How does the media talk about sexual violence? Who is heard, who is believed, and who is ignored and silenced? And what happens when certain bodies, experiences and forms of violence remain absent from the public sphere?

The podcast 'UnCoveR – Media e Violência Sexual‘ brings together researchers, activists, artists, professionals and survivors to critically examine how sexual violence is represented, debated and contested in the Portuguese public sphere.

Over the course of 15 episodes, this podcast - created as part of the research project ‘UnCoveR - Sexual Violence in the Portuguese Mediascape’ - weaves together conversations on justice, trauma, gender, racism, LGBTQIA+ rights, digital culture, activism, cinema and public policy, questioning the role of the media in producing silence, empathy, stigma or social transformation.

The first episode is released on 4 June, and the series will feature new episodes weekly, every Thursday, until 10 September 2026.

The teaser/trailer can be heard HERE

Credits
Script conception and editorial supervision: Sofia José Santos
Scripts and interviewers: Alexandre Sousa Carvalho (Ep. 5), Júlia Garraio (Eps. 1, 2, 10, 12, 13, 14), Lara Ximenes (Ep. 3) and Rita Alcaire (Eps. 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 15)
Executive producer: Rita Alcaire
Audio editing and post-production: João Alexandre
Original music: Axon Terminal – Out To The World [Epidemic Sound]
Graphic design: Rita Alcaire, with the support of generative AI tools

Funding/Context: Activity carried out as part of the UnCoveR research projects - Sexual violence in the Portuguese mediascape (https://doi.org/10.54499/2022.03964.PTDC) and Dis/entangling Rape: Sexual Violence in Portuguese literature and cinema in the 21st century (https://doi.org/10.54499/2022.05885.CEECIND/CP1754/CT0003). The research was also carried out as part of the individual postdoctoral project ENGAGE - Promoting gender equality and social justice through social science communication and transmedia storytelling.

_{Acknowledgements: First and foremost, we would like to thank all those interviewed for the generosity with which they shared their time, knowledge and experiences. We would also like to thank Sónia Nunes for her support in recording the episode with Cláudia Rita Oliveira at TAGV, and the TAGV technical team for recording the interview with Susana C. Gaspar, on October 2024}, _{as part of the Ressonâncias series.}