Sexual Violence in Entertainment Media: A Content Analysis of 33 Streaming Feature Films Between 2000 and 2020

13/10/2026

AI Summary

Systematic content analysis of 33 English-language feature films (2000–2020), largest quantitative full-movie human coder study of sexual violence in nonpornographic entertainment.
Key portrayals: horror most common genre, revenge themes in over 30% of films, and one third of victims died.
Victims were overwhelmingly white females; such narratives may perpetuate harmful stereotypes and highlight need for responsible storytelling given societal impacts on beliefs and behaviour.

TL;DR (AI Generated)

Thirty-three feature films (the largest number to yet be explored in a quantitative, full movie, human coder content analysis for sexual violence in English-language, nonpornographic entertainment movies) released between 2000 and 2020 that contained the keywords "sexual violence" or "rape" on the IMDb movie search engine and were available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime were analyzed by three trained coders.

The findings quantify key narrative elements including movie genre (the most common genre with sexual assault portrayals was horror), revenge themes (over 30% of the movies), victim deaths (33% of the victims died), and victim and perpetrator demographics (e.g., age, race, and gender).

Per existent research, these narrative elements could either perpetuate harmful stereotypes or contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of sexual violence, underscoring the need for responsible storytelling that considers the broader societal impact of such portrayals.

Basic summary

J Interpers Violence. 2026 Oct 12:8862605261490517. doi: 10.1177/08862605261490517. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Sexual violence in entertainment media can have negative effects on viewers, including impacts on personal behaviors and beliefs. Thus, understanding what the public is being exposed to, via systematic review of the portrayal of sexual violence in featured films, is vital. Thirty-three feature films (the largest number to yet be explored in a quantitative, full movie, human coder content analysis for sexual violence in English-language, nonpornographic entertainment movies) released between 2000 and 2020 that contained the keywords “sexual violence” or “rape” on the IMDb movie search engine and were available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime were analyzed by three trained coders. The findings quantify key narrative elements including movie genre (the most common genre with sexual assault portrayals was horror), revenge themes (over 30% of the movies), victim deaths (33% of the victims died), and victim and perpetrator demographics (e.g., age, race, and gender). The overwhelming majority of victims were white females. Per existent research, these narrative elements could either perpetuate harmful stereotypes or contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of sexual violence, underscoring the need for responsible storytelling that considers the broader societal impact of such portrayals.

PMID:42861878 | DOI:10.1177/08862605261490517

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