“I am not the type that somebody will oppress. Somebody like me, you cannot bring me down.” Tensions and Paradoxes in Sex Trafficking. An Ethnographic Exploration of Nigerian Street Walkers and Madams in Spain

Abstract

Background and purpose: this thesis centres on the understanding that assumptions and norms about human trafficking are mainly driven by Northcentric anti-trafficking strategies geared to meeting their own socioeconomic and political priorities. These strategies reduce the complexities and variations of irregular migratory phenomena to simplified and stereotyped representations, and perpetuate hegemonic anti-trafficking notions of passivity and victimhood. Migration and trafficking scholars call for research into the fine-grain detail of irregular sex work economies to widen the limited scope and inclusivity of concepts currently associated with sex trafficking, and develop more appropriate forms of understanding and response. I seek to address these calls by exploring in depth the lived experiences of an under-researched irregular migrant sex work population. Methods: nineteen Nigerian, Edo women working as prostitutes and Madams on the streets of a Spanish industrial estate participated in this long-term ethnographic study. It spanned five years of field preparation and five more in research, including observation and interactive engagement across settings. I adapted the recursive steps of reflexive thematic analysis to develop two data themes (Migrating from Nigeria, Resettling in Spain) and three contextual lenses (Social Systems, Power Dynamics, Faith Norms). These steps resonated with 'patchwork’ ethnography guidelines for sex trafficking research. I employed Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance Theory (CDT; 1957) to help manage and understand shifting sensemaking and decision-making phenomena. Results: eight paradoxes through the findings reflected the women navigating socioeconomic migration intentions and using psychological strategies and tools. I did not originally intend to add conceptual insights to the theoretical framework in this study. However, the women’s data provided lived perspectives and exemplars of CDT and self-concept and induced compliance dynamics; and challenged rather than endorsed the theory. Conclusion: the findings offer unique insights into a marginalised migrant sex work economy across wide-ranging psychosocial, sexual, cultural, and spiritual phenomena. They provide timely, much-needed diversity, depth, and richness of contribution to the above growing body of qualitative research on migrant sex work and scholarly force for change in the anti-trafficking arena; and to discussions on CDT. Future research will centre on university-level anti-trafficking education (i.e., developing critical reflection as a transformative tool and placing lived experiential perspectives at its centre).