Main Article Content
Abstract
Commercial sex work or prostitution has been an age-long social vice and all government policies including legislations aimed at its eradication have proved abortive. The more punitive the measure, aimed at preventing prostitution, the more the situation increases. Commercial sex work has transcended the brothels and the streets into every facet of the society. This situation implies that forceful means of preventing prostitution does not solve the problem; rather any measure towards curbing the phenomenon of commercial sex work in Nigeria should be directed to meet the social and economic needs of the practitioners. This paper focuses on reviewing literatures on the concept, causes and forms of prostitution. The paper adopted the functionalist theory as an underpinning to explain the phenomenon of commercial sex work. Recommendations were proffered on ways of preventing commercial sex work in Nigeria.