Nigerian and Ghanaian Women Working in the Brussels Red-Light District

Adeyinka, Sarah; Samyn, Sophie; Zemni, Sami; Derluyn, Ilse

doi:10.4324/9781003158462

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…However, for many, the experiences of violence do not end after arrival in Italy, as they are forced into prostitution and beaten by clients, pretend clients, and traffickers alike. A recent study [48] among Nigerian women working in prostitution in the Brussels Red-Light District (many of whom were undocumented and arrived in Europe via the central Mediterranean route as well) also found that one of the women's biggest concerns was safety. This was because of experienced violence at the hands of clients and pretend clients who raped them, attempted to do so, robbed, or attacked them, and violence perpetuated by locals who attacked them because they did not want them there.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

It Happened in the Desert, in Libya and in Italy: Physical and Sexual Violence Experienced by Female Nigerian Victims of Trafficking in Italy

Adeyinka

Lietaert

Derluyn

2023

IJERPH

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Nigerian girls and women constitute a large percentage of African victims of human trafficking in Italy. Extensive research has been conducted on the causes, push-and-pull factors, and the perpetrators in the phenomenon of trafficking Nigerian women and girls into Italy. However, limited data exist on the women and girls’ narratives of their experiences during their migratory journey from Nigeria to Europe. Using data collected through a mixed method, longitudinal design, 31 female Nigerian victims of trafficking in Italy were interviewed for this study. This study gives voice to the experiences of sexual violence that these women and girls encounter during transit, leading to many of them arriving in Italy severely traumatized. It also discusses the health impact of these experiences and the different survival strategies that they are forced to employ. The study shows how sexual and physical violence is employed by smugglers, traffickers, and people in authority alike. It shows that the violence experienced along the way does not end after arrival in the destination country (in this case, Italy), but is, in some cases, exacerbated and similar to previous experiences of violence.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

It Happened in the Desert, in Libya and in Italy: Physical and Sexual Violence Experienced by Female Nigerian Victims of Trafficking in Italy

Adeyinka

Lietaert

Derluyn

2023

IJERPH

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“…The participants referred to her as “big sis,” “sister,” or “aunty,” all terms of endearment and respect used when referring to someone who is older than you in the Nigerian culture. The researcher therefore had to constantly find the balance between her role as a researcher working at a Belgian institution and as “aunty researcher” as perceived by the participants, highlighting the balance that researchers often seek to find in situations like these (Adeyinka et al, 2021; Samyn et al, 2020).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“You are merely a Nigerian prostitute”: Sexual stigma and labeling of Nigerian victims of trafficking in Italy.

Adeyinka¹,

Lietaert²,

Derluyn³

2023

Stigma and Health

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Considering the high number of Nigerian women in prostitution in Italy, many of whom are forced into it as victims of trafficking, this population is often confronted with negative perceptions and stigmas, and constantly experiences “sexual stigma.” Owing to the stigmatization and racial profiling that they encounter while traveling to Italy via the central Mediterranean route, they become more vulnerable to exploitation and different forms of abuse. However, little is known about the extent of the stigma, in particular, sexual stigma that these women and girls are confronted with during their migration journeys, after escaping the trafficking networks, and how they attempt to cope with these experiences. Using an intersectional approach which includes the participants’ identity as women and girls/female and Black, we analyzed the narratives of young Nigerian women and girls in Italy, as part of a longitudinal, qualitative study. Our findings show that these women and girls were and still are confronted with frequent and overt expressions of stigma and labeling, in particular sexual stigma, relating to participants’ gender, nationality, Blackness, and (perceived) migratory status. Constantly being approached to do the forced prostitution work that they escaped, they either avoid and isolate themselves from the Italian society or try to accept stigma as part of their daily realities. Demonstrating the far-reaching prevalence of (sexual) stigma in the lives of these women and girls, this will hopefully inform practitioners and policymakers about the impact and ripple effects of stigma and labeling, and the urgent need for relevant interventions.

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“…These oaths are taken by the women before embarking on the journey before deities such as Ayelala, a deified deity who is invoked to ratify an oath between two parties and believed to cause diseases or calamity to befall whoever breaks the oath (Ojo, 2014;Oviasuyi et al, 2011). Therefore, before the commencement of the journey to a European country, the women are taken to the shrine of a juju doctor/ritualist who performs a juju rite/ oath-taking ritual on them (Adeyinka et al, 2021;van der Watt & Kruger, 2017). The ritualist's job is to ensure that the women vow (1) to never reveal the identity of the person taking them to Europe; (2) that they will repay the cost of the trip as demanded from them; and…”

Section: Jujumentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Juju Rituals in Human Trafficking of Nigerians: A Tool of Enslavement, But Also Escape

Adeyinka,

Lietaert,

Derluyn

2023

Sage Open

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In 2018, the Oba (King) of Benin city in Edo state (Nigeria), a spiritual and traditional leader with significant authority, made a public, spiritual declaration on Nigerian human traffickers (especially those originating from Edo state) and proclaimed that victims of trafficking who were bound by oaths taken during the juju rituals were free. The Nigerian trafficking network relies mainly on juju as a control mechanism to keep the victims bound and subservient to them. Based on repeated in-depth interviews with young Nigerian women and teenager teenage victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation, this article discusses how juju is used by the trafficking networks to keep their victims exploited, enslaved and indebted. Concurrently, the participants’ narratives also illustrate the important impact of the declaration of the Oba for some women and teenagers in their process to leave the trafficking networks.

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Nigerian and Ghanaian Women Working in the Brussels Red-Light District

Cited by 5 publications

References 13 publications

It Happened in the Desert, in Libya and in Italy: Physical and Sexual Violence Experienced by Female Nigerian Victims of Trafficking in Italy

It Happened in the Desert, in Libya and in Italy: Physical and Sexual Violence Experienced by Female Nigerian Victims of Trafficking in Italy

“You are merely a Nigerian prostitute”: Sexual stigma and labeling of Nigerian victims of trafficking in Italy.

The Role of Juju Rituals in Human Trafficking of Nigerians: A Tool of Enslavement, But Also Escape

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