The Blameless and Blameworthy: Missing White and Indigenous Women and Girls' Social Construction on Winnipeg Police Service's Facebook Page

Abstract

Recently, police agencies have harnessed social media platforms, like Facebook, to communicate with the public regarding missing persons cases. I argue that the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) is mostly absent from the social construction dynamics of missing women and girls. Instead, missing women and girls are socially constructed primarily through the comments and claims of Facebook users who draw on racialized stereotypes to imply these females’ responsibility and blame. Applying Valverde’s (2006) social semiotic template, I analyzed a purposive sample of 20 WPS Facebook posts about missing women and girls from 2019 to 2023 focusing on the selection of images, descriptive text, user comments and reactions. Results revealed that missing Indigenous women were constructed as most blameworthy for their disappearances, while missing Indigenous girls were constructed as less blameworthy, but not without some level of responsibility for their situation. In contrast, missing White women and girls were socially constructed as blameless ideal missing persons worthy of rescue. I conclude by reflecting on the theoretical and methodological implications of my study and offering directions for WPS social media policies to prevent the continued promotion of racial stereotyping and victim blaming.Master of Arts in Criminal JusticeMaster of Arts in Criminal Justic