Author: Dr Serena Timmoneri
Date: 22-04-2026
For decades, the international discourse on human trafficking for sexual exploitation has been limited into a rigid dichotomy. On one side, the Moral approach portrays North-African and European sex-work migration as a story of absolute victimization, where women are abducted or tricked by traffickers. On the other, the Sex Work approach argues for the agency of these women, viewing their journey as a rational, independent professional choice within a globalized market.
However, my recent research into the Nigerian migratory hub, particularly Edo State, suggests that both perspectives miss the most crucial driver of this trade: the social architecture behind the sex industry abroad. To understand why this illicit market is so resilient, we must look beyond the physical coercion and focus on a social one.
Edo State, the main migratory hub in Nigeria presents what I call the “Edo Paradox”. In fact, if sex-work migration were purely a product of “poverty,” we would expect it to flourish in Nigeria’s most deprived regions. Yet, Edo State consistently outperforms the national average in socioeconomic indicators, as it has one of the lowest multidimensional poverty indices in the country and a youth literacy rate of nearly 97%.
Why, then, is it the global epicentre for irregular sex-work migration? The answer lies in Relative Deprivation and the Get-Rich-Quick Syndrome. In a society where success is defined by visible material wealth, the pressure to achieve a quick “breakthrough” is not just a personal ambition; it is a social mandate.
My recent research focuses on the threshold where social expectations become a mandatory social duty, as they can become a force that weaponizes an individual’s need for belonging and their visceral fear of social death. In Edo State, daughters, particularly first-borns, are driven by an inescapable social expectation to financially support their family, often leading them to support those who exploited them. This intense social pressure is compounded by ostracism and bullying upon returning after time spent abroad without wealth, which drives many women toward staying into the sex industry to escape shame, often facilitated by trusted family or community members.
Then, working in the sex industry abroad is not a mere opportunity, but a true coercive offer, as the alternative to refusing is total ostracism, familial shame, and social death. Under these conditions, the woman is not a “naive victim”, but a Constrained Agent, a rational actor navigating a landscape where the possibility of “choosing otherwise” has been systematically eliminated.
The Nigerian Sex Industry is also often sensationalized through the lens of Juju (Wodoo) rituals. However, my research indicates that Juju acts as a spiritual contract that formalizes women’s allegiance after the decision to migrate has been made, and it is being increasingly outperformed by the Prosperity Gospel that views poverty as evidence of a lack of faith or a curse that can be broken by applying specific faith principles.
In fact, while the 2018 Royal Edict by the King of Benin attempted to dismantle the spiritual fear of Juju, it could not touch the theological mandate for wealth preached from the Pentecostal altar. Moreover, Pastors increasingly being a bridge introducing women to traffickers and providing “travelling blessing” offer a superior moral shield, sanctifying the migratory journey as part of “God’s plan”. This spiritual scaffolding ensures that sexual exploitation is not just tolerated but morally validated by the community’s primary gatekeepers.
The Policy Shift: From Enforcement to Transformation
To tackle this phenomenon, current paradigms must evolve. Legal measures that focus solely on criminal enforcement are merely treating the symptoms of a much deeper “social disease”.
If the international community ignores the social architecture that rewards wealth despite of its provenance, sexual exploitation will continue. We need a shift toward Social Transformation Strategies engaging Pentecostal networks to de-sanctify the “get-rich-quick” syndrome and offer Prestige-Aligned Alternatives. Reintegration must offer more than just a basic income; it must offer status. We must provide returnees with roles that confer social dignity, breaking the dependency on trafficked wealth for social standing.
