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Syntax, Semantics, and Sexual Violence

Agency and the Passive Voice

University of California, Los Angeles

Michelle Miller

University of California, Los Angeles

Jo Anne Beazley

University of California, Los Angeles

This research tested hypotheses that news media often report violence against women (VAW) in passive-verb format and that this leads readers to be more accepting of VAW than reports using the active voice. In Study 1, 1,501 verbs from news stories were classified as having active or passive voice. Passive voice use for both VAW (rape) and nonsexual violence (murder) was greater than for comparison verbs. Findings of a follow-up semantic differential study suggested that these verbs'negativity could account for the results. In a third study, 54 college students read mock news reports on rape, battery, robbery, and murder, rated victim harm and perpetrator responsibility after each, and completed scales of attitudes toward sexual violence. With passive voice, males, but notfemales, attributed less victim harm and perpetrator responsibility for VAW than with active voice. Both females and males showed more acceptance of VAW with passive voice use.

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