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Article published In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 42:1 (2019) ► pp.4–36

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Debating credibility

Refugees and rape in the media

 | University of Technology Sydney
Published online: 4 July 2019
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.18002.smi
Abstract
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.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.“Abyan” and media discourse on refugees and credibility
    • 2.1The case of “Abyan”
    • 2.2Media and political discourse on refugees
    • 2.3Exploring the discourse on credibility and communication
  • 3.Presenting the debate: Abyan in the media
    • 3.1Specific to general: Abyan and the larger policy debate
    • 3.2Abyan, woman…. refugee?
    • 3.3Abyan, speaker and decider
    • 3.4“The alleged rape”
    • 3.5The Minister, the Government and the debate
    • 3.6Advocates, lawyers and the debate
    • 3.7A level playing-field?
  • 4.Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
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This list is based on CrossRef data as of 14 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

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