Abstract
This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the theme of trafficking, sexual exploitation and how it affects the characters in Amma Darko’s novels Faceless and Beyond the Horizon. In this essay, the paper argues that Darko’s thematic content in her novels borders on the issues affecting women and children in their immediate environment. In this regard, the paper unravels the fact that social, economic and cultural issues such as sexual exploitation, domestic violence, patriarchy, corruption, and rape are still rife in contemporary African societies as presented in both novels – Faceless and Beyond the Horizon. To this end, psychoanalytic criticism and feminist criticism will be adopted as the theoretical frame work for this analysis. In conclusion, the paper espouses that the existence of a literary work is heavily determined by social situations and that there is a reciprocal relationship between a literary phenomenon and social structures. Thus, it is apposite to say that literature proves very useful in understanding the socio-political situation, the world view and creativity of the writer.