Caso Mariana Ferrer: a contribuição do jornalismo para o debate público sobre a cultura do estupro

Abstract

This work aims to discuss gender relations and the culture of rape, based on elements of the coverage of the Mariana Ferrer case by the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper, in order to understand, individually and collectively, the impacts of this phenomenon. In this way, through the analysis of elements present in news articles from August 2020 to November 2021, we seek to investigate how elements of journalism contribute to public debate, to positive changes in legislation and, consequently, to the rupture of a culture oppressive and violent to women. Since the gender relations of colonial societies were constituted through the use of sexual violence, rape is considered an extreme case of the use of power in gender relations. Through the content analysis method (CA), we seek to understand how the process of naturalization of rape culture is presented in the context of journalism, through two stages: the analysis of the newspaper's editorial line and the sources of information used throughout the selected materials. In this way, despite not using the expression “rape culture”, it was possible to observe that the newspaper fulfilled it’s social function of informing and problematizing events in relation to the case about the naturalization of rape by society and elements that accompany it, which contributes significantly to the public debate and to developments towards social progress, in order to break this culture of oppression and violence.