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CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Dissertation
When Love Hurts: A Qualitative Analysis of Intimate Partner Violence in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000004640
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/124605
Abstract
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a pervasive problem within our society, impacting approximately one in four women and one in ten men (CDC, n.d.). Furthermore, media portrayal has been found to influence the public understanding of IPV. Thus, it is critical to examine the symbolic reality created through media since it can impact viewers ability to identify IPV and influence help-seeking behaviors. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the portrayal of IPV within the popular, long-running crime drama Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU), mainly to determine the symbolic reality created and reinforced through this depiction. The sample (n=54) was identified through an original content analysis of the first 21 seasons of SVU; transcripts were then verified for accuracy and reviewed, and finally studied through thematic narrative analysis, storyline graphs, hybrid comparative analysis, and a content analysis. SVU depicted physical violence perpetrated by white men against white female intimate partners. SVU was found to depict five reoccurring storylines within the episodes that portrayed IPV. Of those five reoccurring storylines, only two were reflective of IPV (n=21). “Rhythm of violence” storylines depicted the most typical cases of IPV, and “love and terror” resulted in more extreme violence, including death. The remaining three storylines contained few distinguishing features of IPV besides the intimate partner relationship between the victim and offender (n=33). “Abuse of the peculiar kind” and involved convoluted storylines between intimate partners and containing hitmen or serial killers. “Crimes of passion” depicted single acts of extreme violence against an intimate partner without any cycle of violence. “Love, lies, and deceit” told storylines of crimes committed to frame a victim’s injury on their intimate partner. Throughout the first 21 seasons, storylines that depicted the most “accurate” IPV became less reflective of “true” IPV. However, SVU’s portrayal improved through an increased portrayal of a cycle of violence, varied types of abuse, and decreased portrayal of intimate partner homicide. Finally, in the six ‘ripped from the headline’ cases, minority individuals were being utilized to perpetuate several harmful myths, particularly Black Erasure, and holding Black female victims accountable for their victimization.
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Details
- Title
- When Love Hurts
- Creators
- Mary E MillerMary E Miller
- Contributors
- Amelie Pedneault (Advisor)David Brody (Committee Member)Traci Gillig (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Criminal Justice and Criminology, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 576
- Identifiers
- OCLC#: 1365391060; 99900898735101842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation