Death Foretold: A Multi-perspective Study of Domestic Violence in an Italian Town

In the contemporary media landscape, gender violence has achieved great visibility. However, the media still struggle to represent the complexity of violence perpetrated by men against women in its various forms – Femicide, Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner Violence and Violence Against Women. The narratives that represent such violence as an expression of individual deviance or as a crime of passion are still the most widespread both in fictional and factual products. This chapter will look at a case study by applying a multi-perspective methodology of femicide and domestic violence in an Italian town. In particular, the exemplary case study presented here was constructed by analyzing newspaper articles, social networks and one television broadcast. The first part of the chapter is dedicated to the analysis of literature on femicide, domestic violence and gender violence in relation to studies and research on media coverage, with particular reference to Italian studies. The second part presents the methodology applied in the research. The third part presents the outcomes regarding the analysis of the narrative, highlighting the frames that characterise it. Finally, the fourth part shows the conclusion that can be derived.