Coverage of sexual violence against women in Lagos metropolis by three selected Nigerian newspapers

Abstract The important role that the media play as ‘Watchdog of Society’ or ‘Fourth Estate of the Realm’ cannot be overemphasized. They exist as agents of information gathering and dissemination, surveillance, education, entertainment and mobilization. It is these onerous functions that sets the media apart and confers on them the status of agents of socio-political socialization and re-engineering. This paper examined the coverage of sexual violence against women in Lagos metropolis by three national newspapers-The Punch, Vanguard and The Sun newspapers. Using content analysis as method of data gathering and analysis and anchoring the study on two theories- Agenda Setting and Gate-keeping, the study revealed gaps not just in newspaper coverage, but also in newspaper content especially as it relates to prominence given to the reportage of sexual violence against women. The study therefore recommends that media professionals, particularly gate-keepers working in the print media should in the discharge of both their surveillance and gate-keeping functions ensure that they do not only report cases of sexual violence, but they should also give prominence to the stories in addition to placing the stories in strategic sections of the newspaper Key Words: Nigerian Newspapers, Media Coverage, Sexual Violence, Women *Charles Chinedu Onwunali, Ph.D. is a Lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. **Shaibu Hassan Husseini is of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria. AMCRON Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 10, No. 2, October 2018: 79 – 90