Media Saturation, Agenda Setting, and Media Literacy... Oh My!

CCASA ‘s mission states that they are “a membership organization promoting safety, justice, and healing for survivors while working toward the elimination of sexual violence.” If you’ve watched television recently, picked up a magazine, listened to popular music, viewed a film or paid attention to any of the average 3,000 advertisements a person is exposed to each day, it may not be difficult to see how media plays into the perpetuation and glorification of sexual violence. Media saturation is a certainty in American culture and Denver is no exception. Advertisements are flush with images of women in submissive positions and of men and women alike being objectified. Television crime shows normalize sexual violence to the point that rape, incest and molestation are frequently viewed images and a common part of the story. What isn’t being talked about in popular media is that sexual violence is not normal, not acceptable and that real people are victimized daily, even hourly.

Normalizing sexual violence lends to a quiet, passive acceptance by our society; organizations like CCASA work to improve legislation, support victims and promote education so that sexual violence is not acceptable or overlooked. Acts of sexual violence on any person is an atrocious violation of human rights and should not be fodder for storylines, movie plots and lyrics. Media saturation is pervasive and when sexually violent images and words are portrayed as the standard, it perpetuates sexual violence.  People surge into an uproar over political advertisements, celebrity mishaps and catastrophes in other countries – I find it unsettling that no one is outraged by primetime television shows, songs that glorify violence against women or the occurrences of sexual assault in our own city. Because of media saturation, perceptions of what is normal and what is acceptable get distorted. CCASA’s survivor’s handbook addresses common myths about sexual assault in effort to abate the erroneous popular view of sexual violence in our culture.  

Agenda setting, as described by our professor, means that the media doesn’t tell us what to think, they tell us what to think about. Agenda setting is present in all forms of media and is highly influential. Local news stories rarely report on a group of students participating in experiential learning through volunteerism at local non-profit organizations; instead, they show bombings, murders, the earthquake in Japan, Charlie Sheen’s escapades, financial crisis and what to expect from the weather. What does that say about what is important to people living in Denver? What do we talk about with our coworkers, friends and families? Being an informed consumer and socially conscious individual is a lot of work, however fast-paced lifestyles and egocentrism that are common to our culture seem to be in opposition to becoming either.

So how do we get there? How do we as individuals combat agenda setting in the midst of media saturation? Dr. McCarver says through media literacy, through learning to be critical consumers and media fluency. CCASA works through education and local activism to dispel myths, support victims, help providers of services do a better job and provide us with other things to think about. I personally work on being aware of where my information is coming from, checking in to see how I feel about what I am seeing, hearing and being told and most importantly, not supporting ideas that I’m not comfortable with. I refuse to watch programs or read articles that come from a couple of national news sources because they have an agenda that does not support the things that are important to me. I believe in equal rights, equal marriage rights and taking care of our citizens. I don’t support violence against anyone, cruelty in any form or glorification of violence. I don’t purchase songs by artists who sing about murdering their ex-wives or watch horror movies that show women as victims and glamorize violence. I do, however, discuss what I am learning, both through CCASA and my other classes, with my family, my friends and my classmates.

I ask a lot of questions, seek to get others involved, and most importantly speak up when I feel the ease of complicity creeping up on me. It’s not always easy to be the voice of dissent or come off as judgmental when standing up for what I believe. For me, there are many actions I can take on a daily basis to combat the perpetuation and normalization of sexual violence and stand up for the issues I am concerned with. The saying “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything” comes to mind – in a media-saturated, agenda-laden and blind-consumerism world, I’m happy to join the ranks of those who stand up and speak out. 

     Last week I composed a reflection essay based on materials I received from CCASA, which was only supposed to be 2 pages. At 4 pages, I felt satisfied that I had met the requirements outlined in the assignment and conveyed my true thoughts and feelings. CCASA is an enormous source of information for not just survivors of sexual assault but also for agencies and those who provide services to victims. The sourcing project for the handbook I'm working on, as I've mentioned before, is chock full of facts, statistics, general information, images, etc. The issues that this organization are concerned about range from legislative action, raising awareness, reporting of crimes, the criminal justice system, victims' advocacy and root causes of sexual violence.
     CCASA as an organization does an outstanding job of providing information for providers of services and being a hub to locate resources. The survivor's handbook, titled Toward Healing and Justice, covers a wide range of topics including defining sexual assault/sexual violence, law enforcement and criminal justice system, healing and recovery and survivor resources. The handbook even contains a chapter for family and friends. While the handbook is only 76 pages, I was astounded at how much I learned from reading it. In every section, there are supportive and informative statements that seem to stand up off the page. I tried to carry the perspective of what it might be like to read the survivor's handbook as a victim of sexual assault. Since I have no first hand experience, I imagined that I felt afraid, distraught, confused, angry and seeking direction. I sincerely believe that information is a solution to fear, and felt as though CCASA did a fine job in conveying much needed information in a dignifying, honest and direct way. Who knew a flowchart could seem comforting!
      In terms of what could be done better, I think that CCASA should find ways to be more visible in the community. I work in emergency medicine and am quite familiar with the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence because in the majority of bathrooms in my hospital, CCADV has a small display rack on the wall with bookmarks and mini-handbooks. As a EMS provider, I would love to see a copy of their handbook available to staff. I think my colleagues could benefit greatly from an inservice or continuing education course using CCASA materials and possibly facilitated by volunteers. Considering my hospital is but one of many in Denver, and hospitals are a small portion of providers, it would be wonderful if more people knew about the resources available from CCASA. After writing this, I may have to pitch my ideas to the fine folks at my service learning organization. Hmm.. Sounds like another project!

To view the survivor's handbook, Toward Healing and Justice, please click this link.