No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
Western Framings Versus the Lived Experience of Populations Exposed to Trafficking in South-south Nigeria
Abstract
Human and Sex trafficking issues represent contemporary global social problems which are yet to be solved. Women and young girls are particularly still exposed to the danger of maternal mortality, unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and other health and social consequences. Many victims suffer human rights abuses including confinement and effective captivity, physical and sexual assaults. Through human trafficking and sex trafficking, a nation’s active population is threatened and exploited with young people unable to attain their full potential. This has major implications for development impediments especially for source countries like Nigeria in Africa where a large number of young girls and women are annually recruited for sex work in Europe and other foreign countries. This research thesis uses qualitative research methods to explore tensions between Western framings of the phenomena and the lived experience of populations exposed to human trafficking in the area of study. Keywords: Human and Sex trafficking, Western Framings, Lived Experience of Populations Exposed to the Phenomenon, Understanding Nature and Dynamics, Edo state, South-south Nigeria
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
An existing hiatus in empirical research related to the use of ‘juju’ rituals as a spiritual or psychological control mechanism by perpetrators to subjugate victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation has underscored the need for this exploratory study. The phenomenon is shrouded in secrecy and little is known about what juju entails and how it is used to subdue victims. The aim of this article is to explore juju as a phenomenon, whilst illuminating some of the multi-layered complexities associated with its use as a control mechanism. The available literature and in-depth interviews with local and international actors in the field contributed to the unveiling of this phenomenon in the South African and broader counter-trafficking context. The research confirmed that juju is in fact a reality that numerous victims of Nigerian traffickers have to contend with. The article clarifies how traffickers use juju rituals as an effective control mechanism and catalyst to instil profound fear amongst victims, whilst compounding efforts by response agencies and criminal justice practitioners to combat human trafficking. Finally, suggestions for a more informed counter-trafficking response and recommendations for future research are offered which include the need for a variety of perspectives to be incorporated in the quest for a better understanding of juju and the human trafficking nexus.
This article evaluates four popular claims regarding human trafficking's international magnitude, trends, and seriousness relative to other illicit global activities. I find that the claims are neither evidence-based nor verifiable. Second, an argument is made for carefully conducted microlevel research on trafficking. Several such studies are described, including the contributions to this volume of The Annals. I argue for microlevel research, which has advantages over grand, macrolevel claimsadvantages that are both quantitative (i.e., identifying the magnitude of trafficking within a measurable context) and qualitative (i.e., documenting complexities in lived experiences)and is better suited to formulating contextually appropriate policy and enforcement responses.
This study reports some baseline findings from a community-based project on the incidence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in two Nigerian urban centres. The study focused on low income, non-elite, occupational groups. Data were generated through in-depth interviews (IDIs), focus group discussions (FGDs), and survey questionnaires (SQs) involving 958 respondents. About 38% and 28% of female and male respondents respectively reported being initiated to sex before the age of 18 years. Majority of the respondents condemned CSA acts like rape, date rape, child prostitution and incest. However, evidence of gender-role stereotyping, which puts girl-children at reproductive health risks of these and related acts, seems widespread. /// L'étude fait un compte rendu des découvertes de ligne de base à partir d'une étude basée sur une communauté et qui porte sur l'incidence de l'abus sexuel de l'enfant (ASE) dans deux centres urbains nigérians. L'étude s'était concentrée sur des groupes professionnels non-élites qui ont des salaires peu élevés. Les données ont été recueillies à travers des interviews approfondies (IA), des discussions en groupes cibles (DGC) et des questionnaires de l'enquête (QE) auprès de 958 répondants. Environ 38% et 28% de repondantes et répondants respectivement ont signalé qu'ils ont été initiés à l'acte sexuel avant l'âge de 18 ans. La majorité des répondants ont condamné les actes d'ASE comme le viol, la prostitution de l'enfant et l'inceste. Toutefois, il semble que le clichage selon les rôles de sexes qui prédispose les filles aux dangers de la santé reproductive de ces actes et des actes connexes soit bien repandu.
With examples from a 2003 New Zealand prostitution law, this article discusses the logical inconsistencies in laws sponsoring prostitution and includes evidence for the physical, emotional, and social harms of prostitution. These harms are not decreased by legalization or decriminalization. The article addresses the confusion caused by organizations that oppose trafficking but at the same time promote prostitution as a justifiable form of labor for poor women. The failure of condom distribution/harm reduction programs to protect women in prostitution from rape, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and HIV is discussed. The success of such programs in obtaining funding and in promoting prostitution as sex work is also discussed.
Benin City, the headquarters of Edo State, is known to have one of the highest rates of international sex trafficking of young women in Nigeria. This study was designed to determine the knowledge, attitudes and experiences of young women in Benin City, towards international sex trafficking. A random household sample of 1456 women aged 15-25 years was interviewed with a structured questionnaire that elicited information on women's experiences of, and attitudes towards international sex trafficking. The results indicate that 97.4% of the women have heard of international sex trafficking; 70% had female relatives who lived in the receiving countries of Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands; while 44.0% knew of someone who was currently engaged in sex work abroad. Up to 32% of the women reported that they had been approached by someone offering to assist them to travel abroad. Women of poorer socio-economic status (being out-of-school, unemployed, parents uneducated and unemployed) were more likely to report having been offered assistance to travel abroad. Up to 81.5% of the women supported the notion that sex trafficking should be stopped, while 18.5% felt it should be allowed to continue. The perception that sex trafficking leads to wealth creation and economic gains for women was the most common reason proffered by those wanting the practice to continue. By contrast, the fear of adverse health consequences and the need to maintain social and religious morals were the reasons given by those wanting the practice to discontinue. These results suggest that programs that promote the economic well being of women, and social advocacy focusing on harm reduction will be most helpful in reducing the rate of sex trafficking in Benin City.
Examines the socio-economic exploitation that underpins human trafficking: 'Human Trafficking' is a term that does little to convey the myriad acts that underpin the exploitation of men, women and children across the world. Despite legislative developments and the introduction of national and international interventions, definitions of this form of exploitation, estimates of its extent and nature, and responses to victims and perpetrators have thus far been limited. Furthermore, aspirations to prioritise a human rights model within a wider discourse of vulnerable people on the move are frequently overtaken by law enforcement and border control priorities. Human Trafficking: The Complexities of Exploitation goes beyond the political and media discourse to examine the competing dialogues surrounding human trafficking and explore the impact of this phenomenon both in the UK and internationally. Presenting findings from original, ground-breaking research in the field of human trafficking alongside practitioner insights, this book highlights the challenges of research and evaluation in this contentious and hidden economy and the implications of this for developments in survivor care and recovery. Key Features: Locates human trafficking within a theoretical and legislative framework of global, political and economic development; Brings together expert contributions from researchers and practitioners working in the field of human trafficking; Critically considers the conceptual basis of global responses to human trafficking and victim support. © editorial matter and organisation Margaret Malloch and Paul Rigby, 2016, the chapters their several authors, 2016.
This article examines the role that African Traditional Religion (ATR) plays in giving ammunition to human trafficking, a role that serves as an emerging perspective in the understanding and critical engagement with this subject area. Elements within African traditional religion, popularly and often wrongfully termed 'Juju', proffer a method of control often used by certain traffickers to keep their victims in perpetual bondage. The data used in this article was derived from extensive fieldwork in Nigeria and the United Kingdom (UK) where forty-six (46) anti-trafficking stakeholders including victims were interviewed. The data indicates that this control mechanism was present in several cases of human trafficking from Nigeria, serving to impede effective investigations and the prosecution of traffickers. Consequently the protection of victims has also been obstructed. This article hence asserts that trafficking should also be understood from the perspective of the belief system of victims, one rooted in ATR rather than being attributed to brainwashing. It is also pertinent that policymakers and practitioners understand this emerging perspective if appropriate and sustainable anti-trafficking measures are to be fashioned to stem the tide.
Human trafficking, broadly defined as the forced movement of individuals within and between nation–state boundaries, is a local, national, and transnational phenomenon that has captured the public and scholarly imaginary in the past decade. This article takes to task situating the disparate definitions, meanings, and debates within contemporary literatures on trafficking. Focusing on the United States, this article traces key trafficking terminologies like “smuggling,” “modern day slavery,” and “sexual slavery.” Herein I aim to make theoretic sense of scholarly interventions made on behalf of trafficked persons and to examine the scholarly and political efficacy of trafficking discourses.
Although slavery is illegal throughout the world, we learned from Kevin Bales's highly praised exposé, Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy, that more than twenty-seven million people-in countries from Pakistan to Thailand to the United States--are still trapped in bondage. With this new volume, Bales, the leading authority on modern slavery, looks beyond the specific instances of slavery described in his last book to explore broader themes about slavery's causes, its continuation, and how it might be ended. Written to raise awareness and deepen understanding, and touching again on individual lives around the world, this book tackles head-on one of the most urgent and difficult problems facing us today. Each of the chapters in Understanding Global Slavery explores a different facet of global slavery. Bales investigates slavery's historical roots to illuminate today's puzzles. He explores our basic ideas about what slavery is and how the phenomenon fits into our moral, political, and economic worlds. He seeks to explain how human trafficking brings people into our cities and how the demand for trafficked workers, servants, and prostitutes shapes modern slavery. And he asks how we can study and measure this mostly hidden crime. Throughout, Bales emphasizes that to end global slavery, we must first understand it. This book is a step in that direction.
Trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation is a social problem that has marred the reputations of Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia and Thailand. Estimates of the extent of this problem vary dramatically, and research on child sexual exploitation in these countries is almost nonexistent. Presented here are findings from observations and interviews with government officials, nongovernmental organization workers, and women and children involved in the sex industry in Cambodia and Thailand. These findings reveal the complex nature and inner workings of this industry from those who live with it on a daily basis. Based on this study, implications for change are discussed.
This article gives an overview of the problem of trafficking for prostitution in Italy and notes different trafficking dynamics according to countries of origin of the victims. It examines changes in trafficking patterns, various activities carried out by the Italian government and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to assist victims, the Italian legal framework used to combat trafficking, and the recent government proposal to legal- ize brothels. In conclusion, the article suggests strategies to combat prostitution and traf- ficking. The main emphasis is on the trafficking of Nigerian women and girls to Italy. The international trafficking of persons, especially of women and children for prostitution and other purposes, is a global scourge and a worldwide problem of monumental scope. Trafficking and prostitution are literally embodied in the use of women and young girls for commercial sexual exploitation. The commercial- ization of women's bodies is tolerated and indeed encouraged to satisfy male sexual needs and desires and defended as a resolu- tion to problems of male sexuality and sexual identity and the relational problems of men. Prostitution, mistakenly defined as the so-called "oldest profession," is and continues to be accepted as an integral part of the social exchange between men and women, while the inherent violence contained in such an exchange is often denied and left to perpetuate itself. Legal trends, particularly in some European countries, actually or potentially legalize or decriminalize the system of prostitution and sanction it as a normal part of the social order.1 In several countries, this means regulating prostitution and thus ensuring
This article analyzes recent developments in U.S. anti-sex trafficking rhetoric and practices. In particular, it traces how pre-9/11 abolitionist legal frameworks have been redeployed in the context of regime change from the Clinton to Bush administrations. In the current political context, combating the traffic in women has become a common denominator political issue, uniting people across the political and religious spectrum against a seemingly indisputable act of oppression and exploitation. However, this essay argues that feminists should be the first to interrogate and critique the premises underlying many claims about global sex trafficking, as well as recent U.S.-based efforts to rescue prostitutes. It places the current raid-and-rehabilitation method of curbing sex trafficking within the broader context of Bush administration and conservative religious approaches to dealing with gender and sexuality on the international scene.
An estimated 17,000 people are trafficked into the U.S. each year. Nearly a decade after passing the Trafficking Victims and Protection Act (TVPA) to address human trafficking, the U.S. is still grappling to balance punishing traffickers and protecting victims. This paper examines the victim benefits and the trend in criminal prosecution of the perpetrators under the new national policy. Although the policy is an improvement over past policies, only a fraction of the estimated victims are being reached and assisted. The authors explore possible explanations for victim under-identification and assert that victims should be assisted for the harm they have suffered, rather than primarily as law enforcement and prosecution tools.
This article examines the largely unacknowledged contribution of Adolphe Quetelet (1796-1874) to the origins of positivist criminology. Quetelet's labors have previously tended to be misrepresented either as a political project that was an unmediated expression of state and class interests or as a discourse that anticipated the subsequent maturation of Lombrosianism and the Chicago school of ecology. It is suggested here, instead, that Quetelet's social mechanics of crime should properly be understood in terms of its emergence from some of the focal concerns of the domains of penality and the statistical movement which, during the Restoration, coincided in the issue of the regulation of the "dangerous classes." This coincidence informed Quetelet's ideas about the constancy of crime, criminal propensities, the causes of crime, the average man, and social regulation. This article tentatively concludes that Quetelet's multifaceted analysis of crime ultimately fostered a rigid binary opposition between normality and deviation and provided the epistemological core for the dominance of biologism, mental hereditarianism, and economism in positivist criminology.
Current legal responses to the problem of human trafficking often reflect a deep reluctance to address the socio-economic root causes of the problem. Because they approach trafficking as an act (or series of acts) of violence, most responses focus predominantly on prosecuting traffickers, and to a lesser extent, protecting trafficked persons. While such approaches might account for the consequences of trafficking, they tend to overlook the broader socioeconomic reality that drives trafficking in human beings. Against this backdrop, this article seeks to reframe trafficking as a migratory response to current globalizing socioeconomic trends. It argues that, to be effective, counter-trafficking strategies must target the underlying conditions that impel people to accept dangerous labor migration assignments. The article recommends that existing counter-trafficking strategies be assessed with a view to assessing their potential for long-term effectiveness. It also advocates strategic use of the non-discrimination principle to promote basic economic, social, and cultural rights, the deprivation of which has sustained the trafficking phenomenon.
Estudio sobre el fenómeno de la migración internacional visto desde el punto de vista de los cambios globales y del desarrollo de las naciones a partir de los años ochenta del siglo XX. Se analizan los factores económicos, políticos y sociales sobre los que tiene efecto el movimiento de la población; en particular, se estudian la formación de minorías étnicas, los migrantes y las minorías en las relaciones laborales, las políticas migratorias y la globalización de la migración internacional.
This article discusses the issues and options in the prevention of trafficking of women and children in Asia. Studies revealed a higher prevalence of trafficking in Asian countries such as Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Cambodia, and Thailand. This is due to a huge population, growing urbanization, and poverty. Several programs by the government and nongovernmental organizations have been developed to address the trafficking problem. In Nepal, the Maiti program was organized to help trafficking victims return to their home country, while occupational alternatives and awareness campaigns were organized for young women vulnerable to trafficking. In Thailand, greater penalties were imposed to customers as compared to the sellers so as to discourage the continuance and decrease the prevalence of trafficking. Other strategies have also been identified, such as prosecution of procurers, community awareness through campaigns, poverty alleviation, and gender equalization to address the trafficking problem.
Gender Response, Budgeting as a Tool for Social Transformation and Micro-economic Reforms for National Development
- O J Aina
- Olayode
- A Afolabi-Akiyode
Aina, O.J, Olayode, K and Afolabi-Akiyode, A.
(2008). Gender Response, Budgeting as a
Tool for Social Transformation and
Micro-economic Reforms for National
Development, Dokun Publishers, Ibadan.
Effects of Global Climate Change on Nigerian Agriculture: An Empirical Analysis
- T G Akpata
Akpata, T.G. (2012). Effects of Global Climate
Change on Nigerian Agriculture: An
Empirical Analysis. Journal of Applied
Statistics Vol. 2 No.1 31
On Crimes and Punishments, and Other Writings
- C Baccaria
Baccaria, C. (1764). On Crimes and Punishments,
and Other Writings. Translated by Richard
Davies. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 978-0-521-40203-3
Trafficking in Women from Nigeria to Europe. Migration Policy Institute
- J Carling
Carling, J. (2005). Trafficking in Women from
Nigeria to Europe. Migration Policy
Institute. Source@migrationpolicy.org
Prevention of Trafficking and the Care and Support of Trafficked Persons Dokpesi
- D Costel
- V M Cilien
- B Pankaja
- I Nick
- S Joyti
- E Catrin
- K Ratna
- R Dilli
- C Siobhan
Costel, D., Cilien. V.M., Pankaja, B., Nick, I.,
Joyti, S., Catrin, E., Ratna, K., Dilli, R.,
Siobhan, C. (2001). Prevention of
Trafficking and the Care and Support of
Trafficked Persons
Dokpesi, A.O. (2015). Socioeconomic Context of
Emmigration among the Benin Youth. Jos
Journal of Social issues Vol.8, No. 1,
September
Niger Delta Development Commission and The Challenge of Infrastructure Development of The Oil-bearing Communities in South-south Nigeria
- A O Dokpesi
- O G Igbinomwanhia
Dokpesi, A.O. and Igbinomwanhia, O.G. (2010).
Niger Delta Development Commission
and The Challenge of Infrastructure
Development
of
The
Oil-bearing
Communities in South-south Nigeria.
International Journal of Communication.
No. 11. ISBN1597-4324. Pp77-93.
University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Global sex trade: Modern day slave trade
- D Hughes
Hughes, D. (2006). "Global sex trade: Modern day
slave trade". Presentation given at
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
on March 2, 2006 [Google Scholar]
Nigeria has 'largest number of children out-of-school' in the world
- A Hussaini
Hussaini, A. (2017). Nigeria has 'largest number of
children out-of-school' in the world. BBC
World News, July, 25.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-40715305
Sexual Economics and Human Trafficking: Revitalising Imperialism: Contemporary Campaigns against Sex Trafficking and Modern Slavery. Cadernos Pagu: Online Version ISSN
- L Jones
- D W Engstrom
- T Hilliard
- M Diaz
Jones, L., Engstrom, D.W., Hilliard, T., Diaz, M.
(2007). Globalization and Human
Trafficking. The Journal of Sociology &
Social Welfare Volume 34 Issue 2 June
Article 8. Western Michigan University
Kempadoo, K. (2016). Sexual Economics and
Human
Trafficking:
Revitalising
Imperialism: Contemporary Campaigns
against Sex Trafficking and Modern
Slavery. Cadernos Pagu: Online Version
ISSN 1809-4449. Cad Pagu no. 47capinas
2016
Yes, human trafficking ranks No. 3 in world crime. The POLITIFACT
- A Klobuchar
Klobuchar, A. (2016). Yes, human trafficking
ranks No. 3 in world crime. The
POLITIFACT. Report by John Greenberg,
Tuesday, July, 2016.
School expulsions fuel rise in youth crime, say experts. The UK Telegraph
- K Mccann
- A Kirk
Mccann, K. & Kirk, A. (2018). School
expulsions fuel rise in youth crime,
say experts. The UK Telegraph. April,
10.
Sexual Exploitation of Children. Human Right Study Series 8. Geneva: United Nations, Centre for Human Rights
- V Muntabhorn
Muntabhorn, V. (2002). Sexual Exploitation of
Children. Human Right Study Series 8.
Geneva: United Nations, Centre for
Human Rights.
Modern Day Slavery: The Margins of Freedom. ISBN 9781137297297
- O'connell Davidson
O'Connell Davidson, J. (2015). Modern Day
Slavery: The Margins of Freedom. ISBN
9781137297297, Palgrave Macmillan, UK
Global Sex Trade and Women Trafficking in Nigeria
- C E E Okojie
- O Okojie
- K Eghafona
- V Osaghae
- V Kalu
Okojie, C.E.E, Okojie, O., Eghafona, K., Osaghae,
V., Kalu, V. (2003). "Report of Field
Survey in Edo state, Nigeria", United
Nations Interregional Crime and Justice
Research
Olaniyi, R.O. (2011). "Global Sex Trade and
Women Trafficking in Nigeria," Journal
of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy,
Perspective: Vol. 6: No. 1, Article 6.
The Past and Present Dimensions of Slavery in Nigeria
- O T Oshadare
Oshadare, O.T. (2004). "The Past and Present
Dimensions of Slavery in Nigeria" Paper
presented at the First National Conference
of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
held at the Kogi State University, Anyigba
from 28th -30th April.
African Enslaving Africans: Human Sex Trafficking as a Trans-National Crime: The Edo-Italy Relations
- B Oyekanmi
- T A Okunola
Oyekanmi, B., and Okunola, T.A. (2017). African
Enslaving
Africans:
Human
Sex
Trafficking as a Trans-National Crime:
The Edo-Italy Relations. Global Journal
of Human-Social
Panigabutra-Roberts,
A.
(2012).
Human
Trafficking in the United States. Part I.
State of the Knowledge Published in
Behavioural
&
Social
Sciences
Librarian31 (2012), pp. 138-151;doi:
10.1080/01639269.2012.736330
Trade and exploitation of minors and young Nigerian Women for prostitution in Italy"., United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), Programme of action against trafficking in minors and young women from Nigeria into Italy for purpose of sexual exploitation
- F Prina
Prina, F. (2003). "Trade and exploitation of minors
and young Nigerian Women for
prostitution in Italy"., United Nations
Interregional Crime and Justice Research
Institute (UNICRI), Programme of action
against trafficking in minors and young
women from Nigeria into Italy for purpose
of sexual exploitation, Torino.
Poverty as an Aftermath of Gender Inequality: A study of Isi Community in South-South Nigeria‖
- E O Ugiagbe
- O G Igbinomwanhia
- E A Edobor
Ugiagbe, E.O., Igbinomwanhia, O.G., and Edobor,
E.A. (2011). Poverty as an Aftermath of
Gender Inequality: A study of Isi
Community in South-South Nigeria‖.
Knowledge Review, vol.2; NAFAK,
University of Benin: ISSN 1595-2126;
Human Trafficking: A guide to detecting, investigating, and punishing modern-day slavery. The Policy Chief
- B A Venkatraman
Venkatraman, B.A. (2003). Human Trafficking: A
guide to detecting, investigating, and
punishing modern-day slavery. The Policy
Chief, 70(12), 1-8
The Cost of Dreaming: identifying the Underlying Social and Cultural Structures which Push/Pull Victims into Human Traffic and Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Cultural America
- T Warden
Warden, T. (2013). The Cost of Dreaming:
identifying the Underlying Social and
Cultural Structures which Push/Pull
Victims into Human Traffic and
Commercial Sexual Exploitation in
Cultural America.
Forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking
US Department of State's Trafficking in Persons
(2016).
Report,
June.
https://www.state.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2019/02/271339.pdf
International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2016).
Forced labour, modern slavery and human
trafficking
https://www.ilo.org/global/topic
s/forced-labour/lang--en/index.htm
UNODC (2016). Global Report on Trafficking in
Persons,
https://www.unodc.org/documents/dataandanalysis/glotip/2016_Global_Report_on_T
rafficking_in_Persons.pdf
UNODC (2019). Report on human trafficking
exposes modern form of slavery,
Available:
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/humantrafficking/global-report-on-trafficking-inpersons.html