Lesotho

Level 1

Same Sexual Activity

Male legal since 2012
Female always legal[61]

Level: 1 Legal

1.Life=Y ; 2.Health=N ; 3.Mental=N ; 4.Rape=N ; 5.Defect=N ; 6.Social=N ;

7.Demand=N ;

Mozambique

Level 2

Same Sexual Activity

Legal since 2015[63][64]

Level: 4

1.Life=Y ; 2.Health=Y ; 3.Mental=Y ; 4.Rape=N ; 5.Defect=N ; 6.Social=N ;

7.Demand=Y ;

Legal

Prostitution (the exchange of sex for money) legal, but brothels are illegal; prostitution is notregulated

Prostitution in Mozambique first became a major issue for the country in the mid-1990s when UN peacekeepers were accused of soliciting child prostitutes.[1][2]

In recent years prostitutes from Zimbabwe have traveled to Mozambique to make money near the gold mines in exchange for money or food due to mass unemployment of their homeland.Prostitution is the principal factor of the diffusion of AIDS.[3][4][5]

Namibia

Level ½

Same Sexual Activity

Male illegal since 1920 (asSouth-West Africa; Not enforced)[39]
 Female always legal[38][65][66]

Level: 5

1.Life=Y ; 2.Health=Y ; 3.Mental=Y ; 4.Rape=Y ; 5.Defect=Y ; 6.Social=N ;

7.Demand=N ;

Legal

Prostitution (the exchange of sex for money) legal, but brothels are illegal; prostitution is notregulated

Prostitution in Namibia is illegal but a highly prevalent common practice.

Legalisation discussion[edit]

A number of prominent groups have called for the legalization or decriminalization of prostitution. In 2005, the Legal Assistance Centre, a Windhoek-based non-profit human rights organization, called for the decriminalization of prostitution as a means of cutting the country's high HIV-AIDSrate as well as a means for maintaining the human rights of the prostitute themselves.[1] Rights not Rescue, a sex workers organization is amongst those calling for decriminalisation.[2]

Many groups in Namibia actively oppose legalization and instead focus on providing skills to former sex workers. Some groups approach the issue from a religious perspective, arguing that Namibia's population is overwhelmingly Christian and therefore should not accept what they consider an immoral profession.[3]

Discussions in Parliament are usually controversial. An outspoken proponent of legalisation isKazenambo Kazenambo, until 2015 Minister of Youth.[4]

South Africa

Level 7 Fully Enabled

Gay Marriage

Legal since 2006

Level: 6 Almost Fully Enabled to terminate unborn children

1.Life=2 ; 2.Health=2 ; 3.Mental=2 ; 4.Rape=2 ; 5.Defect=2 ; 6.Social=2 ;

7.Demand=1 ;

South Africa

Population: 49,052,489

South Africa v. Jordan and others - Summary of Judgment

Prostitution: Illegal

Brothel Ownership: Illegal

Pimping: Illegal

"South Africa's Constitutional Court Wednesday upheld the country's Sexual Offences Act, which classifies prostitution as an illegal profession. Six of the country's top 11 judges favoured retaining and enforcing the Act, which also prohibited the keeping of brothels. The news has been met with dismay by Cape Town's tourism chiefs who wanted the city's sex industry regulated and turned into a major attraction to the city."

"Court Rules that Prostitution Remains Illegal in South Africa," Panafrican News Agency, Oct. 9, 2002

Swaziland

Level ½

Same Sexual Activity

Male illegal since the 1880s
Female always legal[38][39]

Level: 1 Legal

1.Life=Y ; 2.Health=N ; 3.Mental=N ; 4.Rape=N ; 5.Defect=N ; 6.Social=N ;

7.Demand=N ;

Illegal

Prostitution in Swaziland

Prostitution in Swaziland is illegal, and police continue to enforce the law,[1] although they sometimes turn a blind eye to prostitution in clubs.[2]

According to the U.S. Department of State, Swaziland is a source, destination, and transit country for women and children trafficked internally and transnationally for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labor in agriculture. Swazi girls, particularly orphans, are trafficked internally for commercial sexual exploitation and domestic servitude in the cities of Mbabane and Manzini, as well as to South Africa and Mozambique. Some Swazi women are forced into prostitution in South Africa and Mozambique after voluntarily migrating to these countries in search of work. Chinese organized crime units acquire victims in Swaziland and traffic them to hubs in Johannesburg, where they “distribute” victims locally or send them on to be exploited overseas. Traffickers force Mozambican women into prostitution in Swaziland, or else transit Swaziland with their victims en route to South Africa.[3]

The Swaziland AIDS Support Organisation has recommended that prostitution be legalized in Swaziland, in order to allow it to be regulated.[4]

Zimbabwe

Level ½

Same Sexual Activity

Male illegal since 1891 (asRhodesia)
Female always legal[38][39]

Level: 4

1.Life=Y ; 2.Health=Y ; 3.Mental=N ; 4.Rape=Y ; 5.Defect=Y ; 6.Social=N ;

7.Demand=N ;

Illegal

Prostitution in Zimbabwe and related acts, including solicitation, procuring, and keeping a brothel, are illegal[1][2] but thriving.[3][4] The country's dire economic situation has forced many women into sex work.[5] (Ncube 1989)

Bermuda
(Overseas territory of the United Kingdom)

Level 4

Same Sex Sexual Activity

Legal since 1994 (age of consent discrepancy)
+ UN decl. sign.[38]

Level:

1.Life= ; 2.Health= ; 3.Mental= ; 4.Rape= ; 5.Defect= ; 6.Social= ;

7.Demand= ;

Canada

Level 7 Fully Enabled

Legal in some provinces and territories since 2003,
nationwide since 2005.[75]

Level: 7 Fully Enabled to terminate unborn children

1.Life=Y ; 2.Health=Y ; 3.Mental=Y ; 4.Rape=Y ; 5.Defect=Y ; 6.Social=Y ;

7.Demand=Y ;

Canada

Fully prostitution enabled,

Population: 35,540,400
(as of July 1, 2014)

Canadian House Bill C-36

Prostitution: Limited Legality
Selling sex is legal, but buying sex became illegal on Dec. 6, 2014. Buyers face a minimum $500 fine and up to five years imprisonment.

Brothel Ownership: Legal

Pimping: Illegal

"Bill C-36 — dubbed the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act — discourages and criminalizes those who create a demand for prostitution. The government has maintained all along that once passed into law, the prostitution bill will mean safer conditions for sex workers.

The federal government introduced the bill after the Supreme Court of Canada struck down in a unanimous decision the previous law as unconstitutional, giving the Conservatives one year to rewrite legislation...

A group advocating for the rights of sex workers said the law comes into force despite efforts to convince the government of the link between the criminalization of prostitution and violence against sex workers.

'December 6th will be especially sad for sex workers this year,' said Emily Symons, chair of POWER, in a written statement on Friday.

'The deeply flawed and misleadingly named Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act not only reintroduces laws deemed unconstitutional in a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court only one year ago — it actually makes them worse.' "

Susana Mas, "Prostitution Law Comes into Force on Day of Action on Violence against Women," cbc.ca, Dec. 6, 2014

Greenland
(Constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark)

Almost Fully Enabled

Legal since 2015

Level:

1.Life= ; 2.Health= ; 3.Mental= ; 4.Rape= ; 5.Defect= ; 6.Social= ;

7.Demand= ;

Saint Pierre et Miquelon
(Overseas collectivity of France)

Level 7 Fully Enabled

Gay Marriage

Legal since 2013[105]

Level:

1.Life= ; 2.Health= ; 3.Mental= ; 4.Rape= ; 5.Defect= ; 6.Social= ;

7.Demand= ;

Belize

Level ½

Same Sexual Activity

Male illegal since 2003
Penalty: 10-year prison sentence (not enforced)
Female always legal.[38]

Level: 5

1.Life=Y ; 2.Health=Y ; 3.Mental=Y ; 4.Rape=N ; 5.Defect=Y ; 6.Social=Y ;

7.Demand=N ;

Belize

Fully prostitution enabled,

Population: 307,899

Belize

Population: 307,899

Prostitution: Legal

Brothel Ownership: Illegal

Pimping: Illegal

"The law does not explicitly address adult prostitution, and the government did not use law enforcement resources to combat prostitution. Loitering for the purposes of prostitution, operating a brothel, and soliciting sex are illegal...

There were no reliable estimates of the extent of trafficking. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, working with the Ministry of Human Development, indicated 70 victims of trafficking in persons were identified through year's end. Sixty-five of the victims comprised one trafficking case. There were reports that women were trafficked to the country from neighboring countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, primarily for prostitution and nude dancing. NGOs reported that persons in the commercial sex trade appeared to be in the country (and in their current occupation) by choice, usually at the suggestion of a friend or family member who was also engaged in commercial sex work. Victims generally lived in squalid conditions in the bars where they worked. Some bar owners reportedly confiscated victims' passports."

US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Belize," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009

Costa Rica

Level 3

Recognition of same sex union

Unregistered cohabitation since 2014;
(De facto union pending)[130][131]

Level: 2

1.Life=Y ; 2.Health=Y ; 3.Mental=? ; 4.Rape=N ; 5.Defect=N ; 6.Social=N ;

7.Demand=N ;

Costa Rica

Fully prostitution enabled,

Population: 4,253,877

Prostitution: Legal
Must be over 18 years old and carry a health card showing how recently they had a medical check-up.

Brothel Ownership: Legal

Pimping: Illegal

"Costa Rica can be hard. And it can be easy. It can be perturbing and paradisiacal. It can be restrictive: No nudity on the beach. And it can be permissive: Prostitution is legal. The country has a split personality and the ironies make the 'rich coast' even richer."

Linton Weeks, "On the Edge in Costa Rica,"Washington Post, Oct. 24, 2004

 El Salvador

Level 4

Same Sexual Activity

Legal since the 1800s
+ UN decl. sign.[38]

Level: Undefined

1.Life=N ; 2.Health=N ; 3.Mental=N ; 4.Rape=N ; 5.Defect=N ; 6.Social=N ;

7.Demand=N ;

 El Salvador

Fully prostitution enabled,

Population: 7,185,218

Código Penal Salvadoreño

Prostitution: Legal

Brothel Ownership: Legal

Pimping: Illegal

"Although prostitution is legal, the law prohibits inducing, facilitating, promoting, giving incentives to a person to work as a prostitute, or paying anyone under the age of 18 for sexual services. Prostitution remained common, and there were credible reports that some women and girls were forced into prostitution.

Trafficking in women and girls for purposes of sexual exploitation was a problem. The attorney general reported that it had investigated approximately 80 cases of sexual exploitation."

US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: El Salvador," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009

Guatemala

Level 1

Same sexual activity

Legal since 1800's
+ UN decl. sign.[38]

Level: 1 Legal

1.Life=Y ; 2.Health=N ; 3.Mental=N ; 4.Rape=N ; 5.Defect=N ; 6.Social=N ;

7.Demand=N ;

Guatemala

Fully prostitution enabled,

Population: 13,276,517

Prostitution: Legal

Brothel Ownership: Legal

Pimping: Illegal

"In Guatemala City, a new soccer team is winning fans -- and it's not because they are winning games. Members of the Stars of the Tracks team are prostitutes, who hope to use their growing popularity to call attention to their collective fight for a better life."

"Guatemala City's Prostitute Soccer Team," National Public Radio (NPR), Jan. 12, 2005

Honduras

Level 3

Same Sexual Activity

Honduras Legal since 1899
+ UN decl. sign.[38]

Level: 1 Legal

1.Life=Y ; 2.Health=N ; 3.Mental=N ; 4.Rape=N ; 5.Defect=N ; 6.Social=N ;

7.Demand=N ;

Honduras

Population: 7,792,854

Prostitution: Legal

Brothel Ownership: Illegal

Pimping: Illegal

"Although adult prostitution is legal and relatively widespread, the law prohibits promoting or facilitating for purposes of prostitution. Women were trafficked for sexual exploitation and debt bondage... Trafficking in children for commercial sexual exploitation and child prostitution was a problem...

The country was principally a source and transit country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Women and children were trafficked to Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and also internally, most often from rural to urban settings. Most foreign victims trafficked into Honduras came from neighboring countries. During the year the government returned dozens of trafficking victims from Mexico and Guatemala. In the Tegucigalpa metropolitan area, an estimated several hundred children were victims of commercial sexual exploitation.

Gangs, organized crime, and human smugglers were reportedly among the principal traffickers for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. There were reports that families sold their daughters for purposes of trafficking. On February 9, Emilio Fiallos Pina and his wife Dora Rutilia Sauceda Fiallos were arrested for allegedly selling their nine-year-old daughter to attorney Conrado Zelava Castellon for sexual exploitation."

US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Honduras," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009

Nicaragua

Level 2

Same Sexual Activity

Legal since 2008
+ UN decl. sign.[38]

Level: 1

1.Life=Y ; 2.Health=? ; 3.Mental=N ; 4.Rape=N ; 5.Defect=N ; 6.Social=N ;

7.Demand=N ;

Nicaragua

Fully prostitution enabled,

Population: 5,891,199

Prostitution: Legal

Brothel Ownership: Legal

Pimping: Legal

"Prostitution, which is legal for persons 14 years of age and older, was common, although the law prohibits its promotion, including procurement. In Managua most prostitutes worked on the streets, in nightclubs and bars, or in massage parlors. The law imposes a penalty of five to seven years' imprisonment for convicted sex tourism offenders. The NNP reported no cases of sex tourism during the year...

Child prostitution remained a problem. The law permits juveniles 14 years of age or older to engage in prostitution. The country was a destination for child sex tourism, primarily in Granada and Managua; however, there were no reported cases during the year."

US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Nicaragua," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009

Panama

Level 2

Same Sexual Activity

Legal since 2008
+ UN decl. sign.[38]

Anguilla
(Overseas territory of theUnited Kingdom)

Level 2

Same Sexual Activity

Legal since 2000
+ UN decl. sign.[38]

Level: 4

1.Life=Y ; 2.Health=Y ; 3.Mental=N ; 4.Rape=Y ; 5.Defect=Y ; 6.Social=N ;

7.Demand=N ;

Panama

Fully prostitution enabled,

Population: 3,360,474

Prostitution: Legal

Brothel Ownership: Legal

Pimping: Illegal

"Although prostitution is legal and regulated, with prostitutes required to register and carry identification cards, the majority of prostitutes were not registered. Although 2,650 sex workers were registered with the government, there was no accurate information regarding the number of persons practicing prostitution in the country. Trafficking in women was a problem...

Although the law prohibits trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation, persons were trafficked to, from, and within the country. The PNP Sex Crimes Unit reported that most victims trafficked into the country came from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Central America. The primary destinations for victims trafficked from the country were Jamaica and Europe. Most victims trafficked within the country were women and children trafficked into the sex trade. The PNP Sex Crimes Unit reported that the vast majority of trafficking victims were women older than 18 years.

The principal traffickers in the country were owners of houses of prostitution, and most transnational trafficking occurred using valid travel documents and was conducted through official ports of entry."

US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Panama," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009

Aruba
(Constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)

Level 3

same Sexual Activity

Legal
+ UN decl. sign.[38]

/(Pending)[citation needed]
Same-sex marriages performed in theNetherlandsrecognized.[142]

Level:

1.Life= ; 2.Health= ; 3.Mental= ; 4.Rape= ; 5.Defect= ; 6.Social= ; 7.Demand= ;

Bahamas

Level 2

Same Sexual Activity

Legal since 1991 (age of consent discrepancy)
+ UN decl. sign.[38]

Level: 3

1.Life=Y ; 2.Health=Y ; 3.Mental=Y ; 4.Rape=? ; 5.Defect=? ; 6.Social=N ;

7.Demand=N ;

Bahamas

Population: 309,156

Prostitution: Illegal

Brothel Ownership: Illegal

Pimping: Illegal

"Prostitution is illegal and was not a widespread problem. There are no laws specifically addressing sex tourism. Police officials acknowledged that sex entertainment was a developing industry but did not consider sex tourism a problem...

On November 26, parliament passed legislation specifically addressing trafficking in persons for the first time. The law also prohibits prostitution and the procurement of persons for purposes of prostitution either in or outside the country by force, threats, intimidation, or the administering of drugs. The maximum penalty for trafficking in persons is life imprisonment."

US Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "2008 Human Rights Report: Bahamas," www.state.gov, Feb. 25, 2009

 British Virgin Islands
(Overseas territory of the United Kingdom)

Level 3

Same Sexual Activity

Legal since 2000
+ UN decl. sign.[38]

Level:

1.Life= ; 2.Health= ; 3.Mental= ; 4.Rape= ; 5.Defect= ; 6.Social= ;

7.Demand= ;