Representation of Domestic Violence against Women in Nigerian News Media

Abimbola Duro David, a PhD student from Birmingham City University talked to AWiM about his research.

He said that the problem of domestic violence against women and its representation in the Nigerian media continues to be a persistent problem which has existed since the 1970s and there is little or no evidence of its decline. Although diverse scholarly works have addressed matters relating to domestic violence and the media, the interplay between these issues especially with regards to the representation of female victims in the Nigerian media, is an area not commonly delved into. This type of violence grows out of inequality between intimate partners, which leads to power and control imbalance in domestic relationships.

The importance of media representation, which controls the patterns of thinking of the society, cannot be overemphasized.

He conducted research on the journalistic coverage of domestic violence against women in Nigeria, while determining how well the news media helps to facilitate public awareness of this problem as an impediment to the progress of the Nigerian society. While conducting this research, he said he was influenced by the works of two scholars: (1) the works of fundamentalist feminist researcher, Jasinki who considers domestic violence against women to be as ‘a result of the subordinate position women occupy in the social structure and manifestation of a system of male dominance that existed historically across cultures’ and (2) Cullen and others who further recommend that relationships with domestic violence advocates are vital for journalists in accessing expertise to help frame better understandings of the complexities of the issue, have influenced my use of the feminist perspective as crucial to the design and process of my study into domestic violence.

See the presentation below on the findings of his research

https://www.slideshare.net/AfricanWomeninMedia/representation-of-domestic-violence-against-women-in-nigerian-news-media