An Evaluation of Kidnapping As a New Wave of Gender Violence and Implications for Gender Equality: Evidences from Nigeria

Nigeria’s security situation remains volatile with swelling figures of prolonged armed conflicts in virtually all the regions of the country. The catastrophe is further exacerbated by its changing form making it difficult to decimate (with the kinetic approach frequently adopted). Many facets of social and economic life have been heavily impacted sparing no one in the wave of bitter consequences. Of interest to this paper is the trend in kidnapping in Northern Nigeria and its impact on the attainment of gender equality come 2030. Secondary research design was adopted and data were sourced from extant literature to substantiate the arguments of the paper. Content analysis was adopted for data analyses. Leveraging the routine activity theory, the paper argues that women and children constitute the significant proportion of victims of kidnapping. Furthermore, the paper establishes the direct and indirect victimization of women in the kidnapping spree in Northern Nigeria. Findings also illustrate how the act of kidnapping limits the access to education and other socioeconomic activities for the women thereby increasing their dependence on men who have also been endangered by the continued spike in abductions. The paper concludes that kidnapping impacts the female gender more, widens the gender parity index, and limits the ability of women for self-actualization. The implications of the forgoing for the attainment of gender equality (Goal 5) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) meant for 2030 is also highlighted. Recommendations are also made to improve the current situation in order to provide for better gender balance.