'All migrants gatz pay smuggler... but for women na sex dem dey expect'

Esther bin dey sleep for street for Lagos wen one woman come meet am say she get connect to comot am from Nigeria, give am job and house for Europe.

She bin dey dream of beta life, especially for di UK. As pesin wey dem don alreadi drive comot abusive foster home, notin really dey for her for Nigeria. But wen she comot Lagos for 2016, cross desert to Libya, she bin no know say she don buy market to enta forced sex work and years of asylum claims from kontri to kontri.

Most of irregular migrants or asylum seekers na men, di European Agency for Asylum put am at 70% but di number of women like Esther wey dey enta Europe to find asylum don dey increase.

Irini Contogiannis from di International Rescue Committee for Italy tok say, "we dey see increase for women wey dey travel alone for both di Mediterranean and di Balkan routes".

Dia 2024 report bin torchlight year rise of 250% for di amount of single adult women wey dey enta Italy from di Balkan route as families bin grow by 52%.

Migrants routes dey well known say dem dey dangerous. Last year, 3,419 migrant deaths or disappearances for Europe bin dey recorded by di International Organization for Migration (IOM) wey be di deadliest year on record.

But for women, sexual wahala follow add for dia kasala. Na wetin Esther face afta di woman wey promise am beta life run am street.

Esther tok say, "she bin lock me inside one room and carry man come. E nack me by force, I still be virgin. Na wetin dem dey do... dem go go different villages for Nigeria to carry young girls enta Libya as sex slaves."

Ugochi Daniels from di IOM tell di BBC say "dia experiences dey different and normally more risky. Even women wey dey waka in groups, no normally get total protection, wey fit leave dem open to smugglers, traffickers or oda migrants".

Many women sabi di risk but dey go anyway, and dey carry condoms or even put contraceptive devices for diasef in case dem rape dem for road.

Hermine Gbedo of di anti-trafficking network Stella Polare tok say "all migrants gatz pay smuggler. But for women di expectation na nacks as part of payment".

Ms Gbedo dey support women migrants for Triste, wey be port city for di north-east of Italy. Dis place don turn crossroads of culture and be major entry point to di European Union for dose wey dey cross from di Balkans. From here dem fit continue dia waka go kontris like Germany, France and di UK.

Afta four months wey dem don run her street for Libya, Esther escape come cross di Mediterranean for one rubber dinghy wia Italian coast guard rescue am from and carry am go di island of Lampedusa.

She claim asylum three times bifor dem give am refugee status.

Asylum seekers from kontris wey dey seen as safe normally dey rejected. But dat time Italy bin see Nigeria as unsafe till two years ago wen dem change di assessment becos govment across Europe start to dey tight dia riles sake of di migrant waka growth of 2015-2016. Since den more voice don dey call for more restrictions for asylum claims.

Nicola Procaccini, wey be MP for Giorgia Meloni right wing govment tok say, "e dey impossible to sustain mass migration. We fit guarantee safe life for women wey really dey in danger but no be all of dem".

Rakib Ehsan, wey be Senior Fellow for di conservative think tank Policy Exchange warn say, "we gatz get coconut head. We gatz prioritise women and girls wey dey for wia kasala dey, and wia dem fit rape dem as weapons of war".

E argue say e no dey happun now and even though e say e feel bad for women wey dey face di dangerous road to enta Europe, "di key na controlled compassion".

But many women wey dey go from kontris we dey seen as safe dey claim say di abuse wey dem get becos of dia gender mean say dem no fit live for dia home kontri like 28 year old Nina, for Kosovo.

She tok say, "pipo tink say evritin dey well for Kosovo but no be so. Tins dey terrible for women".

Nina say her and her sister bin dey sexually abused by di boyfriends wey force dem enta sex work.

One 2019 report for di Europe OSCE security organisation bin suggest say 54% of women for Kosovo don face psychological, physical or sexual violence since dem dey 15 years.

Women wey dey face kasala becos of gender-based violence fit get asylum for di Council of Europe Istanbul Convention and don dey backed by EU top court ruling last year. Di Convention list gender-based violence as psychological, physical and sexual as well as female genital mutilation (FGM).

But charity groups say di terms no dey consistently applied.

Marianne Nguena Kana, Director of End FGM European Network tok say, "plenti asylum officials for di field na men wey no get enough training for how to deal wit dat delicate issue [like female genital mutilation] both medically and psychologically".

She add say many women asylum claims don dey denied becos dem go through FGM on di mistaken thinking say becos dem don alreadi do am, no more risk dey.

Nguena Kana say, "we don get judges wey say, "dem don alreadi mutilate you so e no dey dangerous again for you to go back your konti cos no be like dem go fit do am to you again".

For sexual kasala cases, Carenza Arnold from UK charity Women for Refugee Women tok say e dey harder to prove as e no get di same scar as physical torture.

Arnold explain say, "women dey normally rushed through di process and fit neva tok di sexual violence wey dem don suffer give immigration officer wey dem just dey meet".

Di International Organization for Migration tell di BBC say many of di violence wey women dey face dey take place during di journey.

Ugochi Daniels say "women dey normally run from sexual violence from dia partners for dia kontri, den for di waka to escape, dem go kon face di same tin again".

Dis na wetin Nina and her sister face as dem dey run from dia abusive partners for Kosovo for new life for Italy. Dem travel wit oda women dey trek for inside di forests of Eastern Europe so authorities no go see dem. Na dia dem say male migrants and smugglers bin attack dem.

Nina remember am tok say, "even though we bin dey up for mountains for di dark, you fit still hear di screams. Di men go come meet us wit torch, shine am for our face carry who dem want enta deeper for di forest.

"For night, I fit hear as my sister dey cry dey beg for help."

Nina and her sister tell Italian authorities say if dem go back house, dia ex boyfriends go kill dem. Dem later give dem asylum.

But for Esther, her waka to get asylum take longer.

She bin first claim asylum for Italy for 2016 but afta she don wait for long, she come move go France, den go Germany wia dem reject her asylum claims becos according to di EU Dublin regulation, na di first EU kontri wey asylum seeker enta na wia dem suppose apply.

Na wetin carry her go back Italy wia dem finally give am refugee status for 2019.

Almost ten years afta she comot Nigeria, she still dey reason weda her life now worth all di wahala wey e bin take am to get dia. She say, "I no even know why I come dis place".