Prostitution in Burundi

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Prostitution in Burundi is illegal [1] [2] but is commonplace and on the rise. [3] Prostitution is prevalent in all areas of the country, [4] and especially in the largest city (and former capital), Bujumbura, [5] and prior to the security crisis in 2015, the tourist areas around Lake Tanganyika. [1] UNAIDS estimate there are 51,000 prostitutes in Burundi. [6] Many women have turned to prostitution due to poverty. [3] [4]

Contents

Previously law enforcement made little effort to curb prostitution. [1] Political pressures, including from the mayor of Bujumbura, Freddy Mbonimpa, [7] have led to crackdowns all over the country. [5] [8]

HIV, [9] sex trafficking [10] and child prostitution [11] [12] are problems in the country.

HIV

As with other sub-Saharan African countries, HIV is a problem in Burundi. [13] Sex workers are one of the high risk groups. The Burundi Second Multisectoral HIV/AIDS Project, funded by the World Bank, ran from 2008 to 2011 and worked to increase availability and use of preventive services to high risk groups. [14] HIV prevalence rates amongst sex workers has fallen from 38% in 2007 [14] to 21% in 2016. [9]

Sex trafficking

Burundi is a source country for children and possibly women subjected to sex trafficking. Due to a complex political, economic, and security crisis in 2015, Burundi's fragile economic and security environment created an opportunity for criminals, including traffickers, to take advantage of Burundians in precarious or desperate situations. There is little official data available on abuses committed against Burundi's approximately 60,000 IDPs, 60 percent of whom are younger than age 18 and are highly vulnerable to exploitation. Between April and December 2015, approximately 70,000 Burundians refugees fled to Rwanda, which contributed to an increase in child sex trafficking of both male and female refugees in Rwanda. Burundian refugee girls residing in Rwanda's Kigeme refugee camp were reportedly exploited in sex trafficking in nearby towns. [10]

Traffickers allegedly include victims’ relatives, neighbours, and friends, who recruit them under false pretences to exploit them in forced labor and sex trafficking. Children are fraudulently recruited from rural areas for domestic work and later exploited in sex trafficking, including in Bujumbura. Women offer vulnerable girls room and board within their homes, eventually pushing some into prostitution to pay for living expenses. These brothels are located in poorer areas of Bujumbura, along the lake, on trucking routes, and in other urban centers such as Ngozi, Gitega, and Rumonge. Some orphaned girls are exploited in sex trafficking, with boys acting as their facilitators, to pay for school, food, and shelter. Incarcerated women facilitate commercial sex between male prisoners and detained children within the Burundian prison system. Men from East Africa and the Middle East, as well as Burundian government employees including teachers, police officers and gendarmes, military, and prison officials, are among the clients of Burundian girls in child sex trafficking. Business people recruit Burundian girls for exploitation in sex trafficking in Bujumbura, as well as in Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, [10] and the Middle East. [15] [16] In 2015, Rwandan officials and international and local NGOs reported that Burundian refugee girls were exploited in sex trafficking in Uganda after transiting Rwanda. [10]

The United States Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons ranks Burundi as a 'Tier 3' country. [10]

Related Research Articles

Prostitution in Greece is legal at the age of 18, and regulated. It is estimated that fewer than 1,000 women are legally employed as prostitutes and approximately 20,000 women, half of whom are of foreign origin and the other half are Greek, are engaged in illegal prostitution. Many women affected by the economic crisis have turned to prostitution through poverty.

Prostitution in Senegal is legal and regulated. Senegal has the distinction of being one of the few countries in Africa to legalize prostitution, and the only one to legally regulate it. The only condition that it is done discreetly. Prostitution was first legalised in 1966. UNAIDS estimate that there are over 20,000 prostitutes in the country. The average age for a sex worker in Senegal is 28 years old and female.

Prostitution in Ecuador is legal and regulated, as long as the prostitute is over the age of 18, registered, and works from a licensed brothel. Prostitution is widespread throughout the country. Many brothels and prostitutes operate outside the regulatory system and the regulations have been less strictly enforced in recent years. 25,000 prostitutes were registered in the year 2000. In 2007 it was estimated that 70% of the prostitutes in the country were from Colombia. The country attracts Colombian prostitutes as the currency is the US$ rather than the unstable Colombian peso. UNAIDS estimate there to be 35,000 prostitutes in the country.

Prostitution in Paraguay is legal for persons over the age of 18, but related activities such as brothel keeping are prohibited. Prostitution is common in the country. Brothels are also common, even some rural villages have a small bar/brothel on the outskirts.

Prostitution in Kenya is widespread. The legal situation is complex. Although prostitution is not criminalised by National law, municipal by-laws may prohibit it.. It is illegal to profit from the prostitution of others, and to aid, abet, compel or incite prostitution.. UNAIDS estimate there to be 133,675 prostitutes in the country.

Prostitution in Zambia is legal and common. Related activities such as soliciting and procuring are prohibited. UNAIDS estimate there are 9,285 prostitutes in the capital, Lusaka. Many women turn to prostitution due to poverty. Sex workers report law enforcement is corrupt, inconsistent and often abusive.

Prostitution in Uganda is illegal according to Uganda's 1950 Penal Code, but is widespread despite this. Many turn to prostitution because of poverty and lack of other opportunities. A study of Kampala teachers in 2008 showed that teachers were turning to prostitution to increase their income. A sex worker can earn around USh.1.5 million/= (£439 sterling) per month, whereas this would be a yearly wage for a secondary school teacher. There are many Kenyan prostitutes in the country.

Prostitution in Rwanda is illegal in all aspects. Prostitutes, clients and any involved third parties are criminalised by the country's Penal Code. However, a draft of a new Penal Code that does not prohibit prostitution was presented for debate in the Rwandan Parliament in December 2017.

Prostitution in Burkina Faso is not specifically prohibited by the law, but soliciting and pimping are illegal. Burkinabe society only accepts sexual intercourse within marriage. In 2009, Voice of America reported that the number of prostitutes in Burkina Faso had increased as a result of the country's poverty. The increase in prostitution has given rise to fears of an increase in the number of Burkinabés infected with HIV and AIDS. UNAIDS estimate there to be 31,000 prostitutes in the country.

Prostitution in Tanzania is illegal but widespread. UNAIDS estimate there to be 155,450 prostitutes in the country. Many women and young girls are forced into prostitution due to poverty, lack of job opportunities, culture, and the disintegration of the family unit. Many university students have to turn to prostitution for economic reasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in Africa</span> Overview of the legality and practice of prostitution in Africa

The legal status of prostitution in Africa varies widely. It is frequently common in practice, partially driven by the widespread poverty in many sub-Saharan African countries, and is one of the drivers for the prevalence of AIDS in Africa. Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire permit the operations of brothels. In other countries, prostitution may be legal, but brothels are not allowed to operate. In some countries where prostitution is illegal, the law is rarely enforced.

Burundi is a source country for children and possibly women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of involuntary domestic servitude and forced prostitution. Children and young adults may also be coerced into forced labor on plantations or small farms in southern Burundi, or to conduct informal commerce in the streets. Child labor is very common in agricultural fields where major exports, like tea and coffee, are harvested. Forced labour of children and adults is also very common in mines due to a large market for valuable stones and ores. Many trafficking victims can be found in mines in the northern area of Burundi, especially around Cibitoke. Some traffickers may be family or acquaintances of victims who, under the pretext of assisting underprivileged children with education or with false promises of lucrative jobs, subject them to forced labor, most commonly as domestic servants. While there is little evidence of large-scale child prostitution, “benevolent” older females offer vulnerable younger girls room and board within their homes, and in some cases eventually push them into prostitution to pay for living expenses; extended family members also financially profit from the commercial sexual exploitation of young relatives residing with them. It is most common for the trafficking of victims to remain internal within the country or to extend only to the surrounding countries. Male tourists from Oman and the United Arab Emirates exploit Burundian girls in prostitution. Businessmen recruit Burundian girls for commercial sexual exploitation in Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda, and recruit boys and girls for exploitation in various types of forced labor in Tanzania. Unlike in past years, there were no reports of forced or voluntary recruitment of children into government armed forces or rebel groups during the reporting period. If the trafficking of Burundians does extend externally, it is most common for them to be sent to locations in the Middle East and Western Europe.

Prostitution in Niger is illegal but common in the cities, near mines and around military bases. UNAIDS estimate there are 46,630 sex workers in the country. Many have turned to prostitution because of poverty.

Prostitution in Angola is illegal and prevalent since the 1990s. Prostitution increased further at the end of the civil war in 2001. Prohibition is not consistently enforced. Many women engage in prostitution due to poverty. It was estimated in 2013 that there were about 33,00 sex workers in the country. Many Namibian women enter the country illegally, often via the border municipality of Curoca, and travel to towns such as Ondjiva, Lubango and Luanda to work as prostitutes.

Prostitution in Malawi is legal and prevalent around hotels and bars in urban and tourist areas. Living off the proceeds of prostitution is illegal. In 2015, it was estimated there were 20,000 sex workers in the country.

Prostitution in Benin is legal but related activities such as brothel keeping and benefiting from the prostitution of others are illegal. UNAIDS estimates there to be about 15,000 prostitutes in the country. Most of these are migrants from neighbouring countries, mainly Nigeria, Togo and Ghana. Only 15% of the prostitutes are Beninese. Prostitution occurs on the streets, in bars, restaurants, hotels and brothels. With advent of the smartphone, many prostitutes use apps to make arrangements with clients.

Prostitution in Somalia is officially illegal. There is generally very little voluntary prostitution in the country according to the African Medical Research and Education Foundation (AMREF). UNAIDS estimated there were 10,957 sex workers in Somalia in 2016.

Prostitution in the Central African Republic is legal and commonplace. Procuring or profiting off the prostitution of others is illegal, as is coercing people into prostitution. Punishment is a fine and up to one year in prison, or 5 years if the case involves a minor.

Prostitution in South Sudan is legal but related activities such as soliciting or brothel-keeping are illegal.

Prostitution in Papua New Guinea is generally regarded as illegal but widely practiced with the laws rarely enforced. Prostitution occurs on the streets, in bars, brothels and in logging, mining, and palm oil areas. In 2010 it was estimated there were 2.000 prostitutes in the capital, Port Moresby. The drought in 2016 caused a rise in prostitution. Many of the women have turned to sex work due to poverty or unemployment.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Legal Status of Prostitution by Country". ChartsBin. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  2. ↑ "OHCHR Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women examines the reports of Burundi". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights . 26 October 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Au Burundi, la prostitution est synonyme de Pauvreté". Burundi5 (in French). 14 June 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Au Burundi, la prostitution rime avec pauvreté". Yaga Burundi (in French). 19 August 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Les grands réseaux du vagabondage sexuel à Bujumbura". Bujumbura News (in French). 25 July 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  6. ↑ "Sex workers: Population size estimate - Number, 2016". www.aidsinfoonline.org. UNAIDS. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  7. ↑ Nkurunziza, Dieudonné (8 August 2016). "La maire de Bujumbura lutte est contre la prostitution RTNB Burundi". Radio Télévision Nationale du Burundi (in French). Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "Des Congolais arrêtés au Burundi pour "séjour illégal" et "actes de prostitution"". ARIB (in French). 30 October 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Burundi 2016 Country Factsheet". UNAIDS. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Burundi 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  11. ↑ "Underage prostitutes in Kamenge commune". IWACU English News. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  12. ↑ Arseneault, Michel (25 September 2013). "Hundreds of Burundi girls lured into child prostitution". RFI. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  13. ↑ "HIV infection remains high in Burundi". IWACU English News. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  14. 1 2 "Tackling HIV/AIDS in Burundi". World Bank. 5 January 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  15. ↑ Mateso, Martin (10 November 2017). "Trafic d'êtres humains: un sale business entre le Burundi et les pays du Golfe". France TV Info. (in French). Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  16. ↑ "Burundi girls sold to Arabs as prostitutes". Edge. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
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