Prostitution in Benin is legal but related activities such as

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

keeping and benefiting from the

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

of others are illegal. UNAIDS estimates there to be about 15,000

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

s 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. Many women enter prostitution for economic reasons. Some young Beninese women learn English so they can go to Nigeria to work as prostitutes as Nigeria has a thriving sex industry. In rural areas widows will discreetly turn to prostitution to support her family. This is a cultural and social tradition that is not regarded as prostitution by the community, but is regarded as a method of preserving the family name. Any children born from these liaisons take the dead husband's name. It's not uncommon for a widow to have five children after her husband has died. HIV,

sex trafficking Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the ...

and

child sex tourism Child sex tourism (CST) is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, which is commercially facilitated child sexual abuse. The definition of '' child'' in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is "ev ...

are problems in the country.

Sexual health

As with other

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

n countries, HIV is a problem. Sex workers are amongst the high risk groups. Clients are often soldiers and truck drivers. Because of their travelling, if they become infected, potentially they spread the infection over a wide area. In 1992, a prevention project, supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was implemented among sex workers in the largest city,

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

. This saw

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...

use increase and HIV amongst sex workers fall from 53.3% in 1993 to 30.4% in 2008. The prevalence of other

STIs The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) is a spectrograph, also with a camera mode, installed on the Hubble Space Telescope. Aerospace engineer Bruce Woodgate of the Goddard Space Flight Center was the principal investigator and crea ...

also fell significantly in the same period: gonorrhoea 43.2 to 6.4% and chlamydia 9.4 to 2.8%. The NGO, Centre d'Etudes, de Recherches et d'Interventions pour le Développement (CERID), provides sex workers with free medical treatment and counselling. UNAIDS reported in 2016 that the HIV prevalence amongst sex workers in the country was 15.7%.

Sex trafficking

Benin is a source, transit, and destination country for women, children subjected to sex trafficking. Most identified victims are Beninese girls subjected to sex trafficking in Cotonou and across Benin's southern corridor. Togolese girls are exploited in commercial sex in Benin. Cases of child sex tourism involving both boys and girls along the coast and within the department of Mono have been reported in previous years. A 2016 survey conducted in the cities of Cotonou in southern Benin and

Malanville Malanville is a city, arrondissement and commune in the Alibori Department of northeastern Benin, located across the River Niger from Niger. It is known as a centre of cross-border trade and has a major market. Malanville is also a centre for rice ...

in northern Benin indicated that girls are subjected to sexual exploitation, including potential sex trafficking, in these two cities. The department of Oueme in southeast Benin was reportedly a primary area of recruitment for

child trafficking Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour and exploitation. ...

victims subsequently exploited in the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

. Most child victims intercepted in Benin, either from Benin or other West African countries, are exploited or en route to exploitation within the country. Benin is the largest source country for trafficking victims in the Republic of the Congo; Beninese victims are also subjected to trafficking in Nigeria, Gabon, and Lebanon. West African women are exploited in commercial sex in Benin. Young Beninese women are recruited from Benin by unlicensed Beninese and Lebanese recruiters for domestic work in Lebanon and Kuwait; reportedly, some are forced into commercial sex. OCPM reports that traffickers no longer travel with child victims being moved internally or to nearby countries. Victims now travel alone and are met by traffickers or their accomplices once they reach their destination. This tactic makes investigations more difficult. Existing laws do not prohibit all forms of trafficking. The 2006 Act Relating to the Transportation of Minors and the Suppression of Child Trafficking (act 2006-04) criminalizes child trafficking but focuses on movement of children rather than their ultimate exploitation and prescribes penalties of six months to two years imprisonment or fines if children are moved for the purpose of labor exploitation; these penalties are not sufficiently stringent. The penal code outlaws procuring or offering a person for prostitution and the facilitation of prostitution with punishments of six months to two years imprisonment. None of these punishments are sufficiently stringent or commensurate with punishments prescribed for other serious crimes. Comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation that would criminalize all forms of trafficking, including the trafficking of adults, has been pending MOJ review since September 2012. The United States Department of State

Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP) is an agency within the United States Department of State charged with investigating and creating programs to prevent human trafficking both within the United States and internation ...

ranks Benin as a ' Tier 2' country.

References

{{Benin topics Society of Benin Benin Benin