Prostitution Prostitution laws in the BahamasThe Commonwealth of The Bahamas
In The Bahamas, selling and buying sex in private are not offences, but the activities around them are. Under the Penal Code (Ch. 84, LRO 1/2017), keeping or managing a brothel, or letting or permitting premises to be used as one, is punishable by a $150 penalty or three months on first conviction, rising to $1,000 or twelve months on a third; loitering and importuning passers-by for prostitution carries a $150 penalty. The Sexual Offences Act (Ch. 99) makes procuring a person to become a 'common prostitute', 'whether by electronic means or otherwise', punishable by fifteen years, and knowingly living on the earnings of prostitution or persistently soliciting in public for immoral purposes punishable by five years. No offence aimed specifically at advertising sexual services was found.
Legal model
Legal, organisation banned. Selling and buying are legal, but brothels, procuring and organising are criminal offences.
Exchanging sex for money in private is not an offence, but the Penal Code (Ch. 84) criminalises keeping a brothel (s. 137), living on the earnings of prostitution and persistent public soliciting (s. 138), and importuning passers-by for prostitution (s. 212(13)); the Sexual Offences Act (Ch. 99) adds procuration (s. 7) and a parallel living-on-earnings offence with a five-year maximum (s. 8).[1][2]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Selling sex in private is not an offence. A person who loiters or wanders about and importunes any passenger for the purposes of prostitution is liable to a $150 penalty. Persistently soliciting or importuning in a public place for immoral purposes is an offence under both the Penal Code (six months) and the Sexual Offences Act (five years).[1][2] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | No provision making it an offence to pay an adult for sex was found in the Penal Code or the Sexual Offences Act. The persistent-soliciting offences are not limited to sellers and could reach a client who importunes in public.[1][2] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Keeping or managing, or assisting in the management of, a brothel; a tenant or occupier knowingly permitting premises to be used as a brothel or for habitual prostitution; and a landlord letting premises knowing they will be so used are offences: a $150 penalty or three months, $500 or six months on a second conviction and $1,000 or twelve months on a third, plus a possible good-behaviour recognisance.[1] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Procuring or attempting to procure a person, 'whether by electronic means or otherwise', to become a 'common prostitute' or to leave home or The Bahamas to frequent a brothel carries fifteen years. Knowingly living wholly or in part on the earnings of prostitution carries five years under the Sexual Offences Act (six months under the Penal Code), with a statutory presumption against anyone who lives with a sex worker or controls their movements.[1][2] |
| Advertising sexual services | Restricted | No offence aimed specifically at advertising sexual services was found. The procuration offence in s. 7 of the Sexual Offences Act expressly covers procuring 'by electronic means', which could reach online recruitment of sex workers, and the brothel and living-on-earnings offences could apply to a third party who profits from advertising others.[2] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex in private is not an offence. A person who loiters or wanders about and importunes any passenger for the purposes of prostitution is liable to a $150 penalty. Persistently soliciting or importuning in a public place for immoral purposes is an offence under both the Penal Code (six months) and the Sexual Offences Act (five years).[1][2]
Note. The two persistent-soliciting provisions overlap with different maximum penalties; which one prosecutors use was not researched.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
No provision making it an offence to pay an adult for sex was found in the Penal Code or the Sexual Offences Act. The persistent-soliciting offences are not limited to sellers and could reach a client who importunes in public.[1][2]
Confidence: medium. Absence of an offence in the two acts reviewed; other legislation, such as the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention and Suppression) Act, was not checked.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Keeping or managing, or assisting in the management of, a brothel; a tenant or occupier knowingly permitting premises to be used as a brothel or for habitual prostitution; and a landlord letting premises knowing they will be so used are offences: a $150 penalty or three months, $500 or six months on a second conviction and $1,000 or twelve months on a third, plus a possible good-behaviour recognisance.[1]
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Procuring or attempting to procure a person, 'whether by electronic means or otherwise', to become a 'common prostitute' or to leave home or The Bahamas to frequent a brothel carries fifteen years. Knowingly living wholly or in part on the earnings of prostitution carries five years under the Sexual Offences Act (six months under the Penal Code), with a statutory presumption against anyone who lives with a sex worker or controls their movements.[1][2]
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No offence aimed specifically at advertising sexual services was found. The procuration offence in s. 7 of the Sexual Offences Act expressly covers procuring 'by electronic means', which could reach online recruitment of sex workers, and the brothel and living-on-earnings offences could apply to a third party who profits from advertising others.[2]
Confidence: low. Inference from the absence of a specific provision in the acts reviewed; electronic-communications, obscenity and trafficking laws were not reviewed for platform liability.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Penal Code, Chapter 84, Statute Law of The Bahamas, LRO 1/2017 Penal Code, Chapter 84 (LRO 1/2017) s. 43 · s. 137 · s. 138 · s. 212 | Brothel-keeping (s. 137), living on earnings and persistent soliciting (s. 138), importuning for prostitution (s. 212(13)) and the presumption of living on earnings (s. 43).[1] | |
| Sexual Offences Act, Chapter 99, Statute Law of The Bahamas, LRO 1/2017 Sexual Offences Act, Chapter 99 (LRO 1/2017) s. 7 · s. 8 | Procuration, including by electronic means (s. 7), and living on the earnings of prostitution or persistent soliciting, five years (s. 8).[2] |
Sources
- Penal Code, Chapter 84, Statute Law of The Bahamas, LRO 1/2017. Office of the Attorney General, Bahamas Laws Online. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Sexual Offences Act, Chapter 99, Statute Law of The Bahamas, LRO 1/2017. Office of the Attorney General, Bahamas Laws Online. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026