ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA
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ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background for the Study
Domestic abuse has been reported in every nook and cranny of Nigerian society recently. If the news isn’t about cultism, prostitution, or baby-making factories spreading over the country, it could be about a husband murdering his wife or vice versa.
In many circumstances, it may be that a father has canal knowledge of his daughter through sexual abuse. Nigerian women have been victims of barter rape and even murder by members of their own families, particularly their nuclear family, for alleged transgressions ranging from failing to prepare meals on time to visiting family members without their husband’s permission.
Many families, particularly women, suffer chemical and acid attacks from abusive spouses or partners, resulting in excruciating agony or disfigurement and, in some cases, death (Simon, 2016).
Domestic violence affects all social groups and can include physical, sexual, emotional, financial, and psychological abuse (America Psychiatric Association 2005; Oifig and Tánaiste, 1997).
Domestic violence is defined as the purposeful and chronic maltreatment of anyone in the home, resulting in pain, distress, or harm. It is defined as any abusive treatment (physical or psychological) of a family member by another, which violates basic human rights laws.
It involves assaulting intimate partners and others, sexual abuse of children, marital rape, and detrimental cultural practices for women. Domestic abuse is universal (Dahlberg and Krug, 2002; UNICEF, 2005). Domestic violence affects families from all walks of life, regardless of their social, racial, economic, educational, or religious background.
According to Djaden and Thoennes (2002), women in the United States face approximately 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes each year
whereas men are victims of approximately 2.9 million intimate partner-related physical assaults. Domestic violence is common in West Africa, and it is said to be acceptable and even tolerated in some communities.
Domestic violence is not a recent trend in Nigerian society. We awoke to read of murder and bloodshed. Domestic abuse affects all sections of society. It is widespread among educated and illiterate people, religious and nonbelievers, career ladies and stay-at-home spouses, married and unmarried people of all ages.
Domestic violence is commonly considered in local communities as the result of women who nag, disobey, or want to take over the seat of authority from the man, who is always viewed as the leader of the household. It is sometimes referred to as therapy, in which a guy can comfortably express his rage or frustration on a ‘lesser being’ such as his wife or children.
Many women now feel that physical abuse can be justifiable under certain conditions. In this situation, most women bore the anguish and grieve in silence, hoping that one day the male will change his mind and alter his ways. The stigma and embarrassment it will elicit also add to the quiet.
Determining the extent of domestic abuse in Nigeria is challenging due to the country’s lack of government statistics on domestic violence. Furthermore, domestic violence occurrences are frequently underreported (ibid; AI 31 May 2005; Eze-Anaba 2006, 7; UK 25 May 2007, 96).
Reasons given for women not reporting domestic violence include respect for tradition, a lack of knowledge of rights (VOA 4 June 2007), pressure from family members to maintain family harmony, fear of retaliation from the abuser, the belief that their complaint will not be taken seriously by the police, and fear of financial insecurity (AI 31 May 2005, 7).
As a result, the purpose of this study is to conduct a critical review of the function of social media in raising awareness about domestic abuse in Nigeria.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Domestic abuse has the potential to develop psychiatric disorders in its victims. In certain ways, women are generally the victims of this antisocial behaviour in Nigeria.
Various human rights and civil society organisations, as well as concerned individuals, have taken a variety of steps to combat this social threat, which has primarily endangered women and children.
Social media is predicted to play an important role in amplifying the voices of antisexual violence crusaders and bringing incidences of sexual violence to the public’s attention via its instrumental monitoring role.
It has been shown that a high unemployment rate increases the likelihood of domestic violence (Catalano, Lind, Rosenblatt, & Novaco, 2003). They discovered that the unemployed are hypothetically frustrated and angry.
They called this the ‘provocative effect’ since it demonstrates how unemployment introduces resentment into otherwise supportive personal relationships. Other risk factors include custom and norms within African traditional society, which see wife beating and hard child discipline as acceptable.
Obi and Ozumba (2007) discovered that domestic violence was substantially associated with income disparities in favour of females, important in-laws, educated women, and couples of the same age group.
To tackle the scourge of domestic violence in Nigeria, all stakeholders must be involved, including communities, news agencies, religious groups, institutions, bloggers, and all levels of government. Seminars and workshops involving qualified therapists must be organised to assist spread the anti-domestic violence message.
There is a need to raise awareness at these conferences about how violence in the family breeds violence in society. As a result, the purpose of this study is to analyse the role of social media in raising awareness about domestic abuse in Nigeria.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of social media in raising awareness about domestic abuse in Nigeria. However, the specific aims include:
i) To investigate the many types of social media accessible for increasing awareness about domestic abuse in Nigeria.
ii) Determine how social media has aided in promoting awareness of domestic violence in Nigeria.
iii) Identifying the ethical standards that social media must follow while raising awareness about domestic violence.
1.4 Research Questions.
The following are some of the questions that this study aims to answer:
i) What are the many sorts of social media platforms accessible for raising awareness about domestic abuse in Nigeria?
ii) How has social media helped raise awareness about domestic abuse in Nigeria?
iii) What ethical principles must social media address while raising awareness about domestic violence?
1.5 Research Hypotheses.
The following will be the research hypotheses to be tested:
i) Domestic violence issues are not prominently discussed on social media.
ii) Domestic violence issues are prominently discussed on social media.
iii) Domestic violence incidents are rarely reported on social media.
iv) Domestic violence incidents are frequently reported on social media.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study looks at the influence of social media in raising awareness about domestic abuse in Nigeria. This study will focus on domestic violence reports from various social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Snapchat, and others, in order to raise social media users’ awareness of the role of social media use in society.
Furthermore, by articulating figures and other issues related to domestic violence as reported on social media, the public can better grasp and respect the gravity of such antisocial activity.
Furthermore, the study will provide adequate information to the government by revealing various cases of domestic violence in the country, as well as necessary solutions to the government on the various ways in which victims of domestic violence can be assisted, most notably by establishing rehabilitation homes to improve their social and psychological lives.
This study will also benefit students, professors, and mass communication scholars because it will serve as a material for academic exercise, as well as a foundation for future research.
1.7 Scope of Study
The study looks at the influence of social media in raising awareness about domestic abuse in Nigeria. Several mass media outlets in the country are expressing concern that reporting on domestic violence against women and children would be too difficult.
As a result, this study will focus solely on the subject’s social media platforms. The study will concentrate on the coverage of domestic violence, such as rape, men nagging women, and physical assault by a couple.
However, this study concentrated on physical assaults (couples bartering with each other) as reported on several social media platforms.
1.8 Study Limitations
The researcher was only faced with one challenge: time. The period for carrying out this study overlapped with the researcher’s school schedule, making it difficult because the researcher had to forego classes.
1.9 Operational Definitions of Terms
The following terms were utilised throughout this study:
Coverage is the process of reporting various forms of domestic abuse, such as physical assault, rape, and nagging, through media such as The Punch and Vanguard.
Domestic violence is defined as “intentional and persistent abuse of anyone in the home that causes pain, distress, or injury.”
Social media is a web-based service that allows users to create a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection and view, and navigate their list of connections as well as those made by others within the system.
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