Genocide, rape, and careless disregard: media ethics and the problematic reporting on Yazidi survivors of ISIS captivity

ABSTRACT

In this article, we use a transnational feminist perspective to explore how English language media reported on Yazidi women who survived abduction by the self-declared Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) during the 2014 genocidal attacks. Through a content analysis of 75 online sources from 2014 and 2015, we found widespread breaches of United Nations Global Protection Cluster Guidelines (UN) for ethical reporting on gender violence that potentially compromise the safety and well-being of survivors, and increase the risk of re-victimization and collective stigmatization of Yazidi women. These findings suggest a “hypocrisy of protectionism” as a component of predatory journalism in the War on Terror, and contribute to feminist media scholarship and humanitarian efforts to better serve survivors of gender-based violence in conflict settings.

KEYWORDS:

• Yazidi women
• sexual violence
• transnational feminist theory
• conflict zones
• media ethics

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Eleanor Novek and Feminist Media Studies anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sherizaan Minwalla

Sherizaan Minwalla is a human rights attorney based in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Ms. Minwalla holds a JD from the Chicago-Kent College of Law and an MA in Applied Sociology from Loyola University Chicago. She is an expert in gender-based violence and protection in the US and Iraq; access to justice for survivors of gender-violence and human trafficking; and the intersection between gender persecution and immigration, asylum, and refugee law. Email: [email protected]

Johanna E. Foster

Johanna E. Foster is an Associate Professor of Sociology and the Helen McMurray Bennett Endowed Chair of Social Ethics at Monmouth University in New Jersey. Dr. Foster earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from Rutgers University, and an MA in Applied Sociology/Social Policy from The American University. She is an expert in feminist theories of gender; political consciousness, identity and social movements; and critical analyses of mass incarceration with an emphasis on women in confinement. Email: [email protected]

Sarah McGrail

Sarah McGrail holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Adelphi University, where she also taught English. She also holds a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, and a minor in Sociology from Monmouth University. She is the 2017 recipient of the Donald Axinn Award for Poetry and the 2014 Monmouth University Fiction Prize. Email: [email protected]