‘She is not a virgin so why refuse the lecturer sex?’: An appraisal of cyberspace discourse of sexual harassment in Nigerian tertiary institutions

Abstract

This study argues that online discourse about female victims of sexual harassment contain stances and stereotypical assumptions that portray negative attitudes towards the victims. Using Martin and White’s Appraisal Theory aided by Lazar’s Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis, it analyses the attitudes and opinions of Nigerian online participants about the victims, and discusses the ideological perceptions about them in order to explicate the nature of discursivity and stance-taking in online discussions on sexual harassment cases in Nigerian Universities. The data comprise 500 readers’ comments on online narrations about sexual harassment in five Nigerian universities downloaded from Nairaland.com . Findings reveal the use of negative affect and judgement expressed towards victims of sexual harassment present them as liars and willing accomplices in the harassment situation. Also, dimensions of ideological perceptions of females portray them as guilty victims whose behaviours and actions instigated the harassment.