Overview of the legality and practice of prostitution in Botswana
Prostitution in Botswana is not illegal, but laws such as public disorder, vagrancy, loitering and state recognised religious provisions are used to prosecute prostitutes.[1] Related activities such as soliciting and brothel keeping are illegal.[1] Botswana has made proposals to make prostitution legal to prevent the spread of AIDS.[2] However, there has been mass opposition to it by the Catholic Church.
Prostitution is widespread and takes place on the street, bars, hotels, brothels and the cabs of long-distance trucks.[2][3][4]
Law enforcement is weak, inconsistent and corrupt. Sex workers report routine violence and extortion by the police.[1] Police sometimes demand sex or bribes from foreign prostitutes under threat of deportation.[5] Condoms are issued free from health centres, but are often confiscated from sex workers by the police.[2]
The Gaborone West shopping complex and the streets surrounding it, are the main area of prostitution in the capital, Gaborone.[6] The Itekeng ward of Francistown (locally known as 'Doublers') is the main area of prostitution in the city. The majority of the prostitutes in both cities are from Zimbabwe.[6][5][7] In 2013, the Botswana's Ministry of Health estimated there were more than 1,500 Zimbabwean sex workers in the country, mainly in Gaborone, Francistown and Kasane,[8] out of a total of about 4,000 prostitutes in those three areas.[9][10]
Although homosexuality is stigmatised in the country, male prostitution is on the increase in Botswana, especially in Gaborone, Palapye, Francistown, Maun, Kasane and Kazungula.[11]
^ abc"Sex Work Law - Countries". Sexuality, Poverty and Law. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
^ abc"Botswana mulls legalising prostitution to fight HIV". BBC. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
^"Push to legalise prostitution in Botswana". Times Live. Archived from the original on 16 November 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
^"Legalising prostitution will benefit the rich". The Botswana Gazette. Archived from the original on 19 December 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
^ abMosikare, Lebogang (24 March 2016). "Surviving on the proceeds of prostitution". Mmegi Online. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
^ abMooketsi, Lekopanye (23 June 2014). "The sex hub of Gaborone". The Monitor. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
^Jakes, Stephen (1 April 2015). "Zimbabwean women blamed for rampant prostitution in Botswana, as one round costs P20". Bulawayo24 News. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
^Dube, Mtokozisi (3 June 2014). "Sex workers of Gaborone go an extra mile". Africa Review. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
^Cite error: The named reference avert was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Sex workers: Population size estimate - Number, 2016". www.aidsinfoonline.org. UNAIDS. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
^Mmeso, Phillimon (29 March 2015). "Male prostitution growing in Botswana". The Patriot on Sunday. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
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