In Nigeria, prostitution, also known as commercial sex work, involves many young girls as a means of livelihood and supporting dependent relatives. This article explores the causes and effects of prostitution in Nigeria, focusing on the experiences of young female sex workers (YFSW) in urban slums.
Map of Nigeria
Historical Context
Colonial ideas surrounding sex and female sexuality influenced the ways in which the sexual practices of Nigerian women were viewed. Traditionally, there was a heavy emphasis put on chastity. However, scholarly work reveals a variety of socially permissible sexual interactions outside marriage. The British brought a cash economy to Lagos, Nigeria, which made the prostitution business possible. Starting in the early 1900s, the rising economic importance of Lagos as a seaport and capital city changed the political and economic landscape of the city and contributed to the arrival of Nigerians from the hinterland.
By 1910, commercial sex services had become prevalent. In 1916, the colonial government enacted a law prohibiting solicitation by women, but the law did not define prostitution. In 1923, the Lagos Women League, an elite women organization, wrote a petition to the police chief seeking the cancellation of restrictions placed on the recruitment of women as police officers, partly to curb a rise in prostitution and also the patronage of prostitutes by male officers.
During the pre-World War II period, commercial sex workers solicited clients in brothels, cinemas, and hotel bars. After the onset of World War II, British officials became apprehensive about any link between high venereal disease rates in West African Frontier Force soldiers and promiscuous sexual affairs with prostitutes. In 1941, an anti-vice squad was formed to prosecute offenders based on two newly created laws. In 1942, a hostel was built to rehabilitate child prostitutes in Lagos, and a year later, the Children and Young Persons Ordinance was passed prohibiting child prostitution.
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Forms of Prostitution in Nigeria
After independence in 1960, brothels and prostitution that had been prohibited in the middle 1940s began to spring up again. Some other forms of prostitution include: "sugar daddy syndrome", "night brides", and "floating prostitutes". Trans-national commercial sex work which started during British colonial West Africa began to grow into a transcontinental business in the 1980s. In the 1980s, brothels began to spring up in the cities and prostitutes who move into the city were charged daily rent for accommodation.
Within Nigeria, the most common form of sex work is found within brothels or residences of sex workers. A steady rise in young students and unemployed graduates who use sex to earn income and acting as part-time prostitutes or call girls or sometimes called Aristo girls are changing the strategies used by sex workers. After the lockdown period COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, due to the rise of Internet Fraud and Scams (locally called Yahoo) perpetuated by many Nigerian Youths, many young Nigerian women have also sought quick means of earning large incomes outside traditional jobs and business.
A different form of prostitution known as corporate prostitution, a relatively new phenomenon and mostly limited to financial institutions began to gain notability in the 2000s.
Causes of Prostitution
The causes of adolescent prostitution in Nigeria are largely economic, sociological, and socioeconomic factors. Nigeria has a large number of adolescents living and making a living on the streets. This has been attributed to economic factors and exposure to all forms of risks. The adverse economic effect of the drop in oil price in the early 1980s followed by the implementation of structural adjustment programs in the middle 1980s has also contributed to the increase of prostitution in Nigeria. Poor economic situations in many developing countries, can often lead to poor socioeconomic situations for parents, which has implications on a child's upbringing.
Many young girls are also unwilling participants in prostitution, through methods of trafficking. Traffickers usually recruit the vulnerable with promises of better conditions elsewhere. Young girls can be baited by promises of economic opportunities with higher earnings than those available in their local communities.
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Effects of Prostitution
The effects of prostitution are psychological reactions, psychosocial damage, and the political implication, which damages the image of the nation. Female Nigerian sex workers have a 50% greater chance of contracting HIV/AIDS. Prostitution in Nigeria is illegal in all Northern States that uses the penal code and sharia law also known as Islamic law. The Nigeria criminal system prohibits national and trans-national trafficking of women for commercial sex or forced labour.
Young female sex workers (YFSW) are often exposed to job-related, sexual, physical, economic and psychological abuse and violence perpetrated by clients. This often results in poor health outcomes in reproductive and mental health. Violence is being experienced among adolescents and young people forced in to sex work. In many instances, their rights are infringed and they are also been exploited and discriminated against.
Previous studies have established that exposure to violence among female sex workers has a very high tendency for suicidal ideation, attempts of suicide, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition to deleterious effects on mental health, violent experiences among YFSW have been linked to an increase in HIV infections and other related health problems. Studies have shown that YFSW exposure to violence further aggravates the risk of HIV infections and other genital diseases. YFSW were exposed to unprotected sex with their intimate partners, which increased the risk of HIV infection.
Lived Experiences and Coping Strategies
The study findings revealed that young girls in the brothels were not residents of Nigeria. Young female sex workers who have experienced diverse forms of violence at the hands of clients, police and others have looked for ways of escape. A study from Nigeria showed how they devised coping mechanisms by setting boundaries, selecting clients and in some cases, they resorted to self-help and sometimes were armed with traditional medicine, charms and drugs as self-defense mechanisms, and oftentimes they preferred to relocate abroad or to other perceived peaceful areas in the country. Some used self-restraint approaches, while others used comforting words to persuade and encourage themselves to cope with violence abuse.
Coping mechanisms include endurance, self-medication, seeking medical attention, and adaptation.
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Study on Violence and Health Harm Among Young Female Sex Workers
A cross-sectional study applied an interpretive phenomenological approach to explore the lived experiences of violence and health-related harm among vulnerable young female sex workers in urban slums in Ibadan and Lagos, Southwest Nigeria. It also analyzed their coping strategies and survival mechanisms. Young female sex workers ages (15-24 years) who reported having experienced violence were recruited for the study. Twelve participants completed the interviews out the 20 initially contacted.
Primary data were collected using in-depth interviews (IDIs). The study was conducted in brothels of two selected slum areas in Ibadan and Lagos, Southwest Nigeria. The results showed that the major motivation for engaging in commercial sex work was for economic reasons. However, there are inherent risks involved particularly for the vulnerable young people. Stigmatization from the community, clients’ uncontrolled-aggressive behavior and harassment from law enforcement agents are some of the frequent violence experiences reported. Self-help coping strategies are usually employed to prevent or mitigate the challenges.
Table: Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents
| Characteristic | Details |
|---|---|
| Age Range | 15-24 years (majority above 20) |
| Education Level | Minimum: Primary school; About half: Secondary school |
| Duration in Sex Work | Most participants: 2-3 years; Few: Less than 3 months |
| Sexual Activity | Solely engaged in vaginal sex with clients |
| Condom Use | Claimed using condoms during intercourse |
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