Summary
Prostitutes are uniquely vulnerable to femicide due to the lethal combination of societal stigma, legal criminalisation, and occupational hazards, which allow perpetrators to target them with impunity.
On 29th June 2025, as reported by Punch, a male customer murdered a prostitute following a violent altercation at a brothel in the Cathedral area of Akure in Ondo State. The dispute began when the customer demanded a refund of ₦15,000, claiming dissatisfaction with the service after the woman complained of being weak during intercourse. According to eyewitnesses, the situation escalated into a heated verbal and physical confrontation, which unfortunately led to the man murdering her.
On May 5, 2025, the Ekiti State High Court delivered a judgment for the murder of a prostitute, Comfort James. The judge, Justice Olalekan Olatawura, sentenced Isaiah to death for murder, life imprisonment for kidnapping, and 21 years for conspiracy, as the assailant was found guilty on a three-count charge. In his statement, Isaiah admitted to the crime, telling the court he and others tied the victim’s hands and neck. When ransom efforts failed and fearing she had seen their faces, they poured herbicide into her mouth, leading to her death. Punch also reported this story.
It is estimated globally that more than 40 million people work as prostitutes, with 80 per cent of them being female, and the vast majority of buyers of sex being male. Female prostitutes are ostracised, marginalised, and experience every form of discrimination in societies where they operate. Universally, prostitutes have a 45- 75% chance of experiencing sexual violence on the job. This violence very often leads to death, which can be categorised as Femicide.
The Underreported Femicide
According to the United Nations, Femicide is the intentional killing of women and girls because of their gender. It is an extreme manifestation of male violence against women and girls, rooted in misogyny and harmful beliefs and norms. Femicide is generally recognised to have two subcategories, which are: Intimate Partner Violence, which accounts for most of the femicide reports. The other category is non-intimate partner femicide. Although data is limited, it is estimated that, globally, men have killed 89,000 women intentionally in 2022, of which 48,800 were an intimate partner or family member of the victims. In Nigeria alone, DOHS Cares, a non-profit organisation with the initiative to help protect women, children, and vulnerable people from abuse, violence, and exploitation, recorded over 140 Gender Related killings of Women and Girls in the first nine months of 2025. Almost every state in Nigeria recorded a man/group of men murdering a person with a gender motive, characterised by a history of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
These underreported yet alarming numbers arouse any curious mind to investigate the roots of femicide. Why does domestic violence escalate into fatal assaults with male intimate partners and strangers murdering women? A report by Valeria Ogide, an Assistant. Programmes Officer at the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa) points to societal, cultural, and systemic failures as the reason for the growing prevalence of Femicide.
“Weak legal protections, ingrained gender norms, and inadequate law enforcement responses have allowed this violence to persist with little consequence. The normalisation of misogyny and the silencing of victims further exacerbate the issue, creating an environment where perpetrators act with impunity,” she writes.
What becomes the fate of a woman already perceived as a second-class citizen, serving intimacy primarily to a male audience, and whose occupation is deemed shameful because it is dangerous and dangerous because it is shameful?
Why are prostitutes uniquely vulnerable?
Prostitution is laced with mortal peril; according to a UK study, women who sell sex are 18 times more likely to be murdered than women who don’t. An academic study conducted in Abuja, Nigeria, to determine the rate of violence against female prostitutes, reported that more than half of these women experienced gender-based violence within six months. Sexual violence was the most common type, while other forms of violence included physical and psychological violence. They also reported that the main perpetrators of gender-based violence are clients, brothel staff, and policemen.
The earlier recognised UK study took into account the ethnicity of the murdered prostititue and it revealed that since 2010, the percentage of migrant prostitute killed has dramatically increased to 50%, the same number as British-born victims. They traced that this could potentially reflect changes in the overall makeup of the sex industry in the United Kingdom with increasing numbers of migrant workers and simultaneously suggest that offenders are specifically targeting migrants because of their potentially increased vulnerability. An increased likelihood of vulnerability makes a woman more susceptible to femicide. For some women, poverty makes them unable to crawl out of abusive situations, which increases the likelihood that they can become victims of femicide. However, for female prostitute, their occupation is enough to put a target on their backs.
A US study analysed homicide data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) covering 49 US states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico from 2012 to 2020. The study identified 321 sex work-related homicides (54% female and 41% male. Among female victims, 94% were prostitutes, and 54% of their suspects were clients. Female prostitute face an increased risk of violence because of their proximity to criminal activities such as the drug trade and human trafficking. In this study, money conflicts (23%) and other crimes (30%), most often in progress, commonly precipitated homicides of female victims. Substance use problems were reported in 49% of female victims, with 25% of their suspected perpetrators reportedly using substances in the preceding hours.
The stigma and moral judgment associated with prostitution create a harsh reality for women in the sex industry. The murder of Augusta Osedion in July 2023 by her partner, Benjamin Best Nnanyereugo, infamously known as ‘KillaBoi’, exposed the deep-seated hatred many reserved for prostitute. Augusta wasn’t a prostitute, however, after a concocted story by a random twitter (currently known as X) user of how love for materialism led her into the relationship with Killaboi, they were bellowing whistles that she deserved her death as women who go after shiny paraphernalia from men must take whatever they see.
Legal ambiguity, outright criminalisation, and lack of labour rights and protections are major reasons female prostitute remain vulnerable and easy targets of femicide. Vivienne Orji-Jarlath, Esq, a legal practitioner who cares about women’s rights highlighted that particular laws criminalize prostitution in Nigeria. In the north, the Penal Code treats prostitution as an offence under the provisions on idle persons and vagabonds. Section 405 lists a common prostitute who persistently solicits in public as an idle person. Section 406 provides the punishment, which includes imprisonment for up to one year or a fine. The Penal Code also criminalises living on the earnings of prostitution and keeping or managing a brothel.
In the south, there is more of a problem of legal ambiguity, the Criminal Code focuses on exploitation and facilitation. Under section 223, anyone who procures another person for prostitution commits an offence and may face up to two years’ imprisonment. The penalty is higher where force, fraud, or coercion is involved. Section 224 targets anyone who lives on the earnings of prostitution, including pimps and madams. Section 225 makes it an offence to keep, manage, or rent a brothel. The punishment is two years’ imprisonment and possible closure of the premises.
She also recalled a case in 2025, where the Federal High Court rejected a suit by a prostitute in Abuja that sought to “legalise prostitution.” The judge stated prostitution violates public morality and cited the Penal Code as the legal basis for arrest /prosecution, including a possible two-year sentence.
Are the lives of prostitute a lost cause?
Addressing femicide amongst female prostitutes in Nigeria requires urgent and multifaceted action:
First and foremost, there must be decriminalisation or legal clarity. A research, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, reviewed data from more than 130 studies on 33 countries—from Britain to Uganda—published in scientific journals between 1990 to 2018. It found that prostitute who had been exposed to repressive policing like arrest or prison were three times more likely to experience sexual or physical violence by clients, partners, and other people. Those who had not been exposed to such practices were instead half as likely to contract HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and 30 percent less prone to have sex without a condom.
Ololade, the founder of DHOS Cares, believes wholeheartedly that adopting the nordic model will go a long way to bring the deaths to the attention of appropriate authorities and properly hold perpetrators of these heinous crimes accountable. This approach recognise prostitution has inherently harmful to women and propose the decriminalisation of prostitutes, but the criminalisation of male sex buyers and pimps. This holistic approach enables women to safely exit the industry, while criminalising the men who facilitate the trade. Western countries, including Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Canada, have adopted the holistic approach.
After the adoption of the Nordic model comes destigmatisation. Amarachi, the National Coordinator for the Nigerian prostitute Association, in response to an essay by African Women in Media News, proposes ways the stigma for prostitutes can be stifled in our society:
- Launch campaigns to educate the public about the realities of prostitution, challenging misconceptions and stereotypes.
- Encourage the media to portray prostitutes in a respectful and nuanced manner, avoiding sensationalism and stereotypes.
- To sum it up, support prostitute in telling their own stories through various media platforms.
- Beyond the immediate impact on prostitutes themselves, the consequences ripple outward, affecting public health, social cohesion, and economic stability.
Nigeria, like many African countries, has adopted treaties that address gender-based violence, including the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. National laws like the VAPP Act, adopted by many state,s also criminalise violence against women. However, Implementation becomes the biggest burden.
During the investigation and open call for the arrest of Killa Boi, the confessed killer of Augusta, Nigeria authorities displayed a lackadaisical attitude when it came to his arrest. Despite fleeing Nigeria, Nnanyereugo (Killa Boi) was eventually apprehended in Sierra Leone by Augusta’s brother. Still, the Nigerian authorities were sluggish and failed to bring him back to Nigeria to face judgment which led to his escape during an outbreak at the prison where he was held in Sierra Leone. To this day, Augusta’s killer roams the street, a free man, and Augusta, a memory to her loved ones.
Education may be a slow route, but it is a sure one. Many researchers and scholars propose widespread awareness as the solution to femicide. Gender equality education, training police officers on ways to handle delicate issues, prostitutes recognising their right to report abuse as the law covers them as everyone else, and social programs that promote alternative livelihoods. In a study, it was discovered that grassroots education was a viable key to eradicating violence towards prostitutes. This study recorded higher reports of gender-based violence among female prostitutes after the grassroots intervention than at the baseline (before the study), in which most cases of violence were underreported.
Violence against prostitutes is violence against all women
Prostitutes are seen as “immoral” or “undeserving” of protection. There is stigma in media portrayals, community attitudes, and religious narratives, and whether it is favourable to admit it or not, this stigma is borne by every woman alive. Women are more likely to be killed by intimate partners, and when they are not married to the assailant, they become suspects of the grievous immorality of sex work. Whether or not they are found guilty, their stories become branded as such, and they are dismissed. The societal sneer towards the death of a prostitute soon becomes a cross that every woman must carry. If we do not unblur the lives of prostitute and start to report their deaths as something that society should care about, then more femicide cases will remain underreported.
Editor’s Note: This story is produced in fulliment of Naija Feminists Media 2025 Editorial Fellowship as part of its commitment to ensure gender equality in Nigeria and beyond.
