Coverage of gender-based violence against women in indigenous language newspapers: A case study of Alaroye newspaper

Abstract

Women face diverse challenges such as gender-based violence which manifest as physical, mental, sexual and economic problems. This study interrogated the coverage of GBV against women in Alaroye newspaper. Objectives were the types of GBV, sources, editorial formats, types of frames, causes and effects of GBV reported by Alaroye. Twenty-six edition drawn from February to November 2020 were used as sample size. Findings showed that the main perpetrators of GBV were intimate partners, and effects include injury, psychological harm and death. Main sources of reports were the mass media, neighbours of victims, security operatives and victims. Findings revealed that the causes of GBV include financial recklessness, infidelity, jealousy, criminality, and ritual intent. Also, news was the preferred editorial format; episodic frames were preferred to thematic frames. GBV in Alaroye did not receive prominence as all the stories were tucked in the inside pages, quatre and tiny pages.

Keywords: Violence, gender, women, media, indigenous newspapers