Promoting Human Rights Awareness Initiatives: Perspectives on Media Framing and Community Actions to Eradicate Cultural Practices against Women in South East Nigeria

Abstract:

This study set out to investigate the perspectives of journalists in south-east Nigeria on the framing and community actions towards promoting human rights awareness initiatives for eradicating cultural practices against women. Relying on the above problem, objectives were set to determine journalists' awareness of the cultural practices against women in south-east Nigeria, ascertain the level of audience exposure to framed stories in the media about cultural practices against women; and thus evaluate journalists' perspectives on promoting human rights awareness initiatives through framing of the practices. Using the survey method, a sample of 276 journalists and a sample of 384 members of the media audiences were studied using the questionnaire as an instrument for data collection. In the end, it was found that the journalists were adequately aware of the practices under study. It was also found that the audiences were well exposed to media frames on the practices. Finally, findings revealed two perspectives on the subject matter which included approaches to framing the practices including (highlighting the negative implications of practices, co-opting NGOs, interpreting contents, among others) and community actions to eradicate the actions (employing innovative methods to shift share beliefs about the practices, enthroning educated leaders, infusing enlightenment into school curricula, and so on). It was therefore recommended that the media, policy makers, NGOs, community leaders, among others should make efforts to sustain the present advocacy to change all cultures that demean the dignity of women and other members of the society.