Prostitution in North Macedonia

Prostitution in North Macedonia is legal, though with various restrictions,[1] and common.[2] UNAIDS estimate there are 3588 prostitutes in the country.[3] The Macedonian government is trying to clamp down on prostitution.[4]

STAR-STAR (Association for support of marginalised workers) is a sex worker led support group. Its Executive Board is exclusively made up of sex workers. STAR-STAR was the first sex workers collective in the Balkans.[2]

The country is a major transit point for prostitution to the west.[5][6] The trafficking of women for sex is worth billions in North Macedonia and is considered to be run primarily by Albanian gangsters.[7] The reputed 'kingpin' of sex trafficking, Dilaver Bojku, was murdered by a close range gunshot to the head in August 2017.[8]

  1. ^ "Sex Work Law - Countries". Sexuality, Poverty and Law. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Macedonia". SWAN. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Sex workers: Population size estimate - Number, 2016". www.aidsinfoonline.org. UNAIDS. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Sex Slave Racket Clampdown in Macedonia". peacewomen.org. Archived from the original on 25 January 2004. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Macedonia". U.S. Department of State. 6 March 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  6. ^ Gall, Carlotta (2001-07-28). "Macedonia Village Is Center Of Europe Web in Sex Trade - NYTimes.com". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  7. ^ David Binder; Preston Mendenhall (2013). "Sex, drugs and guns in the Balkans". NBC News. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Macedonian prostitution kingpin shot dead by unknown gunman". Fox News. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2018.