A Nigerian lady simply identified as Gift has recounted how being raped led her into prostitution.
Speaking with Chude Jideonwo on the WithChude podcast, Gift said she was drugged and raped by her lover on her birthday.
The lady said her partner abandoned her the moment she told him she was pregnant.
Gift added that in her bid to get an abortion, a friend who assisted her with money for the medical procedure introduced her to prostitution.
The lady said since she could not pay back, her friend, who she later discovered was a sex worker, “made me sign an agreement to do whatever she says.”
“I’m from a polygamous family and after I lost my mom in 2013, I fell in love with a guy. He was requesting for sex but I told him to be patient if he truly loves me,” she said.
“In 2013 during my birthday, I went to his house and I was given wine to drink. When I finally woke up, I was already messed up. I cried but there was nothing I could do.
“After 3 months, I was confirmed pregnant. I called him and told him. He said he needed money for rent and I gave him N30,000. After some days I found out that he packed and I wasn’t aware.
“I told my friend and she advised me to evacuate the pregnancy. My friend had to help me raise the money for an abortion. The abortion was very painful.
“She started disturbing me to pay her back her money and because I didn’t have a job, I told her to tell me what she does for a living and she made me sign an agreement to do whatever she says.
“She told me she’s a sex worker and I was shocked. That was how I started.”
Gift lamented that nothing has changed about the way people write off women who come out to report sexual assault.
“Nothing has changed because some will say why did you dress this way but dressing a certain way doesn’t mean you should rape a person,” she said.
“To me, the judgement has increased. People condemn them and blame them for going.
“People also like to say sex workers are all the same and like money too much and that’s why they don’t want to do anything with their life. Until you ask somebody questions, you don’t know why the person is there.
“Everybody does this for different reasons. Some lost their parents, and nobody to help, and they have younger ones to take care of.
“While some are there because they actually like it and want to satisfy themselves. So you can’t really judge until you know and hear people’s stories.”
