Prostitution Prostitution laws in Bangladeshবাংলাদেশ
Selling sex by an adult is not an offence in Bangladesh, although Article 18(2) of the Constitution commits the State to "adopt effective measures to prevent" prostitution. The Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act 2012 defines prostitution as "sexual exploitation or abuse of any person for commercial purpose". It punishes keeping or managing a brothel, and knowingly letting a place be used as one, with three to five years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of at least 20,000 taka. Soliciting in a street or public place, or from inside a building, carries up to three years or a fine. The 2012 Act repealed the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act 1933. In 2000 the High Court held the forced eviction of sex workers from the Tanbazar and Nimtali brothels unlawful, describing how women enrol with the local administration, sometimes by sworn affidavit.
Legal model
Legal, organisation banned. Selling and buying are legal, but brothels, procuring and organising are criminal offences.
No statute makes selling sex by an adult an offence, and the High Court held in 2000 that the work is "apparently ... not an illegal one under the law of the land". The Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act 2012 nevertheless criminalises keeping a brothel, letting premises for one and soliciting. In practice long-established brothel districts operate openly with local administrative enrolment of the women, so the law on paper and the practice diverge sharply.[1][2]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Selling sex is not itself an offence. Attracting attention for the purpose of prostitution "in any street or public place or from within any house or building", by words, gestures or indecent exposure, is punishable by up to three years' rigorous imprisonment, a fine of up to 20,000 taka, or both.[1][2] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | No offence of paying an adult for sex was found. Buying or hiring a girl under 18 for prostitution is an offence under section 373 of the Penal Code, and trafficking offences under the 2012 Act apply where force, fraud or deception are involved.[1][2] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Keeping, managing or actively assisting in managing a brothel, or knowingly letting a house or land be used as one, carries three to five years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of at least 20,000 taka. A brothel is "any house, place or structure used for the purpose of prostitution". Large brothel districts such as Daulatdia nevertheless operate openly.[1][2] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Bringing a person into Bangladesh, or moving a person within it, for prostitution or other sexual exploitation by force, fraud or seduction carries five to seven years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of at least 50,000 taka. Managing or assisting in the management of a brothel is separately punished. Human trafficking carries five years to life.[1] |
| Advertising sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | Attracting another person's attention for the purpose of prostitution by words, gestures or indecent exposure, in a street or public place or from inside a building, is an offence carrying up to three years' imprisonment or a fine. No offence specific to printed or online advertising was found.[1] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex is not itself an offence. Attracting attention for the purpose of prostitution "in any street or public place or from within any house or building", by words, gestures or indecent exposure, is punishable by up to three years' rigorous imprisonment, a fine of up to 20,000 taka, or both.[1][2]
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
No offence of paying an adult for sex was found. Buying or hiring a girl under 18 for prostitution is an offence under section 373 of the Penal Code, and trafficking offences under the 2012 Act apply where force, fraud or deception are involved.[1][2]
Confidence: medium. Absence of a buyer offence is inferred from the 2012 Act and the High Court's 2000 review of the applicable law; the Penal Code was not read on the official portal (bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd did not respond).
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Keeping, managing or actively assisting in managing a brothel, or knowingly letting a house or land be used as one, carries three to five years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of at least 20,000 taka. A brothel is "any house, place or structure used for the purpose of prostitution". Large brothel districts such as Daulatdia nevertheless operate openly.[1][2]
Note. How the 2012 brothel offence is reconciled with the tolerated brothel districts was not found in any official source. The High Court's 2000 judgment predates the 2012 Act and described enrolment with the local administration under the 1933 Act, since repealed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Bringing a person into Bangladesh, or moving a person within it, for prostitution or other sexual exploitation by force, fraud or seduction carries five to seven years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of at least 50,000 taka. Managing or assisting in the management of a brothel is separately punished. Human trafficking carries five years to life.[1]
Confidence: medium. No general offence of living on another person's earnings from prostitution was found in the 2012 Act, which repealed the 1933 Act that contained one. Whether consensual adult third-party arrangements outside a brothel are prosecuted was not established.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
Attracting another person's attention for the purpose of prostitution by words, gestures or indecent exposure, in a street or public place or from inside a building, is an offence carrying up to three years' imprisonment or a fine. No offence specific to printed or online advertising was found.[1]
Confidence: low. Whether section 13 reaches online advertisements is untested in the sources found. Pornography and cyber laws were not checked because the official legislation portal did not respond.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| The Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act, 2012 (Act No. 3 of 2012), English translation Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act 2012 (Act No. 3 of 2012) s. 2 · s. 11 · s. 12 · s. 13 · s. 47 | Defines prostitution and brothel; criminalises brothel keeping, letting premises for a brothel, soliciting and trafficking for sexual exploitation; repealed the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act 1933.[1] | 20 February 2012 |
| Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights (BSEHR) and Ors v. Government of Bangladesh and Ors, High Court Division, judgment of 14 March 2000 Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights and Others v Government of Bangladesh and Others (High Court Division, 14 March 2000) | Held the forcible eviction of sex workers from the Tanbazar and Nimtali brothels and their detention as vagrants unlawful; described prostitution as not illegal under the law of the land.[2] | 14 March 2000 |
Timeline
- 14 March 2000The High Court Division rules that the 1999 eviction of sex workers from the Tanbazar and Nimtali brothels, and their confinement in a vagrants' home, violated their rights to life and protection of law under Articles 31 and 32 of the Constitution.[2]
- 20 February 2012The Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act 2012 is enacted, creating the current brothel and soliciting offences and repealing the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act 1933.[1]
Sources
- The Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act, 2012 (Act No. 3 of 2012), English translation. Government of Bangladesh (Bangladesh Gazette translation), copy hosted by ecoi.net, 20 February 2012. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights (BSEHR) and Ors v. Government of Bangladesh and Ors, High Court Division, judgment of 14 March 2000. UNODC Case Law Database (SHERLOC), 14 March 2000. case law · accessed 30 October 2026