“I loved her so much, but I killed her” Romantic love as a representational frame for intimate partner femicide in three Italian newspapers

In Italy law has accepted “honour crimes” perpetrated by men until little more than 30 years ago. As cultural dimensions are often slower to change, it is interesting to analyze the capacity to account for femicides in the press in a period in which the topic has become more and more relevant all over Europe. Building on existing literature, this study explores how three major Italian newspapers frame crimes of intimate partner femicide. Using 166 articles published in 2012, the authors examine - by a thematic analysis conducted along different items - which aspects are conveyed by the news to account for the 53 intimate partner femicides reported in the press in this period. Findings suggest that while Italian news media heavily rely on narratives of love and passion to frame intimate partner homicide, a social discourse justifying the “loss of control” it is also used to sustain representation of femicides as crimes impossible to be prevented or predicted.