ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN IN THE FIGHT AGAINST SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN NASARAWA STATE

The recent surge in the rate of sexual violence in Nigeria has attracted great attention especially amongst stakeholders, Government bodies, non-governmental organizations, social initiatives, the media and the general public. According to police report, a total of 717 rape cases were reported between January to May 2020, statistics however show that only about 28% of sexual violence are reported to relevant authorities making the projection unimaginably higher. The incident has given rise to a massive campaign against rape and sexual violence both on the street and on the media. This study therefore seeks to examine the role social media campaigns in the fight against sexual violence. The study argues that through the social media, people can be sensitized on sexual violence, the need to report, and cases can be exposed for onward prosecution by appropriate authorities. Anchored on the agenda setting theory, the study adopts a survey research design with questionnaire as the data gathering instrument. The population of study comprises of the people of Nasarawa state as a sample of 269 people was drawn from three Local government areas of the state. Findings show that the social media is a relevant and effective weapon in the fight against sexual violence as it helps in the area of sensitization, creation of awareness, educating potential victims and exposing hidden cases. The study also discovers that despite the effectiveness of the social media, factors like low literacy level, low social media usage and false rape allegations are some the challenges of social media campaigns against sexual violence.