Stop Trafficking Africa

The Nigerian sex trafficking network is vast and complex. Frequently victims are targeted by friends of friends and even their own family who then use false promises, violence, threats, lies, debt bondage, juju or other forms of control and manipulation to keep victims involved in the sex industry.

Sex trafficking exists worldwide within diverse and unique sets of venues and businesses, including fake massage businesses, escort services, residential brothels, in public on streets, hostess clubs, international hotels and elsewhere.

Stop Trafficking Africa was founded in 2020 after a chance encounter between HEP founder Angus Thomas and a young Nigerian woman whilst on holiday in Dubai. The woman had been trafficked for sexual exploitation from Benin City in Edo State. After setting up a crowdfunding campaign in the UK, Angus set about rescuing her and the 22 other women in the same apartment. This activity led him to uncover a further four trafficking rings in Dubai in 2020.

The Hope Education Project (HEP) in Ghana was borne out of our direct experience repatriating Nigerian women who were victims of sex trafficking in the United Arab Emirates. Our close involvement in rescuing, repatriating, and supporting these survivors motivated us to work on preventing such tragedies at their source.

On average, it costs $1,000 to rescue and repatriate a single victim of sex trafficking from the UAE to West Africa. By contrast, a five-week SMART Schools cycle for a whole school of 100 pupils, in two classes of 50, costs £661, so human trafficking education can reach far more young people before exploitation happens.