Denise Buiten – författare

This edited book examines the cultural construction of the “public child” and its impact on children’s rights in Australia. The “public child” refers to a real child or groups of children whose lives have attracted media attention— either because concerns have been raised about their safety or because they have been identified as threats to others. Positioned at the intersection of media, politics, and policymaking, this collection explores how, in an increasingly mediatized political landscape, discursive constructions of the “public child” shape state responses, exerting a logic of control and silencing. Amid international debates on child social media bans and increasingly punitive justice systems, this timely work will appeal to scholars of family and youth sociology, criminology, media and gender studies, and education, as well as journalists and legal practitioners specializing in children’s rights. The book includes five sections: Media and Regulatory Theatre, Domestic Family and Sexual Violence, Justice Systems, Sex and Gender, and Speaking Out and Listening In. The final section focuses on how children exercise agency and express their perspectives, and how adults can serve as allies to them.

This edited book examines the cultural construction of the “public child” and its impact on children’s rights in Australia. The “public child” refers to a real child or groups of children whose lives have attracted media attention— either because concerns have been raised about their safety or because they have been identified as threats to others. Positioned at the intersection of media, politics, and policymaking, this collection explores how, in an increasingly mediatized political landscape, discursive constructions of the “public child” shape state responses, exerting a logic of control and silencing. Amid international debates on child social media bans and increasingly punitive justice systems, this timely work will appeal to scholars of family and youth sociology, criminology, media and gender studies, and education, as well as journalists and legal practitioners specializing in children’s rights. The book includes five sections: Media and Regulatory Theatre, Domestic Family and Sexual Violence, Justice Systems, Sex and Gender, and Speaking Out and Listening In. The final section focuses on how children exercise agency and express their perspectives, and how adults can serve as allies to them.

​This book examines the complex issue of familicide-suicide – the murder of a partner and children followed by suicide. The purpose of the book is two-fold: to advance a feminist sociological analysis of familicide as a form of gender-based violence, and to examine how it is reported on in news.   The first section contextualises interpretations of familicide against the dual ascendancy of – and contestation around - feminist and mental illness discourses in public policy and debate. Advancing a feminist sociological analysis of familicide-suicide, it shows the value of ‘continuum thinking’ for understanding complex and varied forms of gender-based violence. Section Two examines Australian news reporting on familicide-suicide, showing the ways cultural assumptions about domestic and family violence and mental illness shape news reporting. It analyses how discourses of gender, disability, age, and the ‘family’ serve to rationalise certain news frames and reflects on the thorny ethical issues inherent in reporting on familicide. Arguing for a nuanced approach to gender-based violence and how it is reported, this book will be of interest for scholars of gender and violence, as well as media and journalism.

​This book examines the complex issue of familicide-suicide – the murder of a partner and children followed by suicide. The purpose of the book is two-fold: to advance a feminist sociological analysis of familicide as a form of gender-based violence, and to examine how it is reported on in news.   

The first section contextualises interpretations of familicide against the dual ascendancy of – and contestation around - feminist and mental illness discourses in public policy and debate. Advancing a feminist sociological analysis of familicide-suicide, it shows the value of ‘continuum thinking’ for understanding complex and varied forms of gender-based violence. Section Two examines Australian news reporting on familicide-suicide, showing the ways cultural assumptions about domestic and family violence and mental illness shape news reporting. It analyses how discourses of gender, disability, age, and the ‘family’ serve to rationalise certain news frames and reflects on the thorny ethical issues inherent in reporting on familicide. Arguing for a nuanced approach to gender-based violence and how it is reported, this book will be of interest for scholars of gender and violence, as well as media and journalism.