SOCIO-CULTURAL VARIABLES AND MEDIA COVERAGE OF GIRL CHILD MARRIAGES

Abstract

Girl-child marriages have been an ongoing practice in many traditional and modern societies. It is a common practice which exists in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Presently, girl child marriages predominate in developing countries, most of which have not accepted or domesticated the Child Rights Acts which aims to legalize the protection of children from different kinds of abuses. The media are expected to play roles of advocacy by setting agenda on such issues as child marriages by providing adequate coverage through news reports, editorials, interviews, features and other kinds of contents. This paper is a systematic critical analysis which relied on secondary data to examine issues explored. The study is underpinned by the mutedgroup and spiral of silence theories. While the latter examined communication patterns and social representation of non-dominant cultural groups like women and other minorities, the spiral of silence theory posits that the mass media work simultaneously with majority public opinion to silence minority beliefs or cultural issues. Literature revealed that the media do not significantly report social problems of child abuse and violence. Reportage of other sections of societies occupies more prominent media space. However, as part of roles of the media, they are to sensitize and create awareness of issues related to rights and protection of children.