Prostitution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Prostitution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is legal but related activities are prohibited. [1] [2] The Congolese penal code punishes pimping, running a bawdy house or brothel, the exploitation of debauchery or prostitution, as well as forced prostitution. [3] Activities that incite minors or promote the prostitution of others have been criminalised. [4] The government does little to enforce the law. [5] During the colonial era and the years that followed independence, the Ministry of Health issued calling cards identifying professional sex workers and provided them with medical health checks. However, this system was abandoned in the 1980s. Public order laws are sometimes used against sex workers. [2] Street prostitutes report harassment, violence and extortion from the police. [2] UNAIDS estimated there are 2.9 million sex workers in the country. [6]

Contents

Food insecurity and extreme poverty are now the main reasons why women in the DRC become prostitutes. [7] Traders make up the majority of clients, along with officials working for national and international NGOs. Many sex workers earn between $2 and $5 and payment is sometimes made in the form of food or other goods. Prostitutes working in bars and nightclubs receive between $10 and $20, [8] and are known as "Londoners" as they dress like British girls on a Saturday night out. [9] "VIP prostitution" operates from hotels, with sex workers earning between $50 and $100. [8] [10] Some Congolese prostitutes are from abroad or homeless children who have been accused of witchcraft. [11] [12]

HIV

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) was one of the first countries in Central Africa to recognize HIV, registering cases of HIV among hospital patients as early as 1983. UNAIDS reported in 2016 that there was an HIV prevalence of 5.7% amongst sex workers, [13] compared with 0.7% amongst the general population. [14] There is a reluctance to use condoms amongst the clients of sex workers, and will pay double the price for unprotected sex. [9] Médecins Sans Frontières distribute condoms to sex workers and encourage their use. [9]

Child prostitution

Child prostitution is a problem in the country but is generally ignored by the authorities. NGOs such as Association de Solidarité Internationale (ASI) and Reiper work to try and alleviate the problem. [15]

There is evidence of sexual abuse of children by soldiers during the Continental and Civil wars. [5] Between 2004 and 2008 there were 140 recorded instances of Congolese, Indian and UN Peace Corps soldiers paying for sex with children, with local criminal gangs being implicated. [5]

Child prostitution in the country takes many forms: [5]

Sex trafficking

The DRC is a source, destination, and transit country for women, and children subjected to sex trafficking. Women and girls were forced to marry or serve as sex slaves for members of some armed groups. Some street children are suspected to be exploited in sex trafficking. An NGO reported some families send their children to Kinshasa, after being promised educational opportunities for the children; however, upon arrival, the children are subjected to sex trafficking. Some Congolese women and girls subjected to forced marriage are highly vulnerable to sex trafficking. Congolese women and children migrate to other countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, where some are exploited in sex trafficking. [16]

The 2006 sexual violence statute (Law 6/018) prohibits sexual slavery, sex trafficking, and child and forced prostitution and prescribes penalties ranging from five to 20 years imprisonment. [16]

The United States Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons ranks the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a Tier 3 country. [16]

See also

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Prostitution in Guatemala is legal but procuring is prohibited. There is an offence of “aggravated procuring” where a minor is involved. Keeping a brothel is not prohibited.

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 Georgia is illegal but widespread, particularly in the capital, Tbilisi. Many NGO's attribute this to the harsh economic conditions according to the US State Department. Prostitution occurs on the streets, in bars, nightclubs, hotels and brothels. UNAIDS estimate there are 6,525 prostitutes in Georgia.

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 Guyana is illegal but widespread. Prostitution law is antiquated and dates from the colonial era. Law enforcement is inconsistent and sex workers report violence and abuse by the police. Many turn to prostitution for economic reasons and the lack of other job opportunities. Prostitution continues to receive greater public attention due to the high incidence of HIV/AIDS among prostitutes. Prostitution in the country is separated into three types: "uptown", servicing affluent clients, "downtown", servicing the working classes, and mining sites. UNAIDS estimate there to be 6,000 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 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.

Prostitution in Eswatini is illegal, the anti-prostitution laws dating back to 1889, when the country Eswatini was a protectorate of South Africa. Law enforcement is inconsistent, particularly near industrial sites and military bases. Police tend to turn a blind eye to prostitution in clubs. There are periodic clamp-downs by the police.

Prostitution in Uzbekistan is illegal, but prostitution has increased within the country since the collapse of the Soviet Union. UNAIDS estimated there to be 22,000 sex workers in the country in 2019. Many of the women have turned to prostitution in Uzbekistan because of poverty.

Prostitution in Tajikistan is legal, but related activities such as soliciting, procuring and brothel keeping are prohibited. Prostitution has increased within the country since the collapse of the Soviet Union. UNAIDS estimate there are 14,100 female sex workers in Tajikistan. Government official figures for 2015 were 1,777 prostitutes and 194 brothels. Prostitution occurs on the streets and in bars, restaurants, nightclubs and saunas, and HIV prevalence is 3.5% amongst sex workers.

Prostitution in Madagascar is legal, and common, especially in tourist areas. Related activities such as soliciting, procuring, living off the earnings of prostitution or keeping a brothel are prohibited. Public Order laws are also used against prostitutes. There are recent laws against "consorting with female prostitutes". People caught paying for sex with children under 14 can face criminal penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment. This is strictly enforced against foreign tourists. As well as in the tourist areas, prostitution also occurs around the mining towns of the interior such as Ilakaka and Andilamena. It was estimated that there were 167,443 sex workers in the country in 2014.

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 Guinea-Bissau is common and there are no prostitution laws. In 2016 it was estimated there were 3,138 prostitutes in the country. Often it is associated with other crimes: Many pimps are also reported to be drug dealers. Poverty leads many women to be tempted into prostitution and cocaine addiction.

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 Chad is illegal but common, especially in the urban centres and the south of the country. UNAIDS estimates there are 1,200 prostitutes in the country. Many are from Cameroon.

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.

References

  1. ↑ "The Legal Status of Prostitution by Country". ChartsBin. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Sex Work Law - Countries". Sexuality, Poverty and Law. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  3. ↑ Hilhorst, D; Mashanda, M; Bahananga, M; Mugenzi, R; Mwapu, I (1 January 2016). "Women engaging in transactional sex and working in prostitution: Practices and underlying factors of the sex trade in South Kivu, the Democratic Republic of Congo" (PDF). Gov.uk. Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  4. ↑ "Democratic Republic of the Congo". US State Department . Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "The Legal Regime Of Prostitution in the African States" (PDF). Ftp.repec.org. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  6. ↑ "Sex workers: Population size estimate - Number, 2016". www.aidsinfoonline.org. UNAIDS. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  7. ↑ "DRC women forced into prostitution to survive". Iol.co.za. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Forced prostitution in the Democratic Republic of Congo : Likelihood of harm to women who return to DRC" (PDF). Ecoi.net. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 Barkham, Patrick (19 December 2005). "Unprotected sex pays double, so poverty helps spread of HIV". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  10. ↑ Freedman, Jane (9 March 2016). Gender, Violence and Politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Routledge. ISBN   9781317129851 . Retrieved 26 January 2017– via Google Books.
  11. ↑ "Chinese prostitutes resist effort to rescue them from Africa". Times Live . Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  12. ↑ "Congo's street kids choose prostitution over death". Radio Netherlands Worldwide . Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  13. ↑ "HIV prevalence amongst sex workers". www.aidsinfoonline.org. UNAIDS. 2016. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  14. ↑ "Democratic Republic of the Congo 2017 Country Factsheet". www.unaids.org. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
  15. ↑ Higgs, Johanna (28 December 2016). "In Congo Republic, Struggling Efforts to Get Child Prostitutes Off the Street". PassBlue. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  16. 1 2 3 "2017 Trafficking in Persons Report - Congo, Democratic Republic of the". US Departement of State. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
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