Media representations of femicide. A systematic review of literature in English and Spanish.

This article systematically reviews 213 empirical studies from 45 countries on media representations of gender-based violence (GBV) murders, commonly termed femicide, which refers to misogynist killings of women and girls rooted in discriminatory cultural and social practices. The review finds that media portrayals vary more by type of media than by country, with news media frequently exhibiting victim-blaming, perpetrator-justification, sensationalism, and otherization narratives, while social media, literature, documentaries, and performances often increase visibility of activists and victims but can also reproduce stereotypes that minimize or legitimize GBV. The research highlights geographic and linguistic biases in the literature, noting a predominance of studies on Latin American contexts and English-language publications, despite higher femicide rates in other regions. The authors emphasize the importance of contextualizing femicide within intersectional and socio-political frameworks to avoid reinforcing discriminatory discourses and suggest future interdisciplinary research to better understand how media framing influences public perceptions and institutional responses.