National Sex Workers Association, the umbrella body of prostitutes in Nigeria have appealed to the federal government to legalise their trade.
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The group’s coordinator, Ms Amaka Enemo, made the appeal in Abuja on Wednesday at a news briefing on the inauguration of new report on `Understanding the high risk of urban sexual networks in Nigeria.’
Enemo said the continued criminalisation of prostitution was inimical to effective control of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections saying prostitutes needed enabling environment so that they could contribute to national development.
The coordinator explained that if prostitution was decriminalised prostitutes would pay tax adding that that it would also reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases drastically.
According to her, “If a sex worker is infected with HIV and sleeps with a man and transmit the disease to him, the man will eventually transmit the infection to either his wife or girl friend and others.
“The best thing to do is to support them, de-criminalise their work so that they can do their work in human environment.”
