Media Advocacy and the Perceptions of Widowhood Practices in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State.

This study was conceived to investigate how media campaign on harmful widowhood practices has either helped or not in the eradication of such practices especially in Aniocha Local Government Area of Delta State. Three broad objectives were set out which included identifying the media through which people are informed about widowhood practices in Aniocha South Local Government Area, determining the channels that transmit campaigns against repugnant widowhood practices in Aniocha South Local Government Area and finding out how the people perceive widowhood practices in Aniocha Local Government Area as exposed to them by the media campaigns. The population of the study was 780,650. The study utilized convenience and availability samples to reach 384 respondents using a structured questionnaire. Data was also analysed using the Weighted Mean Scores on a Four Point Likert Scale and a 2.5 decision rule. The study found that the people of Aniocha Local Government Area use the mainstream media and the social media for informing people about widowhood practices. These media especially social media also help to launch the campaign against such harmful widowhood practices. The study further revealed that the people perceived the campaign against harmful widowhood practices as educative and informative but it has not been able to engineer the right change in attitude in them that will warrant jettisoning them. The study therefore recommended that the government should wake up to its responsibility of protecting the rights of the citizens and ensure that culprits are punished accordingly, the media should do more in the push against harmful widowhood practices by exploring other techniques of presentation to draw global attention to harmful widowhood practices and that the people of Aniocha Local Government should as a matter of urgency begin to not only speak against these harmful widowhood practices but also fight against them traditionally.