperates in this case in the form of strategic silence.
The sex Trade: Power Abuses and Patriarchal Ideology
The sex trade is unquestionably a complex issue overlapping and intersecting with other types of violences against women (domestic violence, slavery, rape, etc. ) processes exacerbating the problem (capitalism, globalization, gender inequality etc.), practices that normalize it (prostitution, porn) and crimes (human trafficking). Nonetheless, non of the articles analyzed offered a definition for the sex trade or even broadly explained what it implies and consists of. Furthermore, some articles misrepresented the sex trade by either mistaking it with prostitution . For instance, one article defined the sex trade as “forced prostitution” as well (Harvey. 2020. P7). Another one reported “along Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, transgender, undocumented immigrants from Latin America come to the trade after being turned away from work in restaurants and hotels.” and “criminal records made it hard to find work outside the sex trade.” (Goldbaum. 2020 Para. 14, 16) In these specific case the formulations involving verbs such as “come to the sex trade” or “find work outside the sex trade” portrays it as a voluntary . This conceals that the sex trade is in fact one type of slavery where no woman would ever “go” to or “work” in. This type of misrepresentation de-emphasizes the slaving element in trafficking and the role men play in it. Furthremore neither these two stories nor the rest explored how men's demand for prostitutes can directly impact the demand in the sex trade. Additionally, only one of the articles discursively embedded the issue of sex trafficking into a larger context as a broader social global problem, whereas the rest of articles portrayed it as an event circumscribed by the geographical scale and the societal context given in the article itself. Connections between the local/national problem and the global scope of the issue are only persued in one article out of six.
54 This trend can lead the readers to think that sex trafficking and the factors leading to it are casuistical confined to certain events rather than a globally systematic problem. Neglecting the agents behind the problem , which means neglecting the why of the problem. If news articles in their reporting don't address how women around the world are being enslaved because of an increasing demand to sexually abuse and exploit their bodies by men, then the power abuses and patriarchal ideology intrinsic in it reminds unexamined. Meyers (1997) found that news discourses covering violence against women reflect myths and presumptions deep rooted in patriarchy. Similarly, the discourses unveiled in these articles show a reluctancy to hold men accountable of sexual violence and a tendency to overlook the victims and challenge their account of events when they speak. Both practices rooted in patriarchy.
6. Discussion
The aim of this study was to shed new light on how international news media informs the public about sex trafficking, its victims and perpetrators, by looking at news coverage and discourses in context of the Epstein case. In particular, what these media representations can tell us about media justice, responsibility and representation of power abuses in the sex trade. In the first level of analysis I conducted a quantitative content analysis on 74 articles to answer the following query: RQ 1. To what extent were sex trafficking stories related and unrelated to the Epstein case reported before during and after the scandal? Results showed how The New York times and The Guardian’s attention mainly revolved around the Epstein scandal under the studied period. News related to the case significantly increased during the scandal and dramatically faded away afterwards, whereas other sex trafficking stories unrelated to the case received as scarce amount of coverage during and after the scandal than before the scandal.
55 Nonetheless women’s and girls’ sexual exploitation did not begin nor ended with Epstein. The sex trade continues to be a global problem, thus concerning publics around the world. Therefore, the implications of this findings raises serious questions in terms of media justice and journalistic responsibility in the reporting of marginalized distant others. Media injustices arise when certain groups of people, specially at-risk communities, are not given proper recognition and representation within media (Couldry. 2012; Silverstone: 2007). Thus, given the vulnerability of sex trafficking victims as transnational communities of risk, I sought for further answers by posing these questions: RQ 2. What were the dominant actors, sources, themes and geographical scales presented across articles and throughout the studied period? RQ. 3 What were the dominant sex trafficking causes and remedies presented across articles and throughout the studied period? The findings suggest that in articles related to the Epstein case, high profile individuals such as political, economical and public elites tend to dominate the stories across periods. On the other hand, while victims’ and survivors’ experiences are more present in articles unrelated to the case, still other voices take a leading role, particularly institutional sources in the judicial power. It is worth noting too how themes that were relevant before the case such as human rights and criminal justice are substituted by the criminal investigation theme during and after the case. In addition, sex trafficking is predominantly represented across time as a local/regional problem and moderately as an international one after the scandal, but never as global. Lastly, root causes of trafficking and possible remedies were rarely addressed. This evidence provides an empirical foundation that suggests that indeed different individuals have unequal access to representation and recognition in the articles under study. A status quo that doesn’t seem to be altered during or after the Epstein scandal, but exacerbated in any case. Furthermore, the global sex trade is often misframed as a local issue, which disregards the real scope of the problem. This, from a postwestphalian approach (Fraser 2009), occludes processes of justice in the reporting of a transnational crimes as the “who” of justice is abandoned. Lastly, readers are rarely provided causes and remedies to connect the sex trade with.
56 However investigating the “why," which from a feminist perspective is the gendered- based violence and abuse in the sex trade, is expected if the media is to remain just. It is precisely in order to investigate deeper how news media reports, challenges or legitimizes the power abuses and patriarchal ideology inherent in the sex trade that I analyzed a smaller sample of articles through the lenses of CDA. In this sense, CDA has traditionally worked to confront injustice and empower oppressed individuals, while bringing up questions about processes of critique, power and ideology in society. Consequently, I used CDA from a feminist perspective to fill in the gaps of the content analysis results and study what type of meaning and knowledge these articles create. Thus, I wondered: RQ 4. How are sex trafficking, its victims and perpetrators discursively constructed in the chosen news articles? RQ 5. Is there anything in this discourses that could be thought to either perpetuate or challenge the misogynistic power abuses and patriarchal ideology in the sex trade? Of particular interest is how the findings suggest how discourses articulate strategically different around victims and perpetrators. Concerning perpetrators, I found what I called a “discursive protective shield," which is articulated around men and operates at three levels. The first level combines diverse syntactical, grammatical and lexical choices which, through the lenses of critical discourse, work to obscure men’s role in the perpetration of sexual violence. This is commonly found in descriptions of rape and assault. In the second level it operates through grammatical abstraction and suppression. In other words, abstract concepts are given agency to act and blamed for sexual violence, such as “climate change” and “criminal gangs," while the real agents behind the assault are suppressed from the discourse. This is often found in narrations of traffick. In the third level it functions as strategic silence, which removes Johns and men who pay for sex completely out of discourses. Taken as a whole, these three tactics overlap as thick veils in the “discursive protective shield” found in articles to conceal men’s responsibility in the sex trade. It leaves their violence unchallenged and the misogynistic power abuses invisible even though they act as the primary oppressors as well as the demand side of the sex trade.
57 Concerning the victims, the quantitative content analysis already suggested news reporting tended to underrepresent them, their experiences and voices. Which goes in line with previous research (Sobel 2014; Gulati 2010; Friedman and Johnston 2013). However, the CDA goes one step further to reveal that underrepresentation becomes misrepresentation in the analyzed articles. First, very few articles included the women’s voices while their experiences were often narrated by another source. From a critical perspective, takes away control from that women and grants it to someone else. Second, articles often invited to second guess the truthfulness of the victim’s testimony in various ways. For instance, by a syntactical juxtaposition presenting the victim's story first, to later be denied by the perpetrator. This suggests how men get to exercise their power both, inside the article by perpetuating their view as “reality” and outside of it. Third, women in articles are generally collectivize and no background personal story about them is included. From a CDA perspective this is problematic because their only way to exist in these discourses is exclusively through their victimization. Yet discourses could also describe their journey of recovery leading to women’s empowerment.
7. Conclusion
This study aimed to shed some light on how The New York times and The Guardian, as internationally influential news outlets, reported about sex trafficking in the context of the Epstein criminal case between January 2019 and February 2020. Results in the first stage of the study suggested that the Epstein case dominated the headlines across time, while the attention to other sex trafficking stories did not increase. This way, sex trafficking coverage did not move away from the high profile scandal to dig into other stories from the underground sex trade. Moreover the reporting shows a tendency to underrepresent victims and survivors, their voices and experiences, while prioritizing those of public authorities and institutional power. While these results go in line with previous research (Sobel. 2014; Gulati 2010; Friedman and Johnston 2013), new findings emerged when exploring themes and geographical scales.
58 Themes that were present in news articles before the Epstein case, such as as human rights and criminal justice, were abandoned and substituted by a heavy focus on criminal investigation. In addition, sex trafficking was not portrayed as a global problem in any of the articles while most of them portrayed it as a local/regional problem one. Lastly, sex trafficking causes and remedies were rarely addressed in the articles. However, seeking reflexive views on the sex trade in connection to structural problems, connecting the local problem with its global scope, and recognizing the victims as at- risk transnational communities, is a journalistic responsibility expected from such internationally influential newspapers in their reporting of transborder injustices. Nonetheless, like Couldry underscores, an approach to media ethics is incomplete if it disregards how media shapes the production and obstruction of knowledge, formation of social power and strategic creation of social reality (2013:114). Thus, I chose to analyze a smaller sample of articles from the lenses of a feminist approach to CDA. When studying how sex trafficking, its victims and perpetrators are discursively constructed, I found what I called a “discursive protective shield” around men. It prevented them from being held accountable for sexual violence by unchallenging their roles as perpetrators while challenging the victim's and survivor’s account. Moreover, I found in these articles a strategic silence that muted women's voices and quieted the oppressor's responsibility. These findings mean a contribution in the study of sex trafficking discourses, which also go in line with discourses found in other types of violence against women (Berns. 2001; Meyers. 1997). In sum, from the lenses of a feminist approach to CDA, all these strategies combined operate to protect male power abuses by unchallenging sexual violence and discrediting the women’s testimonies while disempowering them. All practices deep rooted in the patriarchal ideology that sustains them. This study presented limitations that future ones could address. First, a bigger sample including more international newspapers and a broader time frame would provide more detailed insights on international reporting of the sex trade in the context of the Epstein case and beyond.
59 Second, sexual slavery is an issue that, as mentioned before, aggravates among the world's most vulnerable women and girls. Therefore, further analysis considering issues of race, class, nationality and sexuality in media representations could be certainly enlightening. Furthermore, given the gender-based violence and patriarchal processes intrinsic in the problem, I encourage future studies to also apply feminist views when addressing sexual slavery to contribute in the search of ways to achieve transformative social change. From a media justice and responsibility perspective, the study provided empirical evidence suggesting that indeed different individuals have unequal access to representation and recognition in the articles under study. Sometimes news media can act as windows to distant others and distant worlds, but sometimes they can serve as mirrors that bring us to new depths of our inner societal problems. In the studied articles, victims and survivors of sexual violence and slavery, women who already live at the margins of society, were doubly marginalized. First, by male power abuses, and then by media as their experiences and voices were pushed to the margins of public discourse while their oppressor remained unaccounted for.
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65 APPENDIX 1- CODE BOOK: Variables and Categories for content analysis
1. Article Genre This variable seeks to measure the article types by sorting all articles in different genres. In those cases where the article genre appears at the top of the document, the genre shall be coded according to it. In those cases were the genre is not included in the document, the coder shall make the decision by herself.
The article’s genres shall be coded according to the following categories: 1.1. News report 1.2. Feature articles 1.3. Investigation 1.4. Interview 1.5. Editorial/ Opion 1.6. Other
2. Relation to the Epstein case I use this variable to wether there are any references made to the criminal case and/or any other person/organization directly or indirectly involved in it. People involved directly being those involved in the sex trafficking ring either as alleged perpetrators, accomplices or victims. People or an organization involved indirectly being those involved in the case working in the criminal investigation (FBI, police officers, lawyers…). Hence, depending on the correlation between the story and the 2019 Epstein criminal case and or any of his previous criminal cases/ fellonies, all articles are coded as either “related” or “unrelated”.
2.1 Related Articles are checked as related when fulfilling one or more of the following criteria:
-The text covers or extensively develops any aspect of the 2019 Epstein criminal case and or any of his previous criminal cases. -The text discusses/evaluates information about any person involved directly or indirectly in the 2019 Epstein case and or any of his preivious criminal cases. -The text quotes any person involved directly or indirectly in the 2019 Epstein criminal case and or any of his previous criminal cases. -The text interviews any person involved directly or indirectly in the 2019 Epstein criminal case and or any of his previous criminal cases.
66 2.2 Unrelated The text does not focus on any aspect of the Epstein and/or person involved in it directly or indirectly. Therefore, the text must provide information about any other topic or story connected to sex trafficking.
Code for unrelated if: -The text mentions the word “Epstein” without actually addressing the criminal case or providing further information about it.
3. Author’s gender When possible, select the gender of the text’s author based on her/his name. Code for only one author. If there are two or four authors of different genders, code the gender of the first name displayed in the article. If there are three or five , code for the dominant gender. Code according to the following values:
3.1 Female 3.2 Male 3.3 Unidentified
4. Primary Actor
The person who qualifies as an actor must fulfil the following criteria:
-The story revolves around that person’s actions/experience/personal life/criminal record wether any of them are alleged or certified.
-When there are several actors taking part in the article, the coded person as primary actor must clearly be the main one in the story. The coder can base that qualitative interpretation, for example, on how often the actor is mentioned compared to the rest of actors, how often the actor participates in the narrative or how much space her/his actions/experience/personal life/criminal record etc take in the narrative. This way, the person getting most of the narrative space and attention shall be identified as the primary actor.
- A collectivity or organization can be coded as a primary actor when one single individual isn’t the main protagonist but instead a group of people belonging to the same collectivity or community are. In other words, one article may not have a clear main actor, but the people who get most of the narrative attention belong to the same collectivity. For example, an article focusing on sex trafficking victims may not focus on only one but on the experiences
67 of many of them. In that case, the primary actor shall be coded as 4.9 Victim/survivor following Table 1.
-When the primary actor does not fall into any of the categories presented in Table 1, code for 4.17 Other.
-When it is not possible to identify one single primary actor, code for 4.18 None.
Note on Primary Actors The primary actor can be coded according to:
-The official title /job they hold or are identified by in the article. and/ or -The role they play in the article.
This means that in those cases where a person’s job / title coincide with the role they play in the article, she/he shall be coded accodingly. For example, if the primary actor is identified as a politician and the main role he/she plays in the article is based in his/her experience/life/ actions as a politician, then this actor shall be coded as 4.2 politician.
However, sometimes the person’s job/official title may not coincide with the role they play in the article. For example, Jeffrey Epstein is a very high profile business man but his role in many articles is as a sex offender and alleged sex trafficker. Another example is Prince Andrew, whose official title is Duke of York as a member of the British Royal Family, but is in many cases reported by victims as their abuser. In these cases, when the primary actor’s official title/job and their role on the story dont match, the coder should code the person depending on how he/she is predominantly portrayedto and identified in the article by the journalist. For example if Epstein is the primary actor and is predominantly referred to by the journalist as “sex offender” “abuser”, “accused”,“criminal” then he shall be coded as 4.11 Sex offender- “John”. If he is predominantly referred to by the journalist as “multimillioner” “business man” “financer” then he shall be coded as 4.5 Business/economic actor.
68 Table 1.
Actor Category Explanation/Examples
Political/economic/ public elites
Primer Minister, President, king or queen in 4.1 Head of Government/State parliamentary monarchy (in eg.Spain), -Include ex-prime ministers/ex-presidents/ former Kings or Queens 4.2 Politician Minister or member part of the executive. Member of the parliament. Member of the Congress (in US) Other political actors: local politician, mayor, ex- presidents. 4.3 Royal Family Member Princess/Prince, Duke/Duchess (in UK)
4.4 Member of an IGO European Commissioner, UN representative
4.5 Business/economic actor Financer, bankers, lobbyist,CEOs
4.6 Celebrity Applicable to public figures, recognized personality who receives a high status through fame and public attention (Singer, actor, influencer…) Public Authority
4.7 Judicial power Judge, prosecutor,district attorney, state’s attorney…
4.8 Police/military Security officers, military, police officers, public security Involved in sex trafficking ring
4.9 Victim/survivor A person who has been sexually abused as a result of any activity involved in the sex trade. -Identified as such by herself/himself 4.10 Trafficker/pimp A person who recruits/transports/receives/coerces/ abuses/abduces/exploits/ another person to benefit in any way from any activity involved in the sex trade -Identified as such by the victim and/or journalist
69 Actor Category Explanation/Examples
4.11 Sex offender/John A person who sexual abuses another person in any activity involved in the sex trade, either knowingly or unknowingly. Forms part of the demand sustaining the offer in the sex trade. -Rapist, sex buyer, sexual predator -Identified as such by the victim and/or journalist Civil Elites
4.12 Professional Doctor, nurse, private lawyer
4.13 Expert Scholar, journalist, researcher, investigator, author, think-tank Civil Society
4.14 Member or representative of Any member or spokesperson involved in an NGO an NGO -E.g Amnesty International, Oxfam, Red Cross… 4.15 Activist Person who works to promote a specific cause; protester -Identified as such by the journalist 4.16 Social worker Individual who works with communities/individuals in an effort to improve any aspect of their lives. -Identified as such by the journalist Other
4.17 Other
None
4.18 None
5. Primary source This variable monitors which person gets to participate in the narrative and whose voice can the readers “hear” more often. This way this variable will no only show what people gets to participate in the storytelling but also whose voices the public hear from the least.
70 The primary source must follow the following criteria:
-The person has been interviewed by the article’s author. And/ Or -The person is quoted by the journalist.
-When there are several sources quoted in the article, the coded person as primary source must clearly be the main one in the story. The coder can base that qualitative interpretation, for example, on how often the source is quoted compared to the rest of sources, how often the source participates in the narrative or how much space her/his actions/experience/personal life/criminal record etc take in the narrative. This way, the person from who we get to hear the most in the narrative shall be coded as the primary source following Table 2.
- A collectivity or organization can be coded as a primary source when one single individual isn’t the main source but instead a group of people belonging to the same collectivity or community are. In other words, one article may not have a clear main source, but the people who get to speak/participate most in the narrative belong to the same collectivity. For example, an article focusing on sex trafficking victims may not quote mainly one but many of them. In that case, the primary source shall be coded as 4.9 Victim/survivor following Table 1.
Note on Primary Sources: Like in the category of primary actor, the primary source can be coded according to:
-The official title /job they hold or are identified by in the article. And/ or -The role they play in the article.
This means that in those cases where a person’s job / title coincide with the role they play in the article, she/he shall be coded accodingly. For example, if the primary source is identified as a activist and the main role he/she plays in the article is based in his/her experience/life/ actions as an activist, then this actor shall be coded as 5.19 activist.
However, sometimes the person’s job/official title may not coincide with the role they play in the article. A clear example would be Virginia Giuffre, who is a justice advocate officially but in most articles her role in the narrative is the one of a sex trafficking survivor. In these cases, when the primary source’s official title/job and their role on the story dont match, the coder should code the person depending on how he/she is predominantly referred to and identified in the article by the journalist. For example if Giuffre is the primary source and is
71 predominantly referred to by the journalist as “survivor”, “victim” etc then she shall be coded as 5.9 Victim/survivor.
Table 2
Actor Category Explanation/Examples
Political/economic/ public elites
Primer Minister, President, king or queen in 5.1 Head of Government/State parliamentary monarchy (in eg.Spain), -Include ex-prime ministers/ex-presidents/ former Kings or Queens 5.2 Politician Minister or member part of the executive. Member of the parliament. Member of the Congress (in US) Other political actors: local politician, mayor, ex- presidents. 5.3 Royal Family Member Princess/Prince, Duke/Duchess (in UK)
5.4 Member of an IGO European Commissioner, UN representative
5.5 Business/economic actor Financer, bankers, lobbyist,CEOs
5.6 Celebrity Applicable to public figures, recognized personality who receives a high status through fame and public attention (Singer, actor, influencer…) Public Authority
5.7 Judicial Power Judge, prosecutor,district attorney, state’s attorney…
5.8 Police/military law Security officers, military, police officers enforcement Involved in sex trafficking ring
5.9 Victim/survivor A person who has been sexually abused as a result of any activity involved in the sex trade. -Identified as such by herself/himself
72 Actor Category Explanation/Examples
5.10 Trafficker/pimp A person who recruits/transports/receives/coerces/ abuses/abduces/exploits/ another person to benefit in any way from any activity involved in the sex trade -Identified as such by the victim and/or journalist 5.11 Sex offender- “John” A person who sexual abuses another person in any activity involved in the sex trade, either knowingly or unknowingly. Forms part of the demand sustaining the offer in the sex trade. -Rapist, sex buyer, sexual predator -Identified as such by the victim and/or journalist Civil Elites
5.12 Professional Doctor, nurse, private lawyer
5.13 Expert Scholar, journalist, researcher, investigator, author, think-tank Civil Society
5.14 Member or representative of Any member or spokesperson involved in an NGO an NGO -E.g Amnesty International, Oxfam, Red Cross… 5.15 Activist Person who works to promote a specific cause; protester -Identified as such by the journalist 5.16 Social worker Individual who works with communities/individuals in an effort to improve any aspect of their lives. -Identified as such by the journalist Other
5.17 Other
None
5.18 None
73 6. Theme With this variable I monitor the prevalent topics in the news articles. Only code for one.
6.1 Criminal Investigation Check when the main theme of the article is a particular, current or past, criminal investigation. It is conducted for a criminal trial related to sex trafficking. This includes a arrests, police investigation, judicial investigation, interrogations and/or court testimony.
6.2 Criminal justice Not a particular investigation. Refers to the system, national or international, that delivers justice to those who committed a crime and its victims. From the different agencies and institutions, to different criminal and penal codes.
6.3 Economy/Finance Check when the main theme of the article is an economical or financial aspect involved or associated to sex trafficking.
6.4 Human rights/Justice Code when the main theme of the article is justice and human rights, wether its advocacy or a critical approach.
6.5 Policymaking The main focus of the article is the process of creating laws, passing bills and/or possible policy actions/regulations.
6.6 Public Health The main focus are issues concerning public health. For example access to health care,/ hospitals/medicines or the spread of STDs.
6.7 Migration The main focus is migratory flows and/or processes involved in migratory flows, wether regular or irregular.
6.8 Other Code for “other” when non of the above categories are eligible.
74 7. Geographical Scale This variable does not aim to code where the story in the article takes place. Rather it aims to examine in which geographical scale does the journalist position sex trafficking as an issue. In other words, where does the news article situate sex trafficking geographically as an issue? This can be done by explicitly naming the cities, regions, countries or continents, but also implicitely through governments, public representatives, national/transnational/ intergovernmental organizations, policies etc.
Code for up to one category.
7.1 Local/regional scale When the issue is confined to a specific neighbourhood, town, city, or region within a country.
7.2National scale When sex trafficking is framed as an issue within a particular country/nation.
7. 3 International Scale Code for international when sex trafficking is confined within two or more nations/states.
7.4 Transnational scale Code when sex trafficking is portrayed as an issue that extends beyond national boundaries. This way, it is not confined to nations but to a geographical scale larger than that of states. Also code for transnational scale when the article circumscribes sex trafficking within imagined communities. A imagined community is not officially identified through its geographic borders, but rather it is a socially constructed space, for example the “West”, the “East” or the “Arab World”.
7.5 Global Scale Sex trafficking must be protrayed as a problem interconnected across space as a result of one or more global processes (economic, political, socio-cultural etc.). Hence, framed as an ongoing conflict taking place around the world that trascends traditional territorial notions of conflicts.
8. Root Cause This variable aims to monitore wether the article discusses or not deeper societal factors and problems as possible causes allowing sex trafficking to emerge or perpetuate over time. This can be done explicitly or implicitly, for example, by establishing a correlation between that
75 societal element/dynamic/ideology and some aspect of sex trafficking. But in either case blame must be placed in that factor by either the article’s author or a source. Only code for one In this case, the underlying cause must be coded as follows:
8.1 Patriarchy Relates to one or more of this: male violence, male domination, the sex trade demand, gender inequality, rape culture.
8.2 Legal framework Relates to one or more flaws in the legal system. For example the process of creating laws, passing bills and/or possible policy actions/regulations.
8.3 Corruption Relates to institutional corruption of individuals/system.
8.4 Poverty Relates to the condition in which a person or community lack access to economical/material/ educational resources for a minimum standard of quality living.
8.5 Victim’s homeland The situation in the victim’s country of origin in terms of conflict or politics for example.
8.6 Victim’s choices The victim’s background, childhood, personal decisions.
8.7 Prostitution & sex trade -The oppressive practice of paying money in exchange for sex And/or -Any other form of commercialized sex activity involved in the sex trade
8.8 Migration Migratory flows and/or processes involved in migratory flows, wether regular or irregular.
8.9 Climate Change Climate change and or any process involved with the devastation of the environment.
8.10 Other Any of the above
76 8.11 None No attempt to address an underlying cause.
9. Remedies This variable monitores wether the article suggests or not possible factors as remedies that may challenge sex trafficking or bring an end to the crime. A remedy can be addressed explicitly or implicitly, but an argument or a correlation must be established between sex trafficking and a potential solution. This can be done by by either the article’s author or a source. If this is the case, then code for up to one of the following:
9.1 Gender equality Code for gender equliaty when the article suggests the end of the systematic normalization and institutionalization of women’s inequality as a way to end sex trafficking. This inequality can take place within different social, political, economical and cultural structures. Moreover this inequality can be perpetuated through different processes such as physical or psychological violence against women and girls, lack of participation or decision-making in society etc. This way we code for gender equality as a remedy when the article points towards the end of women’s subjugation in society as a way to challenge the perpetuation of their sexual enslavement.
9.2 Migratory/ Border regulation Check for migratory border regulation when the article suggests to fight sex trafficking through measures taken by a country or bloc of countries to change or improve regularization of migration and border flows . This way, increasing or improving the regulation of people’s entry in the area.
9.3 Prostitution decriminalization Code when the article proposes as remedy that no criminal penalties must result from prostitution.
9.4 Prostitution legalization Code when the article suggests as a solution the legalization and regularization of prostitution.
9.5 Prostitution abolitionism
77 Code when the article proposes as a solution that prostitution should be legal but orhanized activities like brothels and pimping should be illegal.
9.6 Prostitution neo-abolitionism Check when the article suggests the neo-abolitionism model as a solution. In this case it is illegal to buy/pay for sex and any 3rd party involvement, while it remains legal to sell sex.
9.7 Prostition illegalization Check when the article suggests the prohibitionism model as a solution. In this case prostitution is illegal while both clients and prostitutes are criminalized.
9.8 Other sex industry related regularization This concerns to the regularization of practices within or related to the sex industry like pornography or strip clubs, allocation of sex parlors, online sights etc.
9.9 Education /Awareness Code when education and awareness in society about the sexual exploitation of women and girls is proposed as a solution. This education and awareness can be suggested to be exercised for example through media and public opinion, through the education system, public agencies, NGOs etc.
9.10 Governmental support/protection Code when protection and support of any kind (economical, judicial etc.) to victims or women and girls at risk is proposed as a solution
9.10 Other Any of the above
9.11 other None of the above
9.12 None No attempt has been made to address a remedy or solution to fight sex trafficking.
78 APPENDIX 2: NEWS ARTICLES & CDA SCHEMES
Article 1:
Prince Andrew Offers ‘Zero Cooperation’ in Epstein Case, Prosecutor Says
The New York Times January 27, 2020 Monday 14:46 EST Copyright 2020 The New York Times Company All Rights Reserved Section: NYREGION Length: 1181 words Byline: Nicole Hong Highlight: The British royal said he would help American officials investigating possible sex trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein’s associates, but so far he has ignored their requests.
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The British royal said he would help American officials investigating possible sex trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein’s associates, but so far he has ignored their requests.
Two months ago, Britain’s Prince Andrew issued a public statement saying he would be willing to help American law enforcement officials with their investigation into allegations of sex-trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.
F.B.I. agents and federal prosecutors in New York took him at his word. They reached out to his lawyers and asked to interview him.
There was no response at all, according to three people familiar with the investigation.
On Monday, in a rare move, the United States attorney in Manhattan publicly called out the prince for breaking his commitment.
“To date, Prince Andrew has provided zero cooperation,” the prosecutor, Geoffrey S. Berman, said in response to a question at a news conference outside Mr. Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion.
Mr. Berman said his office does not typically comment on cooperation in an ongoing investigation, but he felt it was “fair” for the public to know that Prince Andrew had failed to live up to his own promise.
79 Prince Andrew, following a disastrous television interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation over his ties to Mr. Epstein, said late last year he would cooperate with law enforcement agencies in their investigations into the disgraced financier and his associates.
“Of course, I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency with their investigations, if required,” he said in a statement.
It was not clear how investigators conveyed their request to interview Prince Andrew. Typically, if American prosecutors wanted to speak with a witness in Britain, the F.B.I. would go through its legal attaché in London, based in the United States embassy there.
Mr. Epstein hanged himself last summer at a jail in Manhattan, where he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. Prosecutors had accused him of sexually exploiting dozens of women and girls in New York and Florida.
Shortly after Mr. Epstein’s death, Mr. Berman said in a statement that the investigation into the sex-trafficking conspiracy was not finished and prosecutors were committed to standing up for the “brave young women” Mr. Epstein had abused. Attorney General William P. Barr has also vowed to bring charges against anyone who helped Mr. Epstein.
Federal prosecutors reached out to Prince Andrew as their investigation into Mr. Epstein’s former employees, girlfriends and associates continued.
Prince Andrew, 59, suggested in his television interview last year that he could not “shed light” on Mr. Epstein’s activities for investigators because the two had only spent a few days at a time together. He also said he would have to consult with his lawyers before testifying under oath about his ties to Mr. Epstein.
American prosecutors may be interested in speaking with the prince because of his friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was Mr. Epstein’s former girlfriend. She has been accused in lawsuits of acting as a top recruiter for Mr. Epstein, procuring girls and young women for him to sexually abuse.
Ms. Maxwell, who has previously denied any wrongdoing, is one of Mr. Epstein’s associates who has been under the scrutiny of investigators. She was one of four women named as possible co-conspirators and granted immunity from prosecution in a widely criticized plea bargain that Mr. Epstein struck with federal prosecutors in Florida more than a decade ago.
Mr. Epstein’s suicide brought renewed attention to his relationships with prominent figures in politics, academia and business — including Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II, who is also known as the Duke of York. A representative for Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
80 Mr. Epstein’s social orbit included two American presidents — Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. He cultivated relationships with billionaires like Bill Gates and Leslie Wexner. His friend and former lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, recently joined President Trump’s defense team in the impeachment proceedings.
All of the men have denied any wrongdoing and denied knowing about Mr. Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking.
Prince Andrew has said he met Mr. Epstein in 1999 and has acknowledged being Mr. Epstein’s houseguest. Several news organizations have reported that Prince Andrew and Mr. Epstein partied together in New York, Palm Beach and London, and vacationed together in Thailand and in the Caribbean. They were once photographed taking a walk together in Central Park.
The friendship continued after Mr. Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 in Florida to charges of soliciting prostitution and served 13 months in a county jail under a plea deal. After Mr. Epstein’s release in 2010, Prince Andrew stayed at his Manhattan mansion and drew fire for continuing the relationship.
One of Mr. Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, has said that Mr. Epstein trafficked her to Prince Andrew when she was 17 years old. She said she had sex with the prince three times, including once at Ms. Maxwell’s home.
In 2011, a photograph was published that Ms. Giuffre said was taken in 2001. The snapshot showed Prince Andrew standing alongside her in a London apartment with his arm wrapped around her bare waist and Ms. Maxwell standing in the background.
A second woman, Johanna Sjoberg, has said in legal filings that Prince Andrew posed for a second photograph in 2001 with her and Ms. Giuffre. In that picture, court papers said, the prince is touching their breasts.
Prince Andrew has denied any wrongdoing. He also maintains he did not know Mr. Epstein was sexually abusing teenage girls. “At no stage during the limited time I spent with him did I see, witness or suspect any behavior of the sort that subsequently led to his arrest and conviction,” the prince said in a different statement last summer.
The BBC interview with Prince Andrew came a few months after Mr. Epstein’s death. Viewers found the explanation of his friendship with Mr. Epstein to be unpersuasive and unremorseful, causing an uproar in Britain. Facing mounting criticism, he announced he was withdrawing from his royal duties in November.
81 During the interview, he said he could not have had sex with Ms. Giuffre because he remembered taking one of his daughters to a restaurant called Pizza Express that night in 2001.
When asked whether he regretted continuing his friendship with Mr. Epstein after the financier was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution, the prince said: “Do I regret the fact that he has quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming? Yes.”
“Unbecoming?” the BBC interviewer replied. “He was a sex offender.”
William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting.
End of Document
Article 1: CDA Scheme
ANALYTICAL STRATEGY DISCOURSE Lexical Analysis Choice: Choice of words -Alleged sex trafficking Over-lexicalization Over-Lexicalization: Absent words - “the “brave young women” Presupposition - “procuring girls and young women for him to sexually abuse” - “when she was 17 years old.” - “he did not know Mr. Epstein was sexually abusing teenage girls” Absent words: victims, survivors, rape, Naming and reference - The British royal said he would help / Britain’s Prince The way people are named Andrew Strategic in the way we perceive - “Maxwell, a British socialite” people and their actions -and prosecutors were committed to standing up for the “brave young women” - One of Mr. Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre
82 Classification of social actors Collectivized: -Individuals or collectivised Women and girls (victims, and perpatrators, traffickers, what’s the effect?) Anonymised:
-Anonymised (sources) - according to three people familiar with the investigation -Aggregated: participants are quantified and treated as statistics Verbs -“ Prosecutors had accused him of sexually exploiting -Quoting verbs dozens of women and girls” -Passivated verbs without agents *1º Victims say/accuse 2º Aggressors deny *Passivated verbs without agents: -Nominalization: one step further - She has been accused in lawsuits of acting as a top in deletion of agent through recruiter for Mr. Epstein, passivate verbs - denied any wrongdoing, - All of the men have denied any wrongdoing and denied knowing about Mr. Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking - Virginia Roberts Giuffre, has said that Mr. Epstein trafficked her to Prince Andrew + She said she had sex with the prince three times
-Prince Andrew has denied any wrongdoing. He also maintains he did not know Mr. Epstein was sexually abusing teenage girls. “to deny” and “maintain” are stronger claims than “saying”.
Trafficked to whom? Supression No definition of sex trafficking, no context of the crime, does not locate it as a societal issue. Seems like a one time thing event.
83 Article 2:
Lawsuit Claims Epstein Trafficked Girls in Caribbean Until 2018
The New York Times January 15, 2020 Wednesday 10:48 EST Copyright 2020 The New York Times Company All Rights Reserved Section: NYREGION Length: 1230 words Byline: Ali Watkins Highlight: The attorney general of the Virgin Islands says Mr. Epstein and his associates used a database to track victims as young as 11 years old.
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The attorney general of the Virgin Islands says Mr. Epstein and his associates used a database to track victims as young as 11 years old.
New evidence shows Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused and trafficked hundreds of young women and girls on his private Caribbean island, some as recently as 2018, significantly expanding the scope of his alleged conduct, a top law enforcement official said in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday.
Mr. Epstein, a wealthy financier who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail last year, was bringing girls as young as 11 and 12 to his secluded estate in the Virgin Islands, known as Little Saint James, and kept a computerized database to track the availability and movements of women and girls, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit, which was filed by Denise N. George, the attorney general of the Virgin Islands, broadened the dimensions of the wrongdoing in which Mr. Epstein was said to have engaged. He had been charged by Manhattan prosecutors in July with sexually exploiting dozens of women and girls in New York and Florida, but they did not point to any actions beyond 2005.
In August, Mr. Epstein hanged himself at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he was being held awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. Prison guards had not checked on him for hours on the night he died, and the circumstances surrounding his death are now the subject of at least three federal investigations.
84 In the weeks before Mr. Epstein killed himself, he and his lawyers vigorously denied the criminal charges. His lawyers had previously said he had been law-abiding since his 2008 conviction in Florida for solicitation.
The suit was filed against Mr. Epstein’s estate and seeks the forfeiture of Little Saint James and Mr. Epstein’s second private island, Great Saint James, as well as the dissolution of numerous shell companies he established in the territory that officials have said acted as fronts for his sex trafficking enterprise.
As part of its policies, the government of the Virgin Islands could take any assets recovered from Mr. Epstein’s estate and consider disbursing them to women and girls who were victimized by him in the region, Ms. George said.
The new accusations — which draw both from independent investigations by Ms. George’s office and court documents from cases across the country — argue that Mr. Epstein ran a decades-long sex trafficking scheme that had a primary nexus in the Virgin Islands.
“Epstein clearly used the Virgin Islands and his residence in the U.S. Virgin Islands at Little Saint James as a way to be able to conceal and to be able to expand his activity here,” Ms. George said.
The suit underscores the legal complications of reckoning with such wide-reaching crimes as those Mr. Epstein is said to have committed. Ms. George’s suit is the first filed against the estate by a government entity, but it joins a field of similar claims filed by more than a dozen women.
It remains unclear how Mr. Epstein’s assets, which are valued at about $500 million, could be allocated.
“We don’t have a long history of figuring out what to do in cases of human trafficking,” said Bridgette Carr, the director of the Human Trafficking Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School, who consulted with Ms. George’s team on the case. “I think this litigation and the courts are just trying to come up with the best, imperfect solution.”
Mr. Epstein’s executor, Darren K. Indyke, did not respond to a request for comment.
Ms. George said she believed the case could chip away at the region’s reputation as a notorious haven for the rich and powerful.
“We will not remain complacent, and we will enforce our laws whatever way we can,” Ms. George said. “It doesn’t matter the social status of the person. It’s that the laws apply equally.”
85 The court documents said that Mr. Epstein operated with impunity for years at Little Saint James and Great Saint James, which he obtained through a straw purchaser in 2016.
As recently as July 2018, Mr. Epstein refused to permit an investigator from the Virgin Island’s Department of Justice to enter Little Saint James, claiming the island’s dock was his “front door,” according to the lawsuit. The investigator was doing routine monitoring of Mr. Epstein because he was a registered sex offender.
Mr. Epstein’s victims included aspiring models from South America, according to court documents.
Mr. Epstein used a ring of associates to rotate the women and girls in and out of sexual servitude, using fraudulent modeling visas to transport them across state lines and international borders, the lawsuit said. He tracked their availability and proximity using the database, court documents said.
The suit also said air traffic controllers in the Virgin Islands observed Mr. Epstein leaving his private plane in 2018 with girls who looked as young as 11.
In one undated incident detailed in the lawsuit, a 15-year-old girl attempted to swim off Mr. Epstein’s island and escape after she was forced to engage in sex acts with Mr. Epstein and others. The girl was found, and held captive on the island after he confiscated her passport, the suit said.
Prosecutors in New York have said their investigation has continued and anyone who helped Mr. Epstein could face criminal charges.
In addition, the lawsuit said, Mr. Epstein embarked on several illegal construction projects at Great Saint James, which caused damage to native coral and wildlife.
The more than a dozen women who have filed lawsuits against Mr. Epstein’s estate in New York City since his death have accused him of exploiting and sexually abusing them when they were young women and girls, according to court documents. Many are seeking financial compensation.
The lawsuit in the Virgin Islands appears to be the first filed against the estate in that jurisdiction. Mr. Epstein maintained his legal permanent residence — and his estate — there. He hastily filed his will in a Virgin Islands court just days before he killed himself.
Ms. George’s lawsuit also seeks to head off an effort by Mr. Epstein’s executors, including Mr. Indyke, to turn Mr. Epstein’s vast wealth into a victim’s compensatory fund. That proposal is currently being litigated in a separate Virgin Islands case and imposes confidentiality on any claimants, Ms. George said.
86 “The estate continues to engage in a course of conduct aimed at concealing the criminal activities of the Epstein enterprise,” the lawsuit said.
Administrators of the estate denied that characterization in a statement they released on Wednesday evening, and said the compensatory fund would be wholly independent from Mr. Epstein’s estate and its executors.
“Individuals participating in the program have absolutely no obligation to keep confidential any aspects of their claim,” it said, on behalf of the estate’s coexecutors.
In a statement when that fund was first announced, Mr. Indyke said it would give victims “the opportunity to obtain appropriate compensation and to be heard and treated with compassion, dignity and respect.”
Matthew Goldstein contributed reporting.
End of Document
Article 2: CDA Scheme ANALYTICAL DISCOURSE STRATEGY Lexical Analysis Absent words: Choice of words -rape Over-lexicalization -survivor always identified as victims Absent words Choice of words: Presupposition -the scope of his alleged conduct,
Over-lexicalization: -“young girls” - “was bringing girls as young as 11 and 12 to his secluded estate! -“procuring girls and young women for him to sexually abuse.” -“with girls who looked as young as 11.” -“a 15-year-old girl” -“sexually abusing them when they were young women and girls”,
Presupposition: - compensatory fund “the opportunity to obtain appropriate compensation” (giving for granted that financial compensation is appropriate)
87 Naming and reference - “Mr. Epstein, a wealthy financier who died by The way people are named suicide” Strategic in the way we - “Denise N. George, the attorney general of the Virgin perceive people and their Islands” actions. This allow us to - Mr. Epstein’s executor, Darren K. Indyke place people in the social world All main actors and sources are both nominalized (called by name) and functionalized (called by official title/job/role) except for the victims and survivors who are only referred to as victims. Classification of social Collectivized + Aggregated: actors - “trafficked hundreds of young women and girls” -Individuals or collectivized - “Sexually exploiting dozens of women and girls” (victims, and perpetrators, - “It joins a field of similar claims filed by more than a traffickers, what’s the dozen women” effect?) -“The more than a dozen women who have filed lawsuits” -Anonymized (sources) -Aggregated: participants if there were hundreds of girls there must have been are quantified and treated as hundreds of men who abused them? statistics Verbs -“New evidence shows Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused -Quoting verbs and trafficked hundreds of young women and girls” -Passivated verbs without trafficked to whom? Who are the associates? agents - “Before Mr. Epstein killed himself, he and his lawyers vigorously denied the criminal charges” -Nominalisation: one step -“The new accusations argue …Mr. Epstein ran a further in deletion of agent decades-long sex trafficking scheme” through passivate verbs - A 15 year old girl… “she was forced to engage in sex acts with Mr. Epstein and others.” -“Dozen women… have accused him of exploiting and sexually abusing them” - “Many are seeking financial compensation” - “Mr. Epstein used a ring of associates to rotate the women and girls in and out of sexual servitude”
88 Suppression No definition of sex trafficking, no context of the crime, does not locate it as an societal issue. Seems like a one time event. How were they coerced, intimidated, what type of power abuses were there? What type of violence is involved in sex trafficking? Special notes Court said, lawsuit said, lawsuit seeks to, according to court documents…
Article 3:
Charged With Prostitution, She Went to a Special Court. Did It Help?
The New York Times January 6, 2020 Monday 14:59 EST
Copyright 2020 The New York Times Company All Rights Reserved Section: NYREGION Length: 1371 words Byline: Christina Goldbaum Highlight: Six years after New York created Human Trafficking Intervention Courts, some say the system isn’t living up to its promise.
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Six years after New York created Human Trafficking Intervention Courts, some say the system isn’t living up to its promise.
Almost every Friday morning, a familiar scene plays out in Judge Toko Serita’s courtroom in the Queens Criminal Court. The women there have been charged with prostitution- related crimes, and many have gone through her courtroom more than once.
“Last time I saw you, you were not doing well,” Judge Serita said gently to one woman who had begun working in prostitution after leaving her abusive husband. She had been arrested twice within a couple months.
When New York State created a network of 12 Human Trafficking Intervention Courts, criminal justice professionals hailed it as an innovation. The courts send people into
89 counseling sessions to help them leave the multibillion-dollar sex trade while dismissing their charges and sealing their records.
But even as courts like these have begun to proliferate nationwide, New York’s own have come under increasing criticism, six years into their operation, that they are not living up to their promise.
A lack of data or measurable goals has made it difficult to determine if the approach works: New York does not track what happens to the people who pass through the system, or how often they return.
One counseling provider, Womankind, left the program in Queens this year after deciding it was easier to build trust outside of the court system.
And a growing group of people engaged in prostitution, including many immigrants in Queens, have complained that the counseling sessions amount to little more than unproductive conversations with well-meaning strangers.
“The court is great for keeping you out of prison, and it’s better for understanding exploitation. But it still doesn’t take into account all the precursors, those factors that led you to prostitution in the first place,” said Melanie Thompson, 23, a sex-trafficking victim.
Variations of the diversion program have sprung up across the country. Seattle, Atlanta and Santa Fe, N.M., have adopted similar models, and at least seven other major cities are exploring the approach.
But in New York, where the idea originated, it is facing skepticism, and it has become part of a larger debate over whether prostitution should be considered a crime in the first place.
Some point to the courts’ flaws as proof that problems with exploitation in the sex trade cannot be solved by law enforcement. Others say the courts have opened the minds of law enforcement officials to the idea of decriminalizing prostitution, while serving as an entry point for people who might otherwise get no services at all.
“Everyone can agree we don’t want people to go through the process of arrest because it’s really traumatic. But everything else is really nuanced,” said Yvonne Chen, supervising program manager at the anti-trafficking initiative at Sanctuary for Families, which works with the courts.
In New York, this debate is rooted in Queens, an enclave of immigrants that has become a hub for the sex trade. In Flushing’s illicit massage parlors, Asian immigrants in debt- bondage are forced into prostitution by sex traffickers; along Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson
90 Heights, transgender, undocumented immigrants from Latin America come to the trade after being turned away from work in restaurants and hotels.
In the early 2000s, a judge in the Queens Criminal Court, Fernando M. Camacho, began noticing that many of these people were trapped in a cycle: Soliciting sex led to arrests that landed them in his courtroom, and then earned them criminal records that made it hard to find work outside the sex trade.
“My gut told me they were not criminals. They were not doing this voluntarily,” said Judge Camacho, who began informally connecting people he suspected were sex-trafficking victims to volunteer service providers.
In 2013, his experiment was formalized into the Human Trafficking Intervention Courts. State officials are adding a 13th court in Schenectady County next year.
In the Queens court on a recent Friday, the gallery was filled with mostly immigrant women sitting nervously beneath fluorescent lights. Signs in English and Chinese instructed them to turn off their cellphones as they waited for their names to be called and for translators to help them understand the proceedings. Sometimes women were accompanied by older men, who lawyers said they believed were pimps.
The nonprofits that work with the courts offer trauma counseling and consultations with immigration attorneys, as well as assistance navigating public health care, affordable housing and education programs. The more times women go through the court process, the more sessions they must attend.
“A lot of these girls are under the coercion and control of pimps. They can’t just go get health care or IDs or other services unless they go through the courts,” said Rachel Lloyd, the executive director of Girls Educational & Mentoring Services, one of the service providers.
Though it often takes years and multiple arrests, many service providers say they have seen the process guide people out of prostitution.
“It was really scary, but I’m grateful for it. If I wasn’t arrested, I’m not sure I would have made it out of the life,” said Adriana, 29, who was sex trafficked for six years. The Times is withholding her last name to protect her future job prospects. “Hearing other people talk about the bigger picture, about how they had been manipulated, that was really eye- opening.”
But some people in the sex trade — particularly immigrants — said intertwining the criminal justice system, which holds the threat of punishment, with social services that are intended to help, sends a baffling message.
91 A.G., a 33-year-old immigrant from China who went through the Queens intervention court, said she ultimately did not tell her assigned counselor much about her life in Queens or China. She is being identified by her initials because her family does not know she is involved in prostitution.
“I didn’t feel like she was really there to help me,” A.G. said of her counselor.
Last year, the first independent assessment of the program by the Yale Global Health Justice Partnership, a research initiative from Yale University, bolstered those complaints. The study found that when social services are mandated by courts, people in prostitution see them as an extension of law enforcement, which they have often been introduced to through frightening arrests.
That distrust undermines the effectiveness of the counseling sessions and decreases the likelihood that people will return to the providers later for help leaving the trade, researchers found.
“A lot of people in sessions stay quiet because they are afraid what they say will have an impact on their immigration status or what happens to them in court,” said Jennifer Orellana, 47, a self-described sex worker from Puerto Rico and member of the advocacy network Make The Road.
The counseling would be more helpful for moving people out of prostitution if it offered practical skills such as resume writing or cosmetology classes, she added.
That complaint touches on a growing divide over whether policies to address exploitation in the sex trade should assume everyone in prostitution is a victim who was forced into the trade and cannot access services, or leave room for people who, like Ms. Orellana, say they are involved by choice.
The division has become more pronounced in recent years with more mainstream acceptance of decriminalizing prostitution. The two camps have sparred over whether the goal should be to eliminate all sex trade — and by extension, sex trafficking — or make prostitution a regulated industry.
While the debate unfolds, there is little question that the efforts have changed how prostitution is policed. The number of prostitution-related arrests in New York in 2019 dropped dramatically from the previous year.
End of Document
92 Article 3: CDA Scheme
ANALYTICAL DISCOURSE STRATEGY Lexical Analysis Over-lexicalization Choice of words -People, for victims instead of women, females, Over-lexicalization Absent words Absent words: Johns, rape, Presupposition Naming and reference - ” said Jennifer Orellana, 47, a self-described sex The way people are named worker from Puerto Rico Strategic in the way we - a 33-year-old immigrant from China perceive people and their - mostly immigrant women sitting nervously beneath actions. This allow us to fluorescent lights. place people in the social , transgender, undocumented immigrants from Latin world America come to the trade - Adriana, 29, who was sex trafficked for six years. Classification of social actors Victims are Individualized and named -Individuals or collectivized M.s Orellana (victims, and perpetrators, A.G traffickers, what’s the Emphasis on otherness: effect?) -Migrants -Anonymized (sources) -Aggregated: participants are quantified and treated as statistics Verbs -Quoting verbs Trafficking formulations: -Passivated verbs without -“A lot of these girls are under the coercion and agents control of pimps. -Nominalisation: one step -: Soliciting sex led to arrests that landed them in his further in deletion of agent courtroom, through passivate verbs Supression No definition of sex trade There is mention to soliciting sex but not to who is soliciting it.
93 Special notes Misinforming about the trade the reporter uses prostitution and sex trade as interchangeable. Emphasis on otherness: migrants, transgender and vulnerable women
Article 4
Prince Andrew 'angry' at claims he is not cooperating on Epstein inquiry; Sources say Duke of York has not been approached by US investigators to speak
The Guardian(London) January 29, 2020 Wednesday 11:39 AM GMT Copyright 2020 The Guardian, a division of Transcontinental Media Group Inc. All Rights Reserved Section: US NEWS; Version:1 Length: 606 words Byline: Caroline Davies
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The Duke of York is said to be "angry and bewildered" about claims he has failed to cooperate with US investigators over the Jeffrey Epstein inquiry, saying he has not been approached to speak about the case.
The New York state attorney, Geoffrey Berman, has accused Prince Andrew of "zero cooperation" and not responding to requests by the FBI and US lawyers for an interview over his friendship with the disgraced financier.
Andrew is "more than happy to talk [but] hasn't been approached by them yet," sources insisted.
Buckingham Palace refused to comment on Berman's claims, made at a news conference in New York on Monday, saying the matter was being dealt with by the prince's legal team.
According to sources, Andrew is "committed to the legal process". One reportedly said: "He is angry about the way this is being portrayed and bewildered as to why this was said in New York."
94 Andrew stepped down from royal duties in November after his disastrous interview on BBC's Newsnight over his relationship with Epstein. He was criticised for failing to show any regret over his friendship with the financier, who took his own life in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges.
Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by Epstein, has alleged she was instructed to have sex with Andrew on three occasion from the age of 17. The prince categorically denies he had any form of sexual contact or relationship with her.
At the time Andrew stood down, he insisted: "I am willing to help any appropriate law enforcement agency."
Berman, who is overseeing the investigation, told reporters outside Epstein's New York mansion that "to date, Prince Andrew has provided zero cooperation". The US investigation is looking at possible "conspirators" who worked with Epstein.
Berman's comments prompted furious responses from lawyers of Epstein's alleged victims who are involved in a separate civil lawsuit. Lisa Bloom, who represents five women, said Berman had been left with "no choice" but to comment publicly about Andrew's alleged lack of cooperation because he did not have the power to subpoena the royal as part of the criminal investigation.
A source close to Andrew is reported as saying: "The duke is not under any obligation to talk to lawyers representing alleged victims of Epstein at the moment, but he is totally willing to talk to any law enforcement agencies, be they the police or FBI."
Any FBI interview Andrew agrees to give would be voluntary at this stage. Should he be willing to comply with a request, his lawyers would arrange a date, time and place to speak to them, or he could provide answers to written questions. US investigators could interview him in the UK.
Should he refuse any interview, the US authorities could make a mutual legal assistance request to the UK, a formal process that allows cooperation between states when evidence needs to be gathered in a prosecution or investigation of criminal offences.
Any MLA would have to be approved by the Home Office. If approved, Andrew could have to appear in a UK court.
If the FBI was treating him as a witness it could ask for him to be compelled to go to a UK court to give evidence under oath. If he was being treated as a potential suspect, or received legal advice he might incriminate himself, he would have privilege against self- incrimination.
95 It would be up to the judge in the UK to decide if the hearing was in open court.
If prosecutors wanted to extradite Andrew, they would have to obtain an arrest warrant or a grand jury indictment to make a request to the UK.
Andrew has denied witnessing any suspicious behavior by Epstein.
End of Document
Article 4: CDA Scheme
ANALYTICAL DISCOURSE STRATEGY Lexical Analysis Absent words Choice of words i.e survivor, rape, aggression Over-lexicalization Choice of words Absent words Alleged = invites doubt Presupposition - lawyers representing alleged victims -Epstein's alleged victims
Emotions -: "He is angry about the way this is being portrayed - The Duke of York is said to be "angry and bewildered" Naming and reference - The Duke of York, The duke, Prince Andrew The way people are named - Epstein, disgraced financier, over his friendship with Strategic in the way we the financier perceive people and their -Virginia Giuffre, alleged victim actions. This allow us to place people in the social world
96 Classification of social -Anonymized (sources) actors Sources around Andrew are anonymized -Individuals or collectivized - Sources insisted. (victims, and perpetrators, - According to sources, Andrew is "committed to the traffickers, what’s the legal process". effect?) - A source close to Andrew is reported as saying: -Anonymized (sources) -Aggregated: participants are quantified and treated as statistics
Verbs Quoting verbs: Victims vs aggressor= claims vs deny -Quoting verbs -Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by -Passivated verbs without Epstein agents -The prince categorically denies -Nominalisation: one step - At the time Andrew stood down, he insisted further in deletion of agent - Andrew has denied witnessing any suspicious through passivate verbs behavior by Epstein.
Passivated verbs for rape - has alleged she was instructed to have sex with Andrew on three occasion Andrew’s role is obscured. In situation of trafficking there is no “have sex”, there is rape since there is no consent.
Grammatical positioning of actions and subordinate clauses:
- Andrew denies - Andrew is "committed to the legal process". - Andrew stepped down from royal duties
But when it comes to the social action of sexual abuse: -(She) has alleged she was instructed to have sex with Andrew
97 Suppression There is no definition for sex trafficking It is not embedded in a larger context One victim is cited once but not quoted while the royalty is cited through anonymous sources and his statements more than 10 times.
Article 5
British woman repeatedly trafficked for sex after Home Office failures; High court judge intervenes to prevent victim of county lines sex exploitation being made street homeless after refusal to find her safe housing
The Guardian (London) February 16, 2020 Sunday 12:55 PM GMT
Copyright 2020 The Guardian, a division of Transcontinental Media Group Inc. All Rights Reserved Section: GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT; Version:1 Length: 760 words Byline: Annie Kelly
Body
A young and highly vulnerable British sex trafficking victim was re-trafficked by county lines drug gangs on multiple occasions after the Home Office repeatedly refused to fulfil its legal obligation to provide her with safe accommodation.
A high court judge was forced to intervene to compel the Home Office to house the woman, who was about to become street homeless.
The 22-year-old has a history of sexual and drug abuse and exploitation and grew up in the care system; she was allegedly sexually abused while in foster care. She has complex physical and mental health issues and has attempted suicide on multiple occasions.
As a teenager she fell under the control of county lines gangs who advertised her for sex on escort websites and used her as a drugs mule. She was also forced to commit petty crimes and her social media account was used to advertise sexual services.
98 In June 2019, she was identified as a potential victim of trafficking by the Home Office. At this point she should have been provided with safe accommodation and mental health support, yet the Home Office failed to find her somewhere safe to stay. Shortly after this she was re-trafficked by criminal gangs and was again forced into prostitution in various locations in London.
One month later, the woman was found walking along a motorway in distress by police and was admitted to a mental health facility as an in-patient. When she was deemed fit enough to be discharged, the hospital and her lawyers wrote to the Home Office asking for safe housing to be sourced. Yet despite repeated appeals, she was left at the hospital for a further two months.
On 2 January this year, the Home Office replied to the hospital, saying the woman's complex mental health needs made her a danger to herself and others and that there were no appropriate safe-house places available.
Hours before she was due to be discharged on to the street, a high court judge forced the Home Office to act, and 24-hour support was found.
"The failure to provide our client with the specialist support and accommodation to which she was legally entitled has had devastating consequences, including her having been repeatedly re-trafficked, sexually assaulted and financially exploited," said Rachael Davis, a solicitor at Duncan Lewis.
"Our client was recognised as a victim of modern slavery as long ago as June 2019, yet she was not provided with a safe place to live until January 2020 - and only once we had obtained a court order compelling the secretary of state for the home department to do so.
"It is wholly unacceptable to refuse to provide specialist support and accommodation to a victim of modern slavery because their needs are too complex. Ultimately these are the people who need it the most."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We do not routinely comment on individual cases.
"Modern slavery and human trafficking are barbaric crimes and we remain committed to stamping them out. Our world-leading Modern Slavery Act has given law enforcement the tools they need to tackle this and introduced a maximum life sentence for perpetrators.
"Our significant reforms to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for victims of modern slavery, such as the introduction of new Single Competent Authority and the launch of a digital referral form, ensure victims get the support they need more quickly."
99 The government has faced persistent criticism that its rhetoric on ending modern slavery in the UK does not match the levels of funding and support offered to victims. Although in 2019 more than 2,000 people were given housing and specialist support through the Victim Care Contract (VCC) - specifically intended to support survivors of modern day slavery - campaigners warn that delays in support and a lack of specialist and safe accommodation is leaving many traumatised victims isolated and vulnerable to re-trafficking.
Other trafficking survivors told the Guardian of serious problems they had encountered in safe house accommodation provided by the government. One woman, who had experienced domestic servitude and sexual violence at the hands of her employer, said she had been placed in a B&B in Dover, where she and other survivors were propositioned by male lorry drivers who believed they were prostitutes.
Another woman, who had been forced to be a drugs mule by a criminal gang, said she was placed in a hostel with male victims of forced labour, where she was harassed and had money and possessions stolen. "I was so scared that I stayed in my room all day," she said. "It was like being back in detention."
End of Document
Article 5: CDA Scheme
ANALYTICAL DISCOURSE STRATEGY Lexical Analysis Youth: Choice of words - A young and highly vulnerable British sex Over-lexicalization trafficking victim Absent words - The 22-year-old Presupposition - As a teenager
Choice of words - modern slavery (+3 times) -Victim ( + 8 times) -Survivor
Allegedly even when a court has already ruled she is a victim
100 Naming and reference Traffickers The way people are named - county lines gangs who advertised her for sex Strategic in the way we - criminal gangs perceive people and their actions. This allow us to The Home office place people in the social world Victim Has no name. Could have been given a fake one to at least create a stronger connection with the reader. Classification of social actors -Individuals or collectivized Us /them US, the state / them, the victims (victims, and perpetrators, -"Our significant reforms… for victims traffickers, what’s the - we remain committed to stamping them out effect?) - Our world-leading Modern Slavery Act -Anonymized (sources) -Aggregated: participants Aggregated are quantified and treated as Although in 2019 more than 2,000 people were given housing statistics -Pronoun/noun: the “us” and “them” division Verbs -Passivated verbs for sexual assault -Quoting verbs - her having been repeatedly re-trafficked, sexually -Passivated verbs without assaulted and financially exploited," agents - Shortly after this she was re-trafficked by criminal gangs -Nominalisation: one step -again forced into prostitution further in deletion of agent - she was allegedly sexually abused while in foster through passivate verbs care. Supression -Perpetrators are never gendered -Perpetrators are never embedded into a bigger patriarchal system
101 Special notes history of sexual and drug abuse and exploitation and grew up in the care system; -Background: drug abuse + sexually abuse . Next to each other, Consequential formulation The only article talking about the victim’s background, which happens to be about drug abuse and sexual abuse
Article 6
Climate breakdown 'is increasing violence against women'; Exclusive: attempts to tackle crisis fail because gender issues are not addressed, report finds
The Guardian(London) January 29, 2020 Wednesday 1:57 PM GMT
Copyright 2020 The Guardian, a division of Transcontinental Media Group Inc. All Rights Reserved Section: ENVIRONMENT; Version:3 Length: 1251 words Byline: Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent
Body
Climate breakdown and the global crisis of environmental degradation are increasing violence against women and girls, while gender-based exploitation is in turn hampering our ability to tackle the crises, a major report has concluded.
Attempts to repair environmental degradation and adapt to climate breakdown, particularly in poorer countries, are failing, and resources are being wasted because they do not take gender inequality and the effects on women and girls into account.
Campaigners called for governments and institutions to take note, saying that the impacts on women and girls must be at the heart of any viable strategies on the climate and ecology.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) carried out what is understood to be the biggest and most comprehensive study yet of the issue, taking two years and involving more than 1,000 sources of research.
"We found gender-based violence to be pervasive, and there is enough clear evidence to suggest that climate change is increasing gender-based violence," said Cate Owren, a lead author of the report, published on Wednesday. "As environmental degradation and stress on ecosystems increases, that in turn creates scarcity and stress for people, and the evidence shows that, where environmental pressures increase, gender-based violence increases."
102 Six in 10 respondents to a survey by IUCN, with more than 300 responses from organisations around the world, said they had observed gender-based violence among female environmental rights defenders, environmental migrants and refugees, and in areas where environmental crimes and environmental degradation were taking place. More than 80 case studies clearly showing such links were uncovered as part of the research.
Gender-based violence includes domestic violence, sexual assault and rape, forced prostitution, forced marriage and child marriage, as well as other forms of the exploitation of women. The report found human trafficking rises in areas where the natural environment is under stress, and links between gender-based violence and environmental crimes such as wildlife poaching and illegal resource extraction.
"Gender-based violence is one of the most pervasive but least talked-about barriers that face us in conservation and climate work," said Owern. "We need to take the blinders off, and pay this concerted attention."
Owren found abundant examples of the close links between gender-based violence and the exploitation of women and girls, and the competition for resources engendered by the impacts of global heating and our destruction of the natural environment. For instance, sexual abuse was found in the illegal fishing industry in south-east Asia, and in eastern and southern Africa fishermen reportedly refused to sell fish to women if they did not engage in sex. The illegal logging and charcoal trade in the Democratic Republic of Congo is linked to sexual exploitation, and in Colombia and Peru illegal mines are strongly associated with an increase in sex trafficking.
There have also been numerous examples of gender-based violence directed against environmental defenders and activists, who try to stop the destruction or degradation of their land, natural resources and communities. Sexual violence is used to suppress them, undermine their status within the community and discourage others from coming forward.
Yet few projects that are aimed at conservation and improving the environment, or tackling the climate crisis, display any recognition of these issues, according to the report.
Global heating puts pressure on resources, as extreme weather, including heatwaves, droughts, floods and fiercer storms, grows more frequent and devastating. In most parts of the world, women are already disadvantaged and lack land rights and legal rights, so are vulnerable to exploitation. When the additional stresses caused by the climate crises bite, they are the first to be targeted. For instance, in some communities, young girls are married off as early as possible when the family faces hardship exacerbated by the climate. Globally, about 12 million more young girls are thought to have been married off after increasing natural disasters, and weather related disasters have been shown to increase sexual trafficking by 20-30%.
Women and girls are also burdened with tasks such as drawing water and finding firewood, which are becoming more scarce in many areas under the ecological impact of our scramble for resources, and which expose them to further dangers of violence.
Grethel Aguilar, acting director-general of the IUCN, said: "Environmental degradation now affects our lives in ways that are becoming impossible to ignore, from food to jobs to security. This study shows that the damage humanity is inflicting on nature is also fuelling violence against women around the world - a link that has so far been largely overlooked."
At the UN climate conference in Madrid last December, governments were criticised by campaigners for ignoring the plight of women and children and the threats they face.
Some governments are moving to put action for women and girls into their climate and development policies, and the UN in Madrid moved to include a gender action plan as part of the climate
103 negotiations. Campaigners and some countries are hoping for even greater focus on the issue at the crunch UN climate talks in November, to be hosted by the UK in Glasgow.
The UK's department for international development said it was already factoring in gender issues in climate change funding, including a large-scale study on violence against women and girls during the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, where about three quarters of women and girls who had been in a relationship experienced violence at the hands of their partner. A spokesperson said: "Women and girls can be disproportionately affected by climate change. This is why we're spending UK aid on helping to promote gender equality, as well as leading the fight against climate change."
Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment at the London School of Economics, who was not involved in writing the report, said: "This report highlights the complex but clear link between growing climate change impacts and violence against women and girls.
He pointed to the role that female campaigners were playing in bringing the world's attention to the problems. "When we see the inspiring leadership of female activists like Greta Thunberg, we should recognise that the lives and livelihoods of women and girls around the world are particularly threatened by climate change," said Ward. "The empowerment of women and girls and their protection from the direct and indirect consequences of climate change must lie at the heart of the just transition to zero-carbon and climate-resilient societies."
The report also provided a timely reminder that "concerted action to tackle inequality can unlock new opportunities for climate action and women's empowerment", added Mary Robinson, chair of The Elders. "We need to recognise the unequal effects of the climate crisis on women, but also that women's participation brings with it creative and sustainable solutions to both the climate emergency and social injustices. Tackling climate change and environmental degradation without the full inclusion of women will not succeed: gender equality is a prerequisite to the collective effort needed to address the climate emergency."
End of Document
ANALYTICAL DISCOURSE STRATEGY Lexical Analysis Over-lexicalization: Choice of words -Gender-based violence (+12 times mentioned) Over-lexicalization -Women and girls Absent words -Climate Presupposition Absent words: Victims, survivors, Men, traffickers, costumers, johns
104 Naming and reference -Women and girls ( no names, no personalization) The way people are named Strategic in the way we perceive people and their actions. This allow us to place people in the social world Classification of social Collectivized : women and girls actors Sources: named, often ativists or reports -Individuals or collectivized (victims, and perpetrators, traffickers, what’s the effect?) -Anonymized (sources) -Aggregated: participants are quantified and treated as statistics
Verbs Quoting: -“said Cate Owren, a lead author of the report, published -Quoting verbs on Wednesday. “ -Passivated verbs without agents -Grethel Aguilar, acting director-general of the IUCN, -Nominalisation: one step said * Allegedly and such formulations are not present further in deletion of agent through passivate verbs Supression Climate breakdown and the global crisis of environmental degradation are increasing violence against women
Obscuring responsibility for both, climate change and trafficking
105 Special notes The only article defining sexual abuse as violence, and embedding sex trafficking in a larger context
No victims or survivor quoted or cited
What role do men play in gender-based violence, which is mentioned so many times? They are the main perpetrators.
106