NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN DURING COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

Abstract

This study examined the coverage of domestic violence against women in select Nigerian dailies. Among the national dailies under review are Daily Sun, Vanguard and Guardian newspapers. The researcher used the content analysis research method in reviewing the manifest contents of the three papers from March 23rd to June 2020. The study period covered a total of 100 days which translates to 300 publications of the three newspapers under investigation. The specific objectives of the study are to ascertain whether the newspapers give prominence to domestic violence; find the dominant source of interventions for victims of domestic violence against women; observe whether the newspapers gave adequate publications to the rising domestic violence against women and find out if the newspapers actually follow-up domestic violence cases within the lockdown in their publications. The social responsibility and Agenda-setting theories served as the theoretical framework for the study. Findings revealed that the newspapers neither gave prominence nor adequate coverage to domestic violence against women within the lockdown period. It was also found that the newspapers hardly follow-up their stories on domestic violence within the period.  The researcher concluded that the select newspapers did not do well in their coverage of domestic violence in the period under investigation by publishing only 115 news items on such crimes within the period. The study recommended among others that the media should as a respect to their social responsibility functions expose the people to the harmful effects of domestic violence against women in the country.