A study of postcolonial representation of sexual violence against female international students in Australian newspapers

ABSTRACT

Sexual violence against female international students has received insufficient attention in academic research. This paper fills this void by analyzing how Australian newspaper articles, published from 2000 to 2019, portray sexual violence against these students through a critical framework informed by postcolonial feminist literature. The analysis reveals that the media tends to reinforce the idea of female international students as vulnerable and passive, reinforcing stereotypes through longstanding postcolonial tropes. Australian newspapers frequently portray them as ignorant, unhygienic, lacking credibility, or as exotic/sexual objects when covering sexual assault cases. Additionally, the media often invokes rape myths and engages in victim-blaming. Such representations in the newspaper may fail to offer a nuanced understanding of sexual violence experienced by female international students and downplay the importance of structural and environmental factors that contribute to this problem. The paper advocates for a change in media focus, urging great attention to structural and environmental factors while acknowledging the agency of international students. A more nuanced and contextualized understanding of sexual violence against female international students is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies that address the root causes of this issue.

KEYWORDS:

• International students
• Asian students
• sexual assault
• vulnerability
• postcolonial representation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 This paper primarily centers on female international students. Given that a significant proportion of international students in Australia originate from Asian countries, and much of the existing research on international students focuses on Asians, a considerable portion of this paper is dedicated to discussing Asian international students.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Laboratory Programme for Korean Studies through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Studies Promotion Service of the Academy of Korean Studies [grant number AKS-2018-LAB-2250001].

Notes on contributors

Kyungja Jung

Kyungja JUNG is Associate Professor at the department of social and political sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Australia. Her research portfolio encompasses various topics, including women’s movements, gendered violence, and migration, with a particular focus on North Korean women, migrant sex workers, international students, and working holidaymakers. She recently completed a book with Professor Bronwen Dalton entitled ‘North Korea’s Women-Led Grassroots Capitalism’ (forthcoming, Routledge). Currently, she is also working on a book that explores temporary youth migration and intersectionality.