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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | august 2019 | august WATCH HUMAN RIGHTS Nigeria | Many survivors of sex and labor trafficking in Nigeria, desperate to escape dire economic situations or (above) Nigerians arrive from a plane in Lagos in March 2018. They tried to make their way to abusive family environments, struggle with mental trauma, social exclusion, physical ailments that have Pray for Death” “You sometimes limited their ability to work effectively and reintegrate into the community. Europe, but ended up enslaved and trapped in Libya. The International Organization for “You Pray for Death,” based on interviews with 76 women and girls survivors of human trafficking, Migration facilitates most of these returns from documents how traffickers, most of them known to their victims, prey on these women and girls, often Libya. Women and girls who ended up trapped in luring them with false promises of paid employment, professional training, and education. They transport Libya described experiencing racial discrimi- HUMAN them within and across national borders where they face death, rape, beatings, fear, theft, extortion, lack nation, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and of food and water, and various forms of exploitation, including forced prostitution and forced labor, difficult conditions in places of captivity. Many RIGHTS “You Pray for Death” especially forced domestic work. found their situation so unbearable that they had wished to return to Nigeria. WATCH Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria The report finds that many survivors are unlawfully detained in shelters in Nigeria and that efforts by (front cover) A woman who tried to make her way authorities to rehabilitate them are undermined by the failure to provide rights-respecting, comprehensive, to Europe sits with her child in a shelter in Benin and long-term medical care and psychosocial support. This report documents the impacts of trafficking City, Nigeria. Nigerians who attempt the journey on survivors, and outlines steps the Nigerian authorities should take to provide survivors the medical to Europe often end up enslaved, beaten, care, psychological counseling, and financial support they need to heal from the trauma and to rebuild assaulted, and trapped in Libya. March 2018. their lives. © 2018 Lynsey Addario/Getty Images Reportage Human Rights Watch calls on Nigerian authorities to ensure that programs to prevent and respond to trafficking respect the rights of survivors, are geared toward promoting women’s equality, and are comprehensive, long-term, and tailored to meet the specific needs of women and girls, as well as their families. Authorities should also end all detention of survivors in shelters and strengthen oversight over shelters and assistance programs. hrw.org “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria Copyright © 2019 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-64664-005-8 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org August 2019 ISBN: 978-1-64664-005-8 “You Pray for Death” Trafficking of Women and Girls in Nigeria Map of Nigeria and Destination Countries ............................................................................ i Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 10 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 15 I. Background on the Crisis of Human Trafficking in Nigeria .............................................. 19 Anti-Trafficking Efforts in Nigeria ............................................................................................ 20 Scale of Trafficking in Persons in and from Nigeria .................................................................. 22 Poverty and Inequality ............................................................................................................ 24 Gender Inequality ................................................................................................................... 25 Violations of Children’s Rights ............................................................................................... 26 Corruption and Porous Borders .............................................................................................. 29 Conflict and Insecurity ............................................................................................................ 31 II. Trafficking into Sexual and Labor Exploitation: Abuses and Impacts ............................. 33 Trafficking into Sexual Slavery and Forced Prostitution ............................................................ 34 Trafficking into Forced Labor .................................................................................................. 40 Debt Bondage ........................................................................................................................ 42 III. Life in Nigeria after Trafficking ..................................................................................... 45 Social Stigma and Family Rejection ......................................................................................... 45 Financial Hardship .................................................................................................................. 47 Long-Term Mental and Physical Health Impacts ...................................................................... 48 IV. Inadequate Shelters .................................................................................................... 55 Entry Eligibility, Length of Stay, and Mixed Populations ........................................................... 56 Arbitrary Detention and Denial of Freedom of Movement ......................................................... 58 Impact of Detention and Lack of Information ........................................................................... 61 Inadequate Care in Orphanages and Private Shelters ............................................................. 64 i V. Problems with Survivor Services ................................................................................... 67 Weak Victim Identification ...................................................................................................... 67 Lack of Individualized and Comprehensive Services ............................................................... 68 Problems with Funding, Coordination, and Evaluation ............................................................. 75 VI. Legal Obligations ........................................................................................................ 78 Nigerian National Laws and Policies........................................................................................ 78 International and African Regional Law ................................................................................... 83 Detention in Shelters .............................................................................................................. 87 Rights to Equality and Nondiscrimination ............................................................................... 89 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ 90 Map of Nigeria and Destination Countries A typical journey of a trafficking victim. i Summary When she was 18 in 2013, Adaura C. met a woman who promised her a job earning 150,000 naira (US$414) as a domestic worker in Libya. Adaura agreed, and the woman made the arrangements for her to travel from Nigeria to Libya. After a long, dangerous journey through the Sahara Desert, witnessing drivers and other men beat and rape women and girls, she arrived in Libya only to find that she had been deceived. The “madam” (a woman who is part of the trafficking ring and controls women and girls) there told Adaura and her friend Jane V.–Adaura and Jane were recruited by the same woman in Nigeria, but traveled separately—to undress and have sex with clients. “We said, ‘We were told we would be house helps,’” Adaura explained. The madam responded, “This is house help.” The madam locked Adaura in a room without food for four days and threatened to kill her. She told Adaura and Jane that they each had to pay a “debt” of $4,000, to cover travel expenses, and made them swear an oath that they would not run away. Adaura and Jane were now under the control of the madam. The madam brought men to have sex with them without condoms. After a month, Adaura discovered she was pregnant, and the madam forced her to have an abortion. The trauma and exploitation continued.