Life inside a dingy brothel in Lagos where most of the sex workers are HIV positive (Photos). ( MUST READ)

A photo documentary of the life of prostitutes living in very poor conditions in Badia, a Lagos slum, shows a surge in the number of women who have now taken to the sex trade in order to combat the worsening economic situation in the country.

The photos which were taken by photographer Ton Koene show most of the prostitutes in their abode, a few of them applying makeup as they prepared for their clients.

Some of the sex workers are as young as 14-years-old Reports from Koene as told by Dailymail reveals that the sex workers entertain up to 5 clients on a daily basis.

Sadly, most of the sex workers do not insist on safe sex and as such, nearly a quarter of them are living with HIV. To explain how severe the situation is, Koene revealed that his driver made a comment about how "If you arrive by car, you can smell the HIV virus outside."

Over 1.2 million people are reportedly living with HIV in Lagos alone and this is believed to be so because of the cultural barrier keeping women from getting access to prevention tools and also due to women being shamed if a condom is found with them.

According to a study carried out by Iranian Journal of Public Health with regards to HIV prevalence in Lagos, a father of three revealed that he thinks it improper for a woman to carry a condom.

He said:

"Any woman, including my wife who tells her husband about it or gets it for them to use needs to be questioned. In short, she should be seriously sanctioned."

Reactions following this documentary posted on Dailymail is quite embarrassing for Nigeria with some of them noting that it was only a matter of time before those women began trooping into their country to seek refuge. Billboy from Newscastle, United Kingdom, wrote;