Rurality and intimate partner violence: An analysis and discussion of weekly Midwestern newspapers

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health issue, with an estimated 1.3 to 4 million people physically assaulted by their intimate partners every year in the U.S. Although they are often identified with lower crime rates than many urban locations, rural areas in the U.S. are believed to have the highest instances of IPV. Additionally, rural victims of IPV often face increased barriers to leaving abusive situations. These include geographic isolation, increased stigma, and little to no access to health care or legal advocacy. Local news has particular significance in rural areas, where residents may not feel well represented by more urban news organizations. Because the mass media can be an important opportunity for public health messages and interventions, this study examined five years of local newspaper discussions of intimate partner violence in rural papers of four Midwestern states: Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. A total sample of 600 news articles were randomly selected and analyzed using social cognitive theory. Results indicate that overall, there is relatively little discussion of IPV in rural news. Rather than in-depth information, IPV was most often mentioned in regards to victim self-help, or in the community police blotter as isolated, gender-neutral events. This suggests that many rural newspapers may be missing an important opportunity for IPV awareness or health interventions, and may instead, create the illusion that it is a non-issue, and continue perpetuating negative stereotypes that discourage victims from speaking out or receiving crucial mental and physical health care.