COVERAGE PATTERNS OF RAPE MYTH ACCEPTANCE BY NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS REGARDING CHILD DEFILEMENT

This paper examined the coverage pattern of rape myth acceptance of child defilement in selected Nigerian newspapers. The objective was to determine the level of portrayal of rape myths and the pattern of coverage of child defilement stories by selected newspapers. The research method was content analysis, and three national and three local newspapers (The Nigerian Tribune, The Punch and The Vanguard, Osun Defender, PM News and Hope Newspaper) published in 2023 were purposively selected. 4-month editions (February, April, July and November) were randomly selected. In total, 714 editions of 102 news items were analyzed across the six selected newspapers. Findings revealed that 10 (9.8%) stories were based on the belief that victims/their parents are to be fully or partially blamed for the assault, while 92 (90.2%) stories stated that the victims/their parents are not to be blamed for the assault. Newspapers failed to give priority to child defilement stories, as most of the stories were reported on the inside pages, with 99 stories (in both inside page major and minor) standing at 97.1%, or over 100% of the combined stories. On frequency, findings showed that there were 102 stories about on child defilement across the 4 months. The Punch Newspaper had the highest frequency (25 stories), followed by The Nigerian Tribune Newspaper with 21 stories and The Vanguard Newspaper with 19 stories, while Osun Defender had the least (9 stories. This paper concludes that Nigerian newspapers’ continued coverage of child defilement can stem its occurrence and shape perceptions of rape myth acceptance. The paper recommends that Nigerian newspapers should give much space, especially through editorials and articles, condemning any traces of rape myths that exist in different cultures in Nigeria so as to positively affect people’s attitudes toward reducing to the barest minimum occurrences of child defilement.