Abstract
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a pervasive and deadly occurrence, with millions of men, being assaulted by their partners during their lifespan. Despite its prevalence in Nigeria, this phenomenon appears largely underreported in the media, a situation that may undermine its public visibility. Against this backdrop, this study examined newspaper coverage of IPV against men in Nigeria, exploring the frequency, dominant themes, prominence, and framing in the coverage. The study was situated within the framework of the Agenda Setting and Framing theories. Adopting the content analysis method, the researcher selected 164 editions of Vanguard and The Guardian newspapers. A coding sheet was designed for data collection while data analysis was done employing descriptive statistics (simple percentages). Findings revealed a significant lack of coverage of IPV against men within the study period. However, IPV against men received prominent coverage within the period based on page placement. In reporting IPV against men, the newspapers paid most attention to “victim blame” “stereotyping”, and “stigmatization”. Results also showed that the most common types of IPV suffered by men as reported in the two newspapers were “physical violence’’ and “sexual violence’’ as against “emotional violence”. The study concluded that the newspapers’ lack of adequate coverage of IPV against men may have the effect of perpetuating the current practice where societal discourse and policy response regarding IPV lay emphasis almost solely on female victims to the exclusion of their male counterparts. The study recommended among others that newspaper should adopt gender-inclusive reporting practices that recognize IPV against men as a significant social problem.