Sex Work in Nigeria and Switz­er­land: The Clas­hing Nuances

In hijab-inun­dated nort­hern Nigeria, where I grew up, as well as in many other parts of Nigeria, sex and sexua­lity are taboo subjects. Prosti­tu­tion is a ‘night trade’ that is conducted secretly in the darkest of alleys and on the marginal fringes of society. You will barely know the rubrics. Sex work is illegal in Nigeria and sex workers have no legal rights. 

Those who prac­tice the trade do so under great risks and threats to their life and dignity. They could be randomly arre­sted, forced to have sex with law enforce­ment agen­cies to be granted back their freedom, and abused verbally and physi­cally by members of the conser­va­tive and tradi­tional commu­ni­ties in Nigeria.

Many sex workers cannot openly admit that sex work is their day job. The hypo­crisy of the state’s crimi­na­lization of sex work is demon­strated by the reality on the ground: The demand for sex workers is as high as ever and many sex-related insti­tu­tions such as hotels and red-light districts are thri­ving as economic models and sources of liveli­hoods in Nigeria.

Sex work on the liberal market

I became fasci­nated by sex work and the red-light districts in Switz­er­land for certain reasons. One of them were the marked diffe­rences in how sex work is regarded in both count­ries. The lega­lity and libe­ra­lity of sex work in Switz­er­land contrasts sharply with the conser­va­tive nuances it is surrounded with in Nigeria. Here in Switz­er­land, sex is a commo­dity on the liberal market, and legally so!

Another reason for my inte­rest was that Nigeria ranks 4^th on the index of count­ries from which victims traf­ficked for sex work into Switz­er­land origi­nate from. I found myself trying to analyse the marked diffe­rences between sex work in Nigeria and Switz­er­land, and what I found out was lite­rally ‘JAW-DROP­PING’! Every time I make a new disco­very on the issue, I am wide-eyed, like a toddler who just tasted ice-cream for the first time. You know when the combined effects of the cold­ness and sweet­ness hits your brain cells simul­ta­neously? That’s it!

To start with, in this country, like ever­ything Swiss (or most of it), sex work and prosti­tu­tion is envi­sioned to be orga­nised and offi­cial. For how can Switz­er­land be the bastion of freedom and liberty if sex work is illicit? Conse­quently, in 1942 (even before women were allowed to vote!), the govern­ment made the decision to lega­lize prosti­tu­tion – while pimping and forcing people to prosti­tute them­selves still remained illegal.

Surprised family members

I love to tell my family about life in Switz­er­land. But imagine the surprise when I told my tradi­tion-focused mother that there are licensed brot­hels here, and that you can use your flat, hotel, or Airbnb-apart­ment as a brothel, as long as not more than 5 people are selling sex at the same time. Or can you imagine the bewil­der­ment of my extre­mely conser­va­tive father when I causally mentioned to him that some prisoners are allowed to visit prosti­tutes as part of ‘social therapy’? The look on his face was EPIC!

In the middle of exchan­ging gossip on the family WhatsApp group, I explained that sex workers here, unlike in Nigeria, have the same funda­mental rights regar­ding their working condi­tions as other workers. The number of surprised emojis that began flying on the chat was immense.

More wide-eyed emojis followed when I shared that sex workers have papers for doing their work, have the right to demand a condom for sex, the right to be protected by the police, the right to demand to be sear­ched by a policewoman during a control check, and the right to refuse to make a state­ment or sign a docu­ment not fully under­s­tood, if and when stopped by the police. 

And just to drive home my surprise package, I added that sex workers are considered ‘self-employed’, so they have to pay taxes and social secu­rity contri­bu­tions and can adver­tise their trade in Swiss news­pa­pers. After this last line, I got calls from aunties and uncles asking really weird questions!! Switz­er­land might be getting some very curious Nige­rian visi­tors soon!

Hypo­crisy and taboos

But the more I delve into the topic, I also realize: Just because sex workers have rights in Switz­er­land, it doesn’t mean that they are always upheld. As in Nigeria, the hypo­crisy is evident in the reality on the ground. Many sex workers operate in preca­rious situa­tions, which have only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic and have not been alle­viated since. And even though sex work is gene­rally legal, it is not treated like any other job. 

Until 2021, sex workers could not legally pursue a customer who refused to pay. The absurd reason being: the contract was considered „immoral“. And even the police, who are supposed to protect sex workers like any other person, often put them at risk. Just a few months ago, it was reve­aled that a police officer in Geneva alle­gedly raped and threa­tened a sex worker. Instead of assi­sting her after the assault, it is said that the other offi­cers at the station protected their colleague.

As I continue to live this Swiss life the Naija way, the mora­lity of Switzerland’s lega­lization of prosti­tu­tion conti­nues to clash in my mind with all the prior notions I had about the trade. I have tons and tons of questions: Does lega­li­zing prosti­tu­tion before lega­li­zing voting for women in 1971 demon­strate what the role of women should be in Switz­er­land? Is justi­fying its lega­lization with protec­ting the women who ply the trade enough? Also, is rest­ric­ting sex workers to plying their trade in ‘sex booths’ a disgu­ised way of putting sex workers out of sight? Does this then mean that in some ways (some­what similar to Nigeria), sex work may also be taboo in Switz­er­land? My list of questions could go on and on...