The practice of prostitution is at an alarming rate in Nigeria, it is seen as a deviant sub-culture in Nigeria and it is practiced by prostitutes in private homes, in brothels, and in hotels as an adaptation to poverty, unemployment and as a feasibility way for them to make money. By definition, prostitution involves the selling of sex. This means that money is the key feature of prostitution. As such, money is also the major motivation for women who become prostitutes, as most of them come from low-income backgrounds.
Prostitution has poses greater danger on the future of women in our community and generally our nation’s pride. However, this is due to several precipitating factors that lead people into the prostitution industry. Some of the more influential factors are physical, emotional, pre-mature home leaving, childhood sexual abuse, drug abuse and a poor financial situation. Most prostitutes have encountered at least one of these problems.
Forceful Marriage; some parents choose life-partners for their daughters based on wealth or promises made when couples to be are in infancy stage of life. Those teenage daughters prefer to runaway and live on their own in other cities than to marry the choices of their parents.
Also, other factors that make women become prostitutes are identified, including household violence, poor economics condition, debts, low income, skills, and low education.
According to findings, there have been incidences of violence and murder, sexually transmitted diseases, robbery, financially ripped off etc which take place when the sex worker’s are serving their believed clients. Based on these findings, it was recommended among others that government should criminalize prostitution and enact a law to ban its existence.
To curb prostitution, Forceful marriage should be banned; women should be allowed to marry men they truly love in-so-far they are people of good characters and have one or more way of acceptable income so as not to be liability after the marriage. Extreme materialism must be discouraged; hawking is threat to girls’ dignity and lives.
Also, there are several approaches to reducing the demand for prostitution. These include public awareness and education campaigns, neighborhood watch programs, training and creating jobs for income generation, poverty alleviation and hunger reduction are important socio-economic measures which can be used to prevent prostitution from emerging and developing in the country
By:JIBORISHA RODIAT ENIOLA is a student of Icon Universal Polytechnic, Osogbo.
