Clarification of prostitution and trafficking laws
It is important to understand the difference between prostitution and human trafficking, as they are often confused but have fundamentally different meanings and legal implications. While prostitution may, in some contexts, involve a person’s voluntary decision to provide sexual services, human trafficking is always a crime involving coercion, deception, or abuse for the purpose of exploitation. This page explains these distinctions to help you recognise situations of exploitation, understand your rights, and identify when support or protection may be needed.
Prostitution is the activity whereby one person offers sexual services to another in exchange for financial remuneration or another form of payment.
Key characteristics:
- It involves the voluntary exchange of sexual services for money or benefits.
- It can be practised in a regulated or unregulated manner, depending on the legislation of each country.
- In the free exercise of prostitution, the person has consent and freedom of choice.
Regulated prostitution is voluntary sex work and protected by law.
Unregulated prostitution occurs outside the legal norms or regulations of a country. It does not necessarily mean that trafficking is involved, but it is not protected by law.
The practice of prostitution may be prohibited in some countries, either administratively or criminally. In other words, it may be an administrative offence punishable by fines or a criminal offence punishable by fines or criminal penalties.
On the other hand, human trafficking is a crime and a violation of human rights that undermines the dignity of those who are subjected to exploitation, whatever form it takes. In any case, it involves deceiving, forcing or coercing someone to exploit them sexually, for labour or in other ways. Among the purposes of exploitation is sexual exploitation for prostitution.
Key characteristics:
- The person who has been exploited does not have the freedom to choose what they do.
- They may be threatened, detained, coerced, deceived or subjected to abuse due to their vulnerable situation.
- Exploiters benefit financially at the expense of the exploited person, who is the victim of this serious crime.
- It includes sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, forced begging, forced marriage, organ removal, among others.
- It is illegal in all countries and punishable by international treaties and national laws.
- Victims of this serious crime cannot be punished for offences or crimes committed in the context of their trafficking situation.
