A TRANSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN PAKISTANI ENGLISH NEWS REPORTS

Abstract

This research explores the linguistic construction of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Pakistani English news headlines, acknowledging the central role of the media in framing public opinion. Using Transitivity analysis based on Halliday's Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), the study analyzes five DAWN News reports (2024-2025) to determine how common process types and participant roles construct the ideological representation of GBV. The analysis implies that Material processes are dominant, with actors often constructed as institutions, and GBV related phenomena are frequently the Goal. Relational processes play a crucial role in creating the character of the problem, and verbal processes are used to enact an official narrative through which victims tend to be constructed as dative Goals of material actions or as Sayers whose agency is limited to reporting events. The research shows that these news reports frame GBV as a critical societal and systemic issue that necessitates an immediate institutional overhaul. This study highlights the significance of certain linguistic choices in media language to both represent and actively contribute to public comprehension of GBV in the Pakistani scenario.