Representing rape in the news: Some ethical issues

Abstract

On the morning of November 28, 2019, in the Indian city of Hyderabad, the burnt body of a twenty-seven-year-old veterinary doctor was found under a culvert near a highway. The evening before her rape and murder, she had called home to say she felt threatened by some men near a toll plaza. Police had allegedly ignored the family's plea to search for her. The brutal way she was killed, along with the alleged police inaction, unleashed a wave of public fury which quickly reverberated throughout the media. Headlines screamed for the instant execution of the culprits. Within twenty-four hours of the incident, the authorities managed to arrest four young men. However, on December 6, all of them were shot dead at the crime scene, reportedly tor attacking the police while reconstructing the crime. Images of jubilation and messages applauding the Hyderabad police followed in the media.