THE IMPACT OF AUDIENCE RESPONSES TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN OGBADIGBO, BENUE STATE, NIGERIA, VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. AN ATTENTION TO FACEBOOK

ABSTRACT This research was carried out to analyze Social Media and the Impact of Audience Responses to Domestic Violence against Women in Ogbadigbo, Benue State, Nigeria: A Focus on Facebook, is a Research that is conducted to create awareness on how to tackle the issue of domestic violence against women, whereby the society mistake the women to being the weaker vessel to be mistreated. 1. To determine the direction of responses to domestic violence against women on Facebook based on gender. 2. To determine the frequency of coverage on domestic violence against women on Facebook. The theory that was adopted is Media Framing theory in relation to Agenda setting theory. This findings is in agreement with Brantner, C., Lobinger, K. and Wetzstein, I. (2009). Effects of visual framing on emotional responses and the evaluations of news stories about the Gaza conflict in; Journalism and mass communication Quarterly 88(3),523.The survey research method was used with questionnaire as instrument of data collection. After the field survey, it was discovered that respondents make use of social media platform like; Facebook. It was concluded that social media users come across domestic violence issues on social media and are familiar with the domestic violence issues. The study revealed that respondents are of the notion that social media frame issues of domestic violence either positively or negatively, social media is creating awareness about issues of domestic violence and social media users reaction to issues of domestic violence have effect on how it is portrayed. The following recommendations were also made; it is recommended that social media framing should address domestic violence from a human interest angle by highlighting the consequences of domestic violence on individuals, family and society at large as this will make audience make meaning and respond to domestic violence issues from human interest parlance, social media framing should be devoid of attribution of blame framing, name calling framing as these influence audience meaning making and responses to domestic violence framing. And lastly, social media framing of domestic violence should be done in a way to make audience have respect for family values in the meaning they make of such stories in their responses to domestic violence. This work is recommended in order to tackle the issue of domestic violence against women in Benue State.