Prostitution in Eswatini is illegal, the anti-

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 ...

laws dating back to 1889, when the country

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

was a protectorate of

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 ...

. Law enforcement is inconsistent, particularly near industrial sites and military bases. Police tend to turn a blind eye to prostitution in clubs. There are periodic clamp-downs by the police. Senator Thuli Mswane and

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s Eswatini AIDS Support Organisation (SASO),

Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) is a South African sex workers' rights organization. It is the first such organization to be established in Southern Africa, and is renowned as the most prominent sex worker movement on the con ...

(SWEAT) and Mpumalanga Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) have recommended that prostitution be legalised in Eswatini, in order to allow it to be regulated to reduce harm to the prostitutes and limit the spread of

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 ...

Sex trafficking Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Se ...

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 ...

and

are problems in the country.

Overview

It was estimated that there were around 4,000 sex workers in the country in 2015, with the highest concentrations in

Matsapha Matsapha is a town in central Eswatini. The Matsapha urban boundary is defined in the Urban Government Act of 1969, as amended in 2012, and covers an area of approximately . Matsapha was established as an industrial park in 1965 and was officially ...

Manzini Manzini (formerly Bremersdorp) is a large city in Eswatini, which is also the city of Eswatini's Manzini Region. The city is the country's second largest urban center behind the capital Mbabane, with a population of 110,000 (2008). It is known ...

, Malkerns and Ezulwini. Most sex workers are Mozambican or

Swazi Swazi may refer to: * Swazi people, a people of southeastern Africa * Swazi language * Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked count ...

. It is reported that sex workers are subject to abuse and forced sex by police. Some prostitutes occasionally travel to other countries, especially

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

in Mozambique, to work on a temporary basis. Many women and children turn to prostitution because of poverty. After European settlement, westernisation, the development of urban centres and migrant labour, especially in the mining areas, saw a rise in prostitution.

Sex tourism Sex tourism is the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often on a different continent, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity or relationships, in exchange providing money or lifestyle support. This practice predominantly oper ...

by South Africans occurred in the 1970s, not only further increasing the demand for prostitution, but instigating a move by the sex workers from the mining areas to urban hotels. Eswatini was more liberal than South Africa and had no

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

laws. In 2001, sex workers in Manzini started to offer clients sexual services on credit. During a 2007 survey, sex workers said their clients included business people, church pastors, Government officials (MPs, cabinet ministers), lawyers, lecturers, police officers, soldiers, foreigners, tourists, doctors and truck drivers.

HIV

HIV/AIDS in Eswatini was first reported in 1986 but has since reached

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...

proportions due in large part to cultural beliefs which discourage safe-sex practices. Coupled with a high rate of co-infection with tuberculosis, life expectancy has halved in the first decade of the millennium. Eswatini has the highest prevalence of HIV as percentage of population 19–49 in the world as of 2016 (27.2%). Sex workers are a high risk group and HIV prevalence was estimated at 60.5% in 2014. Many clients are reluctant to use

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 and will pay more for unprotected sex.

Sex trafficking

Eswatini is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking. Swazi girls, particularly orphans, are subjected to sex trafficking, primarily in Eswatini and South Africa. Traffickers reportedly force Mozambican women into prostitution in Eswatini, or transport them through Eswatini to South Africa. Some Swazi women are forced into prostitution in South Africa and Mozambique after voluntarily migrating in search of work. Reports indicate a downturn in the textile industry following loss of eligibility under the

African Growth and Opportunity Act The African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA (Title I, Trade and Development Act of 2000; P.L. 106–200) is a piece of legislation that was approved by the U.S. Congress in May 2000. The stated purpose of this legislation is to assist ...

in 2015 has led textile workers to follow promises of employment in neighbouring countries, potentially increasing their vulnerability to 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 Eswatini as a " Tier 2 Watch List" country.

References

{{Africa in topic, Prostitution in

Society of Eswatini