Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Policy and Administration

Advisor

Morris Bidjerano

Abstract

There is a high rate of trafficked girls and women from the Ogwa community in Edo state, Nigeria. The Edo government has developed a top-down centralized approach to the prevention of sex trafficking that has proved largely ineffective. The wholistic involvement of people in the decision-making regarding the strategies to prevent sex trafficking can directly create an impact through policy formulation and implementation. However, few studies have addressed the perspective of parents of vulnerable youth to positively impact the policy outcome on sex trafficking. Hence, the goal of this qualitative narrative inquiry study was to explore the perceptions of parents on existing sex trafficking prevention policies in view of influencing policy outcome. The theoretical framework used for this study was Jones and McBeth's narrative policy analysis framework. Data were collected through face-to-face semistructured interviews with 12 parents of young girls and women, aged 13 to 21. The data were coded inductively and subjected to Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis method. Some themes that emerged from the data included lack of awareness education, community/government dialogue, intersectoral collaboration, and infrastructural development. The findings were interpreted in terms of a participatory policy analysis approach. By giving voice to parents, policymakers are better able to understand the need for citizen participation as a tool for community engagement in ending poverty, which is at the root of sex trafficking. Any intervention that addresses poverty can have a positive implication for social change for the Ogwa community, especially for young girls and women from low income families.

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