Prostitution in Angola is illegal and prevalent since the 1990s. Prostitution increased further at the end of the

civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...

war in 2001. Prohibition is not consistently enforced. Many women engage in

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves 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, no ...

due to poverty. It was estimated in 2013 that there were about 33,000 sex workers in the country. Many

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

n women enter the country illegally, often via the border municipality of

Curoca Curoca or Kuroka is a municipality in Cunene Province in Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portug ...

, and travel to towns such as

Ondjiva Ondjiva, formerly Vila Pereira d'Eça, is a town, with a population of 121,537 (2014), and a commune in the municipality of Cuanhama, province of Cunene, Angola. It is also the administrative capital of Cunene Province and is located at the ext ...

Lubango Lubango, formerly known as Sá da Bandeira, is a municipality in Angola, capital of the Huíla Province, with a population of 914,456 in 2022. The city center had a population of 600,751 in 2014 making it the second-most populous city in Angola a ...

and

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

to work as prostitutes. Prostitution is widespread in the oil-rich

Cabinda Province Cabinda (formerly called Portuguese Congo, ) is an exclave and province of Angola, a status that has been disputed by several political organizations in the territory. The capital city is also called Cabinda, known locally as ''Tchiowa'', ''Tsi ...

, where many American and other foreign nationals work. Women from the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

and the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

cross the porous border to earn money in the enclave as prostitutes. Some of the police in the area are corrupt and deport the women if they do not pay the bribes required. 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. Prostitution is also common in the diamond mining areas. The Ministry of Family and Women Promotion (MINFAMU) maintains a women's shelter in the capital, Luanda, that is open to former prostitutes.

Child prostitution Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child ...

is a problem in the country.

2010 Africa Cup of Nations

Angola hosted the

2010 Africa Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was held in Angola, where it began on 10 January 2 ...

. There were fears that the increased demand for prostitutes from the visiting fans would lead to a surge in

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

. An anti-trafficking law was passed, and a soccer-based public awareness campaign was run. The spread of

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 creator ...

and

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

were a concern. The organising committee, LOC, initially tried to have all the prostitutes removed from the cities hosting games, but this did not prove to be practical. In conjunction with the Health Commission in Angola, they distributed 5 million free

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condo ...

s to bars, hotels and other strategic locations.

HIV

Angola has a large

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

infected population. However, it has one of the lowest prevalence rates in the

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

zone. Sex workers are a high risk group.

UNAIDS The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS; , ONUSIDA) is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The mission of UNAIDS is to lead, strengthen and support an ex ...

reported that there was a 4.7% prevalence amongst sex workers in 2016. (The figure amongst the general adult population was 1.9%) The reluctance to use condoms is a contributing factor. In 2016, UNAIDS reported 82.6% condom usage amongst sex workers. Some sex workers charge double for sex without a condom. Another factor is that the many prostitutes that are in the country illegally have no access to health services.

Sex trafficking

Human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Angola, and traffickers exploit victims from Angola abroad. Angolan girls as young as 13 years old are victims of sex trafficking. The provinces of

Benguela Benguela (; Umbundu: Luombaka) is a city in western Angola, capital of Benguela Province. Benguela is one of Angola's most populous cities with a population of 555,124 in the city and 561,775 in the municipality, at the 2014 census. History Por ...

, and the border provinces of Cunene,

Lunda Norte Lunda Norte () is a province of Angola. It has an area of 103,760 km² and a population of 862,566. Angola's first President, Agostinho Neto, made Lucapa the provincial capital after independence, but the capital was later moved to Dundo. ...

, Namibe, Uige, and

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

are the most high-threat areas for trafficking activities. Traffickers exploit Angolan women and children in sex trafficking in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and European countries, including the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Women from

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

engaged in prostitution in Angola may be victims of sex trafficking. Undocumented Congolese migrants, including children, enter Angola for work in diamond-mining districts, where traffickers exploit some in sex trafficking in mining camps. Trafficking networks recruit and transport Congolese girls as young as 12 years old from

Kasai Occidental Kasaï-Occidental (French for "Western Kasai"; ) was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Kasaï-Central and the Kasaï provinces. History The province of Kasaï- ...

in the Congo to Angola for sex trafficking. The

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United 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 Angola as a " Tier 2 Watch List" country.

References

{{Human rights in Angola

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Society of Angola