DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION AS PATHWAY FOR CULTIVATING SOCIAL MEDIA NETIQUETTE AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE IN PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Domestic violence against women remains a critical social and human rights challenge, sustained not only by individual behaviours but also by cultural traditions and unequal power structures that normalize gender inequality. In Plateau State, Nigeria, practices such as bride price commercialization, patriarchal expectations, and male dominance continue to influence women’s vulnerability to violence and limit their ability to seek protection. This study examined the relationship between bride price practices and domestic violence against women and investigated how power dynamics encourage domestic violence in Plateau State, Nigeria. The study was anchored on social norms theory, which explains how collective beliefs, expectations, and community approval sustain harmful practices and behaviours. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted using a mixed methods approach. A sample size of 1,111 respondents was determined, with 1,035 valid questionnaires analysed alongside qualitative interviews involving survivors, community leaders, religious leaders, law enforcement personnel, and social service providers. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of interview transcripts. Findings revealed that 56.5% of the respondents associated bride price payment with increased vulnerability to domestic violence, while 54.7% indicated that viewing bride price as a transaction promotes perceptions of women as property. The study also found that 67.8% of the respondents linked male dominated communities with higher levels of domestic violence, while 85.6% reported that women in such societies are less likely to report abuse. The study concludes that domestic violence in Plateau State is sustained by harmful interpretations of cultural practices and unequal gender relations rather than traditions alone. It recommends that traditional and community leaders should reform harmful interpretations of bride price, while government agencies and gender organizations should strengthen gender equality education, survivor support systems, and mechanisms for reporting domestic violence.