Was reading an article on Online Opinion entitled “Newsworthy Rape“, and was struck by the closing statement:

 ”Only when rape makes front page news whatever the ethnicity of the rapist, can we begin to talk of justice under the rule of law for its victims.”

The article was written on the back of some comments from Geoff Clark about the extensive coverage he’s been receiving, and aligning those (insensitive and stupid) comments with the incidence of unreported rape. But I was confronted by the inherent assumption in the statement – specifically that more, higher profile media coverage would help to encourage rape victims to come forward and report their attackers. I’d have thought that quite the opposite might occur, that in many cases the victim feels an (unjustified) sense of shame and that bringing further attention to rape cases could actually hinder efforts to encourage rape victims to come forward.

I think that some in the media have come to believe that an increase in press attention is always a good thing, and I’m not sure that is true in this case. But I’m eager to hear anyone’s opinion.