Only yes is yes

25 November

In gender-based violence the media narrative changes according to the victims

In the STEP Observatory survey the analysis of more than 1,100 articles. The myth of 'altruistic feminicide' if the woman is ill or disabled

by Chiara Di Cristofaro

24 November 2025

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The myth of "altruistic feminicide"
When the offender is the father: the narrative becomes lucid again
Double standards: what these narratives really say

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Men who kill their sick or disabled wives are described as desperate husbands, 'destroyed by pain', also victims of a cruel fate. Fathers and stepfathers who rape or beat their daughters are described as 'ogres', 'monsters', executioners with no extenuating circumstances. Two totally different narratives in the Italian media, for a violence that is the same. Violence of men against women, wives, partners and daughters. Two narratives that show how stereotypes, prejudices and cultural biases condition the narrative in the Italian media.

The analysis conducted by the STEP Observatory of the La Sapienza University of Rome, headed by Professor Flaminia Saccà, is shining a spotlight on this issue. In its new wide-ranging survey, it examined 1,144 news articles published between 2020 and 2024 on violence against sick or disabled women (194 articles) and on violence acted by fathers and stepfathers (995 articles). The aim: to understand how media representation changes according to the victim. And to emphasise that the way the media report a feminicide can shape public perception, shift empathy, and alter moral responsibility

The myth of 'altruistic feminicide'

In cases involving elderly, disabled or non-self-sufficient women, Italian newspapers often resort to narrative frames that turn the violent man into a tragic, fragile, almost compassionate protagonist. The word 'raptus', one of the most controversial rhetorical devices, appears in 34% of the articles dealing with these feminicides, against a national average of around 4%: when the woman is perceived as 'sick', 'suffering', 'dependent', the man's gesture is reinterpreted as a stroke of madness driven by exasperation.

The most frequently cited form of violence is domestic violence (69%), followed by feminicide (49%) and personal injury (44%). In 95% of the cases victim and offender know each other, and in 79% the man belongs to the household; of these, in 87% it is the partner or ex-partner. And almost half of the pieces (50%) implicitly attribute the motive to 'prejudice/dominance', while 15% openly speak of desperation or exasperation.

The next step is even more insidious: violence as an act of love. Many articles speak explicitly of 'altruistic feminicide': he who 'can no longer stand to see her suffer', he who 'frees her from pain', he who 'puts an end to an existence no longer worthy'. Female suffering, filtered through the male gaze, is thus transformed into a kind of justification. In this narrative, the focus is on the man: his emotions, his fragility, the fatigue of caring for his sick wife. The woman, on the other hand, is reduced to the illness that defines her. In the narrative, in fact, the woman often disappears: no longer a subject, but a frame, defined by her illness. It is precisely her illness - not the man's violence - that explains the rest.

When the offender is the father: the narrative becomes lucid again

The picture changes radically, says the report, when the perpetrator of the violent act is a father or stepfather. In these cases, the press suddenly seems to find a clear look, devoid of indulgences: in the 995 articles examined, the men are defined as 'master-fathers', 'ogres', 'monsters'; the facts are described in a direct, crude way and the victim's suffering clearly emerges. We no longer find the justificationist frames based on raptus, desperation, fragility. The most cited form of violence is sexual violence (45%), followed by personal injury (31.2%) and feminicide (27.2%). In 86% of the cases the biological father committed the abuse, in 14% the stepfather. Rape appears in only 7% of the articles. The most cited motive is domination (70%). The journalistic narrative seems more careful, more severe, less willing to minimise. Newspapers give voice to the victims, quote their testimonies, accurately reconstruct violent family contexts, without granting extenuating circumstances.

Double standards: what these narratives really say

The focus of the broader STEP Observatory research to be presented on 25 and 27 November 20225 shows that media representation is not neutral, on the contrary: it tends to reflect and amplify stereotypes rooted in society. When the victim is a fragile, sick or elderly woman, the narrative shifts to the perpetrator, the years spent together, the man's suffering, the burden of care. It insinuates - often without stating it - that perhaps, after all, 'it could not have been avoided'. When, on the other hand, the victim is a daughter, a girl, a child, the frame changes: here society is not prepared to tolerate indulgences. The perpetrator is a 'monster', not a man 'destroyed by the situation'. In fact, violence against sick or disabled women is narrated as more understandable, more humane, even more justifiable, while violence against daughters and minors is narrated as aberrant, intolerable, lacking in extenuating circumstances.

The work of the STEP Observatory reminds us how important the words used in the narration of violence are and how much they can hide the risk of normalising - in a culture that so much needs to be changed - what is not normal: a feminicide.

Chiara Di CristofaroRedattrice esperta Radiocor
Luogo: Milano
Lingue parlate: Italiano, Inglese, Spagnolo
Argomenti: finanza, economia, psicologia, violenza di genere
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