Members of the Laboratory “Sexism, Myths and Gender Violence” of the Psychology of Social Problems group (HUM-289) of CIMCYC have studied the social reactions to the documentary 'Rocío Carrasco. Contar la verdad para seguir viva' (Tell the truth to stay alive), in which the daughter of Rocío Jurado narrates everything she lived for 25 years next to her ex-partner Antonio David Flores, how her daughter and children distanced themselves from her and how social and media pressure was about to lead her to suicide on August 5, 2019.
The research analyzes how myths influence the assessment of cases of gender violence and does so from a case of media relevance: the story of Rocío Carrasco's documentary. These myths are prejudiced ideas, generally false, which usually lead those who hold them to minimize violence, blame the victims and exonerate the aggressors of responsibility.
The study examines the relationship between these myths, the credibility attributed to Rocío Carrasco, and the tendency of some people to blame her for telling her story. They also analyzed how people's judgments about this case were influenced by their beliefs about the behavior of the victim of gender violence, in addition to the different motivations attributed to her in making the documentary (economic, search for justice, revenge and emotional recovery).
The results indicate that the participants (295) who adhered more to these myths gave less credibility and blamed Rocío Carrasco to a greater extent.
In addition, these myths are related to the motivations attributed to Rocío Carrasco in telling her testimony.
The results of this study show the importance of the preconceived and prejudiced ideas of some people when it comes to negatively judging the behaviors of victims of gender violence.
Reference
Martínez-Sánchez CA, Romero-Sánchez M, Megías JL. Analysis of the cognitive function of myths about gender violence: the case of Rocío Carrasco / Análisis de la función cognitiva de los mitos sobre la violencia de género: el caso de Rocío Carrasco. International Journal of Social Psychology. 2024;39(1):27-58. doi:10.1177/02134748231218168