“You need to be able to stand up for what is right”:MTV Shuga Naija’s transformative impact on youth attitudes towards sexual violence in Nigeria

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundIn Nigeria, approximately one in ten women of reproductive age report experiences of sexual violence in the past year, with potentially enduring consequences. The impact of sexual violence can be particularly devastating for younger women and adolescents, who may face long-lasting physical, psychological, and social effects. To address this,MTV Shuga Naijautilizes entertainment education programming, anchored by a TV serial drama, to promote gender equality and challenge sexual violence norms and behaviors. This research examines the impact ofMTV Shuga Naijaon disclosure of sexual violence, stigma and victim-blaming attitudes, and greater dialogue about sexual violence.MethodsThis evaluation uses a panel survey of Nigerian youth aged 15-24 (574 females; 317 males) with data collected before and after the airing ofMTV Shuga Naijaprogramming. The baseline wave was conducted in person, while the endline wave was conducted via telephone due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, survey questions focused on norms, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors related to sexual harassment and sexual violence, we analyze changes in self-reported sexual harassment, attitudes towards victims, and discussions with adults and family members about sexual violence for those in inMTV Shuga Naijaprogram areas relative to those in two comparator states. The analysis uses a fixed-effects, doubly robust difference-in-differences (DID) estimation strategy to improve the comparability of treatment and control groups by adjusting for observed differences, thereby allowing for more precise estimation of the causal effects of MTVShuga Naija.ResultsAt baseline, the majority of both males and females across all study areas reported attitudes blaming victims rather than perpetrators for experiences of sexual violence. However, results from the doubly-robust DID models reveal significant changes in these attitudes among youth in areas exposed toMTV Shuga Nijaprogramming, as well as greater disclosure of incidents of sexual violence to interviewers, possibly due to greater awareness of what constitutes sexual violence. For example, agreement with the statement, “women who wear clothes that expose their bodies are asking to be raped,” decreased by 36.6 percentage points [95% CI: -46.8pp, -26.3pp] for women and by 31.8 pp [95% CI: -45.6pp, -18.1pp] for men in areas withMTV Shuga Naijasexual violence programming relative to those in comparison areas. Similarly, acceptance of the attitude that "it is not rape if a woman does not fight back” declined by 28.3 pp [95% CI: -40.2pp, -16.4pp] for women and by 19.3 pp [95% CI: -35.6pp, -3.0pp] for men in treatment versus comparison areas. Contrary to hypotheses, respondents in comparison areas showed larger increases in the likelihood of talking with parents and family about sexual violence than respondents in areas targeted byMTV Shuga Naija, although no information was collected on the initiators, circumstances, nor content of dialogue with parents and family members, rendering difficult the interpretation of this unexpected finding.ConclusionThis study provides evidence that the entertainment education approach ofMTV Shuga Naijacan indeed bring about significant progress in shifting attitudes and behaviors related to sexual violence. Even with this progress, however, victim-blaming norms and attitudes, as well as experiences of sexual violence among women -- and men -- are still widely prevalent. WhileMTV Shuga Naijahas made headway in shifting the landscape surrounding this often-taboo subject in Nigeria, more work is needed to understand how communication and dialogue within families, schools, and communities, alongside greater efforts to support victims of sexual violence, can be improved and enhanced to ensure continued progress.