Debating credibility: Refugees and rape in the media

Smith-Khan, L

Debating credibility: Refugees and rape in the media

Smith-Khan, L

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 2019, 42 (1), pp. 4 - 36
Issue Date:: 2019-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Smith-Khan, L https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3551-221X	en_US
dc.date.available	2020-05-25T19:10:28Z
dc.date.issued	2019-01-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Australian Review of Applied Linguistics, 2019, 42 (1), pp. 4 - 36	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0155-0640	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/131261
dc.description.abstract	© John Benjamins Publishing Company. This article explores public debates about credibility in media discourse regarding a Somali refugee who was raped on Nauru. Given the pseudonym “Abyan”, she was living on Nauru as a result of Australian refugee policy and was brought to Australia for medical assistance. Her treatment by the Australian authorities became the subject of debate and was widely discussed in the Australian media. Analyzing a corpus of media articles reporting and commenting on this debate, this article explores how the media’s representations of the key actors shape their credibility. Reflecting existing research, this article finds that Abyan’s experience is used to support broader policy arguments. Further, the discourse presents Abyan as a key speaker, despite her limited ability to defend her credibility. The article concludes that credibility remains an important theme in discourse on refugees and that power asymmetries hidden within this discourse create obstacles for those wishing to challenge it.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Australian Review of Applied Linguistics	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1075/aral.18002.smi	en_US
dc.title	Debating credibility: Refugees and rape in the media	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	42	en_US
utslib.for	1801 Law	en_US
utslib.for	1702 Cognitive Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	2004 Linguistics	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Law
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	42	en_US

Abstract:

© John Benjamins Publishing Company. This article explores public debates about credibility in media discourse regarding a Somali refugee who was raped on Nauru. Given the pseudonym “Abyan”, she was living on Nauru as a result of Australian refugee policy and was brought to Australia for medical assistance. Her treatment by the Australian authorities became the subject of debate and was widely discussed in the Australian media. Analyzing a corpus of media articles reporting and commenting on this debate, this article explores how the media’s representations of the key actors shape their credibility. Reflecting existing research, this article finds that Abyan’s experience is used to support broader policy arguments. Further, the discourse presents Abyan as a key speaker, despite her limited ability to defend her credibility. The article concludes that credibility remains an important theme in discourse on refugees and that power asymmetries hidden within this discourse create obstacles for those wishing to challenge it.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/131261