Although I do not personally follow celebrity gossip websites, Jezebel posted about a domestic violence case going on with Lindsay Lohan's father, Michael Lohan. I clicked on the original link to just see what it was all about and as soon as I got done with the first sentence, I was already frustrated with the article.
"Law enforcement sources tell us ... Lohan's girlfriend filed a report with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department between 9:30 and 10:00 PM tonight ... claiming they got into an argument that turned physical ... and she had some visible marking from the alleged incident. "
"The ALLEGED incident."
I just cannot help but being irritated by this language because gendered violence is the only type of violence where it would be acceptable to write a story like this. If a man were mugged in a parking lot we would never say, "He had visible injuries from the alleged mugging." We would not think twice about the validity of a mugging incident, yet society first doubts incidents of domestic violence before it believes them.
The language in this article shows how much work still needs to be done to break down the stigma of survivors and gendered violence. The media continues to play a crucial role in the movement and we must continue to critic even the way stories are presented.
-Lauren, NPA Volunteer
SOOO true! It seems that discussion of specific acts of violence against women is only place where "alleged" is not only tolerated, but mandated. Gross.
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