Medias dom - mördarnas bestraffningar beroende av kön : En kvalitativ tematisk innehållsanalys som studerar hur kvällspress gestaltade de misstänkta mördarna Johanna Jansson och Maja Hellman jämfört med Tishko Ahmed

Sammanfattning: Although the majority of homicides are committed by men (Nilsson et al., 2016), homicides committed by women tend to receive significantly more media coverage (Kordon & Wetterqvist, 2010). Being a female and engaging in criminal activities tends to generate more headlines and detailed coverage by the news media than if it were done by a male offender, especially if the criminal act involves homicide. This is due to statistical evidence which reveals that men are responsible for more homicides compared to women. The disproportionate representation of women perpetrators in news coverage is moreover a result of fascination with female criminals (Kordon och Wetterqvist, 2010). This is a qualitative study conducted from a gender perspective and framing theory. It investigates how two of Sweden's largest newspapers, Aftonbladet and Expressen, portrayed suspected perpetrators in two different murder cases using thematic content analysis. One case involved two female suspects, while the other case involved a male suspect. These two murder cases received significant attention in Swedish news media. The analysis reveals that the newspapers occasionally portray the perpetrators similarly but also revealed notable differences. The actions of the male suspected murderer are for example portrayed as less surprising. This aligns with the norm from a gender perspective, where it is statistically common for men to commit the majority of homicides. Men are commonly portrayed as murderers, guilty, and convicts. However, the case involving the two women is portrayed as more sensational, whereas it is not as prominent for the male perpetrator. The fascination with female criminals gives the media the opportunity to dramatize an engaging story (Kordon och Wetterqvist, 2010). One conclusion drawn from the study is that the rarity of a case involving two female suspects creates an opportunity for commercial newspapers to capitalize on it. Additionally, there is a portrayal suggesting that the two female perpetrators go against the traditional image that women are “good” (Easteal et al., 2015). The study also demonstrates that the two women are placed in a category where they are considered responsible for their actions and therefore deserve punishment from the beginning. Aftonbladet and Expressen’s portrayals heavily allude to the women’s friendship. The media frequently portrayed the friendship between the two women and wrote many articles about them without even mentioning the victim. Due to the extensive media attention and the extensive articles about their relationship and the drama between them, they almost became “celebrities” in Sweden. Media portrays women with personal stress factors, while men are considered decisive and more responsible for their crimes (Houghton et al., 2023), which is a significant difference from a gender perspective. The male suspect is described as considerably more responsible for his actions compared to one of the suspected women.