Missing white woman syndrome

Missing white woman syndrome is a term used by some social scientists and media commentators to denote perceived disproportionate media coverage, especially on television, of missing-person cases toward white females as compared to males, or females of color. Supporters of the phenomenon posit that it encompasses supposed disproportionate media attention to females who are young, attractive, white, and upper middle class. Although the term was coined in the context of missing-person cases, it is sometimes used of coverage of other violent crimes. The phenomenon has been highlighted in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and other predominantly white countries, as well as South Africa.

Despite the popularity of the term "missing white woman syndrome", there have been few empirical studies examining the subject. A 2016 study found that black missing persons received a disproportionately low share of news coverage when compared to their rate of missingness. This study also found that once a missing persons case appeared in the news, white girls' and women's cases received more intense coverage than cases involving missing persons of other demographics. In addition, in a later 2019 study, gender was a significant factor in media coverage of missing person cases. This study found that female victims receive more coverage overall, and national and out-of-state attention is even more skewed towards representing women. The 2019 study also found missing person cases involving White people received more media attention than those involving Black people. However, the authors also reported that non-black women of color (such as Asian and Latina women) are just as over-represented as white women in news coverage, suggesting that the misnomer of "missing white woman syndrome" is rather a function of the under-representation of black women in media cases. Analysis has also found that missing women are twelve times more likely than missing men to receive attention in Louisiana, despite men and women going missing at similar rates nationally.

The phenomenon has led to a number of tough-on-crime measures, mainly on the political right, that were named for white women who disappeared and were subsequently found harmed. In addition to race and class, factors such as supposed attractiveness, body size, and youthfulness have been identified as unfair criteria in the determination of newsworthiness in coverage of missing women. News coverage of missing black women was more likely to focus on the victim's problems, such as abusive boyfriends, criminal history, or drug addiction, while coverage of white women often tended to focus on their roles as mothers, daughters, students, and contributors to their communities.