A systematic review of drivers and interventions against sex work migration in Edo State, Nigeria
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
ISSN: 0144-333X
Article publication date: 29 April 2020
Issue publication date: 24 June 2020
Abstract
Purpose
Sex work migration involves a huge number of females from Nigeria, and has attracted concerns within and across the country. To add to ongoing conversations about responsible migration, our review underscores the prevalence of sex work migration in Edo State, Nigeria, the drivers and interventions.
Design/methodology/approach
The review adopted exhaustive search terms coined with the aid of “Boolean Operators”. Search terms were entered into several search engines and databases to elicit peer-reviewed and grey literature within sex work migration and human trafficking for commercial sex. An output of 578 studies was recorded with 76 (43 academic papers and 33 grey literature) meeting the inclusion criteria.
Findings
The study acknowledged wide-spread prevalence of sex work migration involving Nigerian females who are largely from Edo State. It achieved a prioritization of the factors that drive sex work migration based on how frequent they were mentioned in reviewed literature: economic (64.4%), cultural (46%), educational (20%), globalization (14.5%) and political factors (13.2%). Several interventions were highlighted together with their several limitations which include funding, absence of grass-roots engagement, dearth of appropriate professionals, corruption, weak political will, among others. A combination of domestic and international interventions was encouraged, and social workers were found to be needful.
Originality/value
Our systematic review is the first on this subject, as none was found throughout our search. It seeks to inform policy measures and programmes, as well as horizontal efforts poised to tackle the rising figures of sex work migrants and attendant consequences in Nigeria.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Conflict of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Funding: The authors received neither financial support nor specific grant from any funding agency for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.Special thanks to Professors Obinna Onwujekwe and Uzoma Okoye of the University of Nigeria for their technical guidance on systematic review.
Citation
Agwu, P., Okoye, U., Ekoh, P., Chukwu, N., Onalu, C., Igwe, I., Onuh, P., Amadi, G. and Nche, G. (2020), "A systematic review of drivers and interventions against sex work migration in Edo State, Nigeria", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 40 No. 7/8, pp. 733-764. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-03-2020-0097
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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