Prostitution in Angola

Prostitution in Angola is illegal[1][2] and prevalent since the 1990s.[3] Prostitution increased further at the end of the civil war in 2001.[4] Prohibition is not consistently enforced. Many women engage in prostitution due to poverty.[5] It was estimated in 2013 that there were about 33,000 sex workers in the country.[6] 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.[7]

Prostitution is widespread in the oil-rich Cabinda Province,[4] where many American and other foreign nationals work.[8] Women from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo cross the porous border to earn money in the enclave as prostitutes.[4] Some of the police in the area are corrupt and deport the women if they do not pay the bribes required.[4] The most famous bar/brothel in the enclave is Berlita in Cabinda city's Comandante Jika neighbourhood. It is named after its late owner, a sex worker.[4] Prostitution is also common in the diamond mining areas.[3][9]

The Ministry of Family and Women Promotion (MINFAMU) maintains a women's shelter in the capital, Luanda, that is open to former prostitutes.[5]

Child prostitution is a problem in the country.[3][9][10]

  1. ^ "The Legal Status of Prostitution by Country". ChartsBin. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  2. ^ "100 Countries and Their Prostitution Policies". Procon. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Pehrsson, Kajsa; Cohen, Gabriela; Ducados, Henda; Lopes, Paulette (April 2000). "Towards Gender Equality in Angola" (PDF). IDA. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Amgola: Sex work in separatist Cabinda". The New Humanitarian. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Angola 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 5 January 2018.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ "Sex workers: Population size estimate - Number, 2016". UNAIDS. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Sex trade chase the dollar into Angola". New Era Newspaper Namibia. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  8. ^ Eviatar, Daphne (12 April 2004). "Africa's Oil Tycoons". National Magazine. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  9. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference state19 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Oyebade, Adebayo O. (2007). Culture and customs of Angola (1. publ. ed.). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0313331473.