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Articles

CJOC: VOL. 11 NO. 1, JUNE 2024

Social Media Framing of Domestic Violence Against Men in Nigeria: A Review of Literature

Submitted
August 20, 2024
Published
2024-08-22

Abstract

It is no gainsaying that domestic violence happens to both men and women as it knows no boundaries to race, educational level, or ethnicity. It is a general problem that has matured from a social issue to a public health concern. However, there has been much focus on domestic violence against women while little has been done on women who are perpetrators. Given that there are only a few research on the reportage and framing of domestic violence against men, this study assesses social media framing of domestic violence against men in Nigeria. Anchored on the agenda setting and media framing theories, this paper adopts a qualitative research design, using document review and library research as data collection methods to generate secondary data. These data were purposively sampled from published works from 2015 to 2023 to provide information-rich data in line with the study. Findings reveal that social media coverage is arguably the most effective route through which the disturbing acts of domestic violence can be made known to society, as media reportage of domestic violence serves as a voice for victims. The paper concludes that very few crimes were reported where men are victims of domestic abuse and even fewer of such cases were highlighted in the media. It then recommends the need for more social media reportage of domestic violence against men in order to shape the public’s opinion.