This chapter traces the historical roots of contemporary moralising approaches to sex work, focusing on the evolution of anti-trafficking legislation and humanitarian discourse. Beginning with colonial-era sex work laws in Nigeria, the chapter argues that current sexual humanitarian concerns—particularly those surrounding trafficking victims—are not new, but extensions of longstanding efforts to regulate the sexuality of Nigerian women. By examining colonial policies alongside present-day anti-trafficking frameworks in the Global North, the chapter shows how such interventions adopt a moral agenda, often framing sex workers, especially migrants, as subjects in need of control and reform. It critically analyses how anti-trafficking initiatives in Italy frequently rely on North-centric ideals of “good womanhood,” re-educating Nigerian women perceived as victims through radical feminist lenses that cast them as naïve and entirely coerced. These redemptive efforts are selectively applied: women who transition from indentured migrants to madams are excluded from humanitarian concern, revealing how assumptions about gender, sexuality, and agency shape access to rights. Ultimately, the chapter interrogates the supposedly ‘neutral’ categories of “trafficking victim” and “trafficker,” exposing the gendered and moral biases they carry, and illustrating how they help construct sexual borders between the moral doctrines of the Global North and Global South.