Sexual terrorism in the post-pandemic nightlife? A feminist critical discourse analysis of the needle spiking media coverage
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12881230 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cristiana Vale Pires (0000-0003-4172-0787, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 255-272 |
| Publication date | 2024-11-26 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Crime Media Culture An International Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1741-6590 • E-ISSN: 1741-6604 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/17416590241302704 |
| OpenAlex | W4404719341 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 33 |
In October 2021, a growing number of women denounced needle spiking occurrences in the United Kingdom. The scientific evidence demonstrates the reduced prevalence of spiking and the difficulties in proving its incidence. However, when communicating spiking stories, the media tends to reproduce harmful rape myths. By using English-written online media as sources, this study aimed to analyze and describe needle spiking stories as gendered discourses that act as sexual terrorism in post-pandemic nightlife. The author performed a web-based search through Google News to collect the data and used the feminist critical discourse framework to analyze the 213 sources and to identify the main themes. The timeline of the sources unveils the impact of the Anglocentric character of global communication in amplifying this new wave of spiking. The data revealed needle spiking as a discourse of sexual terrorism, triggering gendered anxieties by framing all women as potential victims of the ubiquitous male violence in nightlife environments. The stories of spiking analyzed uncovered the concrete social and psychological impacts of needle spiking, demonstrating that the embodiment of the fear generates and is generated by cautionary tales. These emerge as gendered discourses disciplining women to adopt anti-spiking etiquettes and reclaim contextual surveillance procedures in nightlife environments. This paper provides a comprehensive conceptualization of the phenomenological experiences and psychological impacts of needle spiking among women who participate in nightlife environments
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Criminology · Critical discourse analysis · Media studies · Nightlife · Pandemic · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Terrorism · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Law · Medicine · Sex work and related issues
Sexual Terrorism in the Twenty- First Century
Thematic analysis of qualitative research data
Ethical approval
The Involvement of Drugs and Alcohol in Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault
Toward a New Feminist Theory of Rape
Alcohol Consumption on the Heaviest Drinking Occasion and Hangovers during the First Dutch Covid-19 Lockdown
Cautionary tales
It's Like a Drive by Misogyny”
The Demon Drink and the Demonized Woman
Street Harassment
The Silent “G”
Embodying Uncertainty
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis
Women's Bodies and the Evolution of Anti-rape Technologies
Jack the Ripper and the Myth of Male Violence
Interpreting Young Women's Accounts of Drink Spiking
Anything Could Have Happened
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |