Poverty and sex work: Human trafficking in selected nigerian video films

Abstract

This chapter explores the significance of cultural productions in the campaign against human trafficking in Nigeria. It analyzes a selection of Nollywood video films that thematize human trafficking; through an examination of the depiction of key actors in the trade. Anchored on the framing theory, the chapter outlines the ways in which Nollywood filmmakers frame the conditions that make young girls and women vulnerable to traffickers. It highlights the characteristics of traffickers, and discusses how the issue of remittance to families back home complicate the framing of trafficked persons. Three Nollywood video films are used for the analyses. Lady Bianca: Enslaved in Europe 1 & 2 (2001), Western Union 1 & 2 (2007) and Europe in My Heart (2013).