Media Put Accuser on Trial in Duke Rape Case

By Lisa Bennett, Communications Director and Jessica Hopper, Communications Intern

June 15, 2006

The Duke University rape case has consumed much media ink and airtime, and the portrayal of the woman involved has alarmed many, including NOW.

So the story goes, on March 14, members of the Duke men's lacrosse team hired two exotic dancers for a private party. The two dancers—both women—who didn't know each other prior to that day, say they were subjected to racial and misogynist slurs. One of the women, who reports being attacked in a bathroom during a period when (both women say) the dancers were separated from one another, accused three men of raping and assaulting her. The three men, all members of the prestigious school's lacrosse team, have been indicted on charges of rape, sexual offense and kidnapping.

Analyzing or commenting on the legal strengths or merits of any case at this stage would be difficult, but what's not hard, and what merits close scrutiny is the media's portrayal of the victim

NOW's analysis of the television and print media's portrayal (thus far) of the woman who reported being raped concluded disturbing results. The print media, for the most part, have been fairer than television in their portrayal of the woman. Certain television media, particularly cable news programs, have perpetuated blatantly negative views of the accuser. We observed three common themes in the TV coverage: promoting racist and sexist stereotypes; dismissing the seriousness of rape while belittling survivors; and treating the case merely as entertainment.

Promoting Racist and Sexist Stereotypes

Both of the dancers are women of color, and all three of the defendants are white; this fact, combined with reports of racial slurs hurled at the women on the night of the incident, add a racial element to the case that the media find irresistible. The terminology used by the media to describe the accuser has reinforced the old stereotype of African American women as hypersexual—including the constant use of the word "stripper" to describe the woman (when she could have as easily been described as "student" or "mother") and even epithets like Rush Limbaugh's use of the word "ho."

The decision to refer to the woman solely as a "stripper" and nothing else perpetuates the untruth that a black woman can be nothing but a sexual object. In this case, the woman is also a mother, a student at North Carolina Central University, and a former military member. Furthermore, despite the fact that one of the accused men had been arrested on assault charges just months before the Duke incident, his prior acts didn't seem to attach any stigma or implications as to his character or possible guilt.

The attitude of some television media toward the woman also has perpetuated stereotypes of exotic dancers. On Fox's Hannity & Colmes on April 20, 2006, this unsympathetic attitude was evident when Sean Hannity summarized guest Ann Coulter's article entitled "Lie Down with Strippers, Wake Up with Pleas." Hannity said, "If you're a woman who undresses before strangers, you're saying in this piece: Expect trouble in your life." This attitude places blame on the woman, implying that she must have known that violence would come with the territory, and therefore, was asking for it. The show appears to condone violence against her.

Another guest on this same show, criminal defense attorney Mercedes Colwin, disturbingly perpetuated the stereotype that exotic dancers can't be trusted. Colwin said that potential jurors would think, "She's an exotic dancer. She was scantily clad. They're going to do it. It's something that's going to happen, and that's certainly going to impact on her credibility."

Dismissing Rape, Belittling Survivors

Also disturbing is that some television media treated rape as something to be joked about. On the same episode of Hannity & Colmes, Colwin said that the defense would likely argue that the women contrived the rape story because they were angry about not getting paid the full amount they requested. Colwin goes on to tell the hosts and other guests, "So I can bet you this. I'm going to bet dinner to all of you—all of you." Colwin's remarks leave the host and other guests laughing. Surely, viewers were appalled to see the subject of rape bantered about by pundits in such an unseemly manner. Rape survivors are further belittled on a May 25 episode of MSNBC's The Situation With Tucker Carlson. While discussing the NAACP's involvement in the case, Carlson said, "That doesn't make the accuser Rosa Parks." Carlson came back to this idea on a May 30 episode of the show. He said to North Carolina NAACP President Barber, "You are making the accuser in this case some sort of modern day civil rights hero, and I just can't imagine why." Intentionally or not, Carlson sets the bar impossibly high for any woman who reports a rape and hopes to be taken seriously.

NOW's analysis discovered a variation of this trend: the media's dismissal of a feminist viewpoint in the case. Often guests with feminist perspectives are attacked or themselves belittled by hosts and other guests. For example, on a May 24 episode of The Situation With Tucker Carlson, Carlson responded harshly to guest Wendy Murphy's defense of the accuser. Carlson told Murphy, "You know what you have, Wendy? You have feminism. I have facts. You have feminist theory. And I think facts win over feminist theory." Carlson seems to be arguing that a feminist perspective has little or no value in a discussion about a rape case.

Dan Abrams, on a June 5 episode of MSNBC's The Abrams Report, responded to guest Georgia Goslee in a similar manner. Abrams told Goslee, who was defending the accuser, "That's called pulling the gender card." Abrams and Carlson appear to agree that feminist theory is "fluff," and that rape should not be seen through a gender lens. This is disheartening to those who have worked for so long to stop violence against women. At times, it was only feminists who would even talk about rape and domestic violence, but in the world of cable news this works against us.

Entertainment Value

Perhaps even more disturbing is how this case has been turned into nothing more than a "movie of the week." On an April 20 episode of CNN's Showbiz Tonight, guest Lida Rodriguez-Taseff said of the case, "It's a little bit of CSI: Miami meets Wild On meets Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I have a Dream' speech playing in the background." By discussing the case in such a way, the woman becomes merely a character in a story. The inhumanity of rape is stripped away as the story becomes fictional.

Another guest on the same show, Howard Kurtz, said, "Television loves a melodrama, and this is shaping up to be a first class one." By turning a rape case into a story, the reality of rape, and the threat it poses for women, is removed. Rape becomes an isolated incident in television movies that seems like it can't happen to any woman—a misleading and dangerous message to send an audience.

Sadly, this case and the media's response are all too familiar. The insensitive portrayal of the women involved is another way to keep rape survivors and women silent. Since this case will continue to be covered in the media, NOW is concerned that the same three harmful themes will be reinforced again and again. NOW encourages all women's rights supporters to watch the media, both local and national and urges readers and viewers to write letters to the editors or call their news stations. By speaking out against reckless and insensitive rhetoric, activists can help create a less hostile environment for women and rape survivors.