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Abstract
Prostitution is commonly described in doctrinal literature as a prototypical “victimless crime”; a consensual exchange between adults that, on its face, harms no third party. Yet, in contexts marked by poverty, gender inequality and organised trafficking, the victimless label may obscure the exploitation, coercion and public-health harms surrounding commercial sex.
This study critically examines the impact of prostitution‟s criminalisation through the lens of the Edo State Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law 2018. The analysis proceeds in three stages. First, conceptual and theoretical groundwork distinguishes „victimless crimes‟ from offences that produce direct victims; the study positions natural law, Mill‟s harm principle and sociological theory as competing frameworks for normative evaluation. Second, the paper evaluates the 2018 Law alongside the Edo State Criminal Law, the Criminal Code, the Child‟s Rights Act and the VAPP Law, focusing on prohibitions, penal sanctions, victim-protection mechanisms and enforcement modalities. Third, the practical impact of criminalisation is appraised: evidence of enforcement patterns, institutional capacity, stigma, and the tendency for prohibition to drive prostitution underground are weighed against the Law‟s stated objectives of prevention, prosecution and victim rehabilitation.
The study recommends recalibrating the legal response toward a rights-centred, harm-reduction approach: sharpen enforcement against trafficking and procurement, decriminalise consensual adult sex work or regulate it to enable health and labour protections, strengthen victim-centred identification and tackle socio-economic drivers through targeted social policy. Such a balanced path would better align legal instruments with the realities of Edo State, safeguarding human dignity while disrupting trafficking networks.
This study critically examines the impact of prostitution‟s criminalisation through the lens of the Edo State Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law 2018. The analysis proceeds in three stages. First, conceptual and theoretical groundwork distinguishes „victimless crimes‟ from offences that produce direct victims; the study positions natural law, Mill‟s harm principle and sociological theory as competing frameworks for normative evaluation. Second, the paper evaluates the 2018 Law alongside the Edo State Criminal Law, the Criminal Code, the Child‟s Rights Act and the VAPP Law, focusing on prohibitions, penal sanctions, victim-protection mechanisms and enforcement modalities. Third, the practical impact of criminalisation is appraised: evidence of enforcement patterns, institutional capacity, stigma, and the tendency for prohibition to drive prostitution underground are weighed against the Law‟s stated objectives of prevention, prosecution and victim rehabilitation.
The study recommends recalibrating the legal response toward a rights-centred, harm-reduction approach: sharpen enforcement against trafficking and procurement, decriminalise consensual adult sex work or regulate it to enable health and labour protections, strengthen victim-centred identification and tackle socio-economic drivers through targeted social policy. Such a balanced path would better align legal instruments with the realities of Edo State, safeguarding human dignity while disrupting trafficking networks.
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