Previous research has primarily examined the relationship between male offenders and media
representation, with limited studies on female offenders, most of which date back to the early
2000s. This raises the question: How do news media represent female offenders in Canada? This
research aims to determine whether female offenders are inaccurately portrayed due to the power
and influence of news media in shaping public perception. Based on this statement, the scope of
this primary research specifically analyzes Canadian news media outlets through a qualitative
content analysis that was conducted on six newspapers between 2024 to 2025, all of which are
from CTV, CBC, National Post, and Vancouver Sun. Several keywords and patterns of themes
through an initial and focused coding sequence arose. The findings revealed that female
offenders are misrepresented through image framing, language use, gender framing, and race and
ethnicity – all of which suggest that news media significantly shape societal attitudes, reinforce
gender stereotypes, and instill moral panic.
