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INVOLVEMENT OF TERTIARY INSTITUTION STUDENTS IN COMMERCIAL SEX WORK IN ANAMBRA STATE UNIVERSITY

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Abstract

This study examined the involvement of tertiary institution students in commercial sex work in Anambra State University. The research attempts to provide a critical perspective on some of the key issues involved in comparing the results obtained from related studies. Four research questions were formulated to guide the study. The design was a descriptive survey. A 16 item questionnaire was structured and validated for the study. A sample size of 200 was randomly selected while simple percentage were used to answer the research questions. The results indicated the prevalence of prostitution tendencies among undergraduates was high, it was also discovered that peer group pressure, unemployment and poverty are the major reasons why most students engage in commercial sex work to meet up school demands. The study concludes that the Nigerian universities are yet to address the problem of commercial sex workers in the country. Therefore, it was recommended among others that professionals in the guidance and counseling centres in universities should organize seminars and workshops for staffs and students of tertiary institutions on negative effects of prostitution on health and academic performance.

                                                CHAPTER ONE

                                                INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

There is a prevailing controversy on why undergraduate female students engage in commercial sex work despite knowledge of their consequences in Nigeria. The current population of Nigeria is 209,434,651 as of Thursday, February 25, 2021, according to Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data, with 56.6% of its total population as youth. (Worldometer Yearly Population Statistics, 2021). Youth in the adolescent stage of life are known to be active in all areas especially in the area of sexual activities. Female undergraduate students’ involvement in sexual activeness could be due to different biological developments and peer group curiosity to experiment different behavioral patterns without thinking of the negative consequences of such actions.

According to United Nations, (2015), there are approximately 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24 years, accounting for 16 per cent of the global population, who are actively involved in commercial sex every year and the chances of undergraduates getting more involved in this acts keep increasing due to many factors. Yusuf (2013), agreed with the above report that there is an increase in female prostitution and sex related activities among young people. In African countries including Nigeria, where many cultures speak against sex work, the presence of large number of commercial sex workers has now become a major social issue (Ogunkan, Omoruan, & Fawole, 2010 p. 282 -300).

The risky sexual behaviours, such as early sexual habits, unprotected sexual intercourse, and multiple sexual partners, occur in a broader context in Africa. The intensity of involvement in such behavior ranges from nonsexual relationship to unprotected sexual intercourse with multiple partners and prostitution (World Health Organization, 2011).

Prostitution according to James (2007 p. 31-42), is a business or practice of engaging in sexual relations in exchange for financial reward. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) prostitution is a process that involves a transaction between a seller and buyer of a sexual service, in other words it involves a sex worker and a client (World Health Organization, 1998). This definition remains significant since it is the only one that includes the customer (client) and the prostitute (Kissil & Davey, 2010). From the above definitions, prostitution in this present study is sex involvement outside wedlock either for acquiring financial favors or other form of benefits.

The Nigerian university today has been influenced with impunities such as prostitution, immodest dressing, pornographic movies from the internet, cultism, human trafficking, among others that exist in our higher institutions and which students strive to pursue rather than academic excellence. In accordance with the above observation, Uzokwe (2008) stated that some Universities have become citadels for cultists, cheats, armed robbers and even prostitutes. To worsen the matter, some students see commercial sex work as a way of life in many universities. According to Olugbile, Abu & Adelakun (2008), for instance many undergraduates have resorted to full time prostitution in their campuses under the guise that they are hustling.

According to Olugbile, Abu & Adelakun (2008 p. 1), prostitution goes by different names in the universities such as “Runs”, “hustling”, “Parole”, “Flexxing”, “Digging”, “Late hour”, “Survival” and many others. Some students seem to have become so deeply addicted to prostitution that they willingly engage in the act. For instance, Olugbile, Abu and Adelaku (2008 p. 1) observed that there is an innovative approach to prostitution. According to them, some undergraduate prostitutes now advertise themselves through photo albums kept by middlemen in popular hotels close to university campuses. In some cases also, these undergraduate prostitutes are recruited on contract basis by politicians to attend parties and see to the sexual needs of the party members.

It is very common these days in many cities in Nigeria to see some young girls roaming the streets and hotels seeking for clients when they are supposed to be in schools or at home. Both male and female undergraduates are actively involved in commercial sex work. While the boys indulge more as the go between among the female prostitutes, the girls are more prone to the act of prostituting itself (Abu and Adelakun, 2008 p. 5).

Young female undergraduates who are into prostitution business are liable to contact diseases. It has been discovered and proven that unprotected commercial sex contribute to many cases HIV epidemics. There is a well-reasoned attestation that HIV transmission can be drastically increased during commercial sex and thus, making the impact too large to be overlooked. Over the years, commercial sex has carried as a wealth producing business in Nigeria specifically among our youths. From the previous research works on that, 45 percent of these sex workers are students (Izugbara, 2005; Macleod, 2006; Otite and Ogionwo, 2006 2nd Ed).

According to (Olugbile, Abu and Adelakun, 2008 p. 1), commercial sex work is very rampant in our Universities and the average campus has several networks. Most of these students stand outside their hostels and halls waiting for clients. The hardened ones who see their campuses as too boring do not operate inside the University campuses. They brazenly take their trade directly to their customers at night to nearby cities, clubs or hot spots that would give them maximum exposure to men who will like to patronize them. The question of why promiscuity would be flourishing inside university campuses under the very nose of the staff and security agents has raised a lot of controversies in recent times. Most researchers believe that the university authorities have failed to strike the right balance between ensuring students’ liberty and enforcement of existing campus codes of conduct (Olugbile, Abu and Adelakun, 2008 p. 5). This is based on the premise that the students are adults that should be able to take care of themselves independent of their parents. Corresponding to this, Uzokwe (2008 p. 1-2) posited that with unbridled liberty and freedom the students began to push the limits of acceptable behaviour, taking advantage of freedom bestowed on them as “adults”

Conversely, students from families with low socio-economic background are not adequately provided with the basic necessities of life and these force some of them into prostitution as a way of augmenting their income for the provision of these needs. Again within the social units-family, community, and other cultural groups that make up Nigeria, Izugbara (2005 p. 29) observes that women and girls are the weakest and most vulnerable. They suffer educational, economic and other forms of social deprivation and are often ill-equipped to negotiate better life chances for themselves. For most of them sex work is the only way out of the hardship, misery, deprivation and marginalization which they suffer. Against this background, the research sought to determine the involvement of tertiary institution students in commercial sex work in Anambra State University.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Commercial sex work has long been seen as a normal culture which is practiced by prostitutes in private homes, in brothels, and in hotels as an adaptation to poverty, unemployment and as a feasibility way for wealth creation in Nigeria. Likewise, the prevalence of students’ involvement in commercial sex work has become a serious social challenge to universities in Nigeria, the government and society in general. Prostitution has its attendant risks which include health, physical, emotional, psychological and sociological risks. There is a high health risk in prostitution owing to the fact that commercial sex workers are assumed to be the main source of sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea, the dreaded Human Immune deficiency Virus (HIV). Many of these diseases are incurable and may lead to death or permanent health disorder. Prostitution can also result in gender based violence, unwanted pregnancies, abortion, school dropout and others. Many commercial sex workers (CSW) have been victims of ritual murders, violent rape, and other physical injuries. A great number of research indicates increasing prevalence of students’ involvement in prostitution in universities in Nigeria (Alobo EE, Ndifon R. 2014 p. 10-14, Child S. 2009 p. 426).

The negative effects of sex work on students in Nigeria and the world at large are too numerous to mention. It is a proven fact that girls who are into this scheme encounter negative effect they make profit out from it. In most cases where there are rape or kidnap incidents, the victims are the sex workers. Sex work has been perceived as the major group for transmission of HIV/AIDS and STD and they face a challenge of isolation all over the world. Studies have shown that university, polytechnic and colleges of education students needing extra money to support their education are into this business (Pickering and Wilkins 2003, Orubuloye, Caldwell and Caldwell, 2004, p. 101 – 116). While most female undergraduate students put the blame on socio-economic background of their family as one of the reasons why they indulge in sex work. The focus of this study therefore, is to examine reasons why undergraduates engage in sex work with a view to understanding how education can be used to address the menace.

1.3 Aims/Objectives of the Study

The major aim of the study is to find out the level of involvement of tertiary institution students in commercial sex work in Anambra State University. Other specific objectives include;

  1. To investigate the prevalence of sex work among female students in Anambra State University.
  2. To ascertain the factors promoting prostitution among the undergraduates in Anambra State University.
  3. To determine the level of commercial sex work among university undergraduates in Anambra State University.
  4. To examine the perceived impacts of prostitution on academic performance of university undergraduates.

1.4 Research Questions

For the successful completion of the study, the following research questions were formulated by the researcher to guide the study;

  1.  Does prostitution exist among female students in Anambra State University?
  2. Are there factors promoting sex work among undergraduates in Anambra State University?
  3. Is the level of prostitution among university undergraduates in Anambra State University high?
  4. What are the perceived impacts of prostitution on academic performance of university undergraduates?

1.5 Significance of the Study

It is often imperative to question what would be the significance of any endeavor, be it academic or otherwise. This is also applicable in this study. The researcher anticipates that at the completion of this study, the findings of this study will be of immense benefit to undergraduates, lecturers, University administrators, counsellors, psychologists, sociologists, social workers, curriculum planners, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the ministry of education. To the students, the study will provide vital information on the debilitating effects of sex work on their academic performance and which, in the final analysis, will deter them from engaging in prostitution and face their studies squarely. To stakeholders and policy makers it would reveal the effect of commercial sex work on the girl child and suggest polices that will address the menace.

Theoretically, the study is in a position to add valuable literature to the area of gender studies generally. It will provide valuable knowledge on student’s involvement in commercial sex work and other associated risks that may not be known, also bridging the gap that exists with regards to literature in this area. Consequently, the study findings and implication of study will contribute in improving morality among students in Anambra State. Lastly, the study will act as a reference materials to future researchers who may wish to conduct further research in this area of study.

1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study will be carried out to investigate the involvement of tertiary institution students in commercial sex work in Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu university in Anambra State, with a view to proffer solutions to challenges that commercial sex workers poses to the state.

There were some constraint that tends to hinder the flow of this study, such limitations include:

Respondent Reluctance: In most cases the selected population often feels reluctance over providing required information required by the researcher. This result in finding information where the structured questionnaires could not point out.

Covid-19 Pandemic: the sudden outbreak of the deadly virus also posed a major challenge to this study. The researcher was restricted from gaining access to every office/units within the study area that would have contributed immensely to the success of this research work.

1.7 Research Procedure

The main instruments used in carrying out the study were the questionnaire and oral interview; the researcher conducted a survey of related literatures such as textbooks, commentaries, newspapers, dictionaries, scholarly Journals. Data was gathered from the following sources and libraries:

  1. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University general library and department library.
  2. Anambra State Library and newspaper publications.
  3. The researcher’s personal library, note books and internet.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

Sex: This is a sexual activity, including specifically sexual intercourse.

Commercial sex: This the exchange of money or goods for sexual services. It always involves a sex worker and a client and it frequently also involves a third party.

Sex Workers: These are women, men and transgendered people who receive money or goods in exchange for sexual services, and who consciously define those activities as income generating even if they do not consider sex work as their occupation.

Clients: (usually men) who pay with cash or other resources for sexual services within an agreed package that includes other services such as entertainment or domestic service.

 

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