Prostitution laws in BeninBénin
Benin's Penal Code (Law No. 2018-16 of 28 December 2018) contains no offence of selling or buying sex. Procuring, defined broadly to include aiding another person's prostitution or soliciting, sharing its proceeds and living with a sex worker, is punishable by one to three years and a fine, rising to two to five years when aggravated (Arts. 556–557). Owning, running or financing a prostitution establishment, or tolerating prostitution in a hotel, bar or other public venue, carries the same penalties, with licence withdrawal and closure (Arts. 560–561). Publicly soliciting people by gestures, words, writing or any other means to provoke them to debauchery is a minor police offence (Art. 994). Police in Cotonou and Parakou arrested dozens of sex workers for soliciting in 2024.
Legal model
Legal, organisation banned. Selling and buying are legal, but brothels, procuring and organising are criminal offences.
The Penal Code of 28 December 2018 does not make selling or buying sex an offence. Procuring, including aiding another person's soliciting, and running or tolerating prostitution in an establishment are délits; publicly soliciting people in order to provoke them to debauchery is a police contravention. Police nevertheless carry out periodic round-ups of sex workers for soliciting.[1][2][3]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Selling sex is not itself an offence. Publicly soliciting people of either sex by gestures, words, writing or any other means to provoke them to debauchery is a police contravention (Art. 994(3)), punishable by one day to two months in prison and/or a fine of 2,000 to 200,000 CFA francs (Arts. 987–988). Police in Cotonou and Parakou held dozens of sex workers for soliciting in 2024.[1][3][4] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | No offence of buying sex from an adult was found in the 2018 Penal Code. Sex with a minor under 15 is an offence regardless of consent (Art. 554), and habitually inciting or facilitating the debauchery of people under 18 carries six months to five years (Art. 558).[1] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Owning directly or through another, managing, running, financing or helping to finance a prostitution establishment, or as the operator of a hotel, furnished house, bar, restaurant, club, dance hall or any place open to the public habitually accepting prostitution or the seeking of clients there, carries the penalties of Art. 556, doubled for a repeat within ten years (Art. 560). Conviction withdraws the licence and closes the premises for three months to five years (Art. 561).[1] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | A procurer is anyone who knowingly aids or protects another's prostitution or soliciting; shares its proceeds; knowingly lives with a person who habitually sells sex; cannot justify their income while associating with sex workers; recruits or keeps a person, even a consenting adult, for prostitution; or acts as an intermediary. Penalty: one to three years and a 250,000 CFA franc fine (Art. 556); two to five years and 300,000 to 4 million if aggravated (Art. 557).[1] |
| Advertising sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | No offence specific to adverts was found. Public soliciting by writing or any other means is a contravention (Art. 994(3)), and so is displaying posters or images contrary to decency in public places (Art. 994(2)). Knowingly aiding or assisting another person's soliciting for prostitution is procuring (Art. 556(1)), which on its face could reach a site that hosts adverts for sexual services.[1] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex is not itself an offence. Publicly soliciting people of either sex by gestures, words, writing or any other means to provoke them to debauchery is a police contravention (Art. 994(3)), punishable by one day to two months in prison and/or a fine of 2,000 to 200,000 CFA francs (Arts. 987–988). Police in Cotonou and Parakou held dozens of sex workers for soliciting in 2024.[1][3][4]
Confidence: medium. Read in the text layer of a scanned copy of the promulgated law, which is imperfect. A Beninese law lecturer quoted in 2021 said prostitution and soliciting are not offences under the 2018 Code; the contravention in Art. 994 suggests soliciting is a minor offence. Women arrested in Cotonou in 2021 were released after appearing before the court of first instance.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
No offence of buying sex from an adult was found in the 2018 Penal Code. Sex with a minor under 15 is an offence regardless of consent (Art. 554), and habitually inciting or facilitating the debauchery of people under 18 carries six months to five years (Art. 558).[1]
Confidence: medium. Read in an imperfect scanned text. The public-soliciting contravention in Art. 994(3) is not limited to sellers, but no case of it being used against a client was found.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Owning directly or through another, managing, running, financing or helping to finance a prostitution establishment, or as the operator of a hotel, furnished house, bar, restaurant, club, dance hall or any place open to the public habitually accepting prostitution or the seeking of clients there, carries the penalties of Art. 556, doubled for a repeat within ten years (Art. 560). Conviction withdraws the licence and closes the premises for three months to five years (Art. 561).[1]
Confidence: medium. Read in an imperfect scanned text.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
A procurer is anyone who knowingly aids or protects another's prostitution or soliciting; shares its proceeds; knowingly lives with a person who habitually sells sex; cannot justify their income while associating with sex workers; recruits or keeps a person, even a consenting adult, for prostitution; or acts as an intermediary. Penalty: one to three years and a 250,000 CFA franc fine (Art. 556); two to five years and 300,000 to 4 million if aggravated (Art. 557).[1]
Confidence: medium. Read in an imperfect scanned text. Loi n° 2021-11 rewrote several sexual-offence articles (from Art. 551 on); the readable part of it did not touch Arts. 556–561, but this was not fully confirmed. When the victim is a child, procuring carries five to ten years.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No offence specific to adverts was found. Public soliciting by writing or any other means is a contravention (Art. 994(3)), and so is displaying posters or images contrary to decency in public places (Art. 994(2)). Knowingly aiding or assisting another person's soliciting for prostitution is procuring (Art. 556(1)), which on its face could reach a site that hosts adverts for sexual services.[1]
Confidence: low. Classification inferred from general provisions; no case applying them to online adverts or platforms was found. The Digital Code (Law No. 2017-20) was not checked.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Loi n° 2018-16 du 28 décembre 2018 portant code pénal en République du Bénin Law No. 2018-16 of 28 December 2018 on the Penal Code of the Republic of Benin arts. 556–561 · arts. 986–988 · art. 994 | Paragraph on procuring and habitual incitement of minors to debauchery (Arts. 556–561) and the police contravention of public soliciting (Art. 994).[1] | 28 December 2018 |
| Loi n° 2021-11 du 20 décembre 2021 portant dispositions spéciales de répression des infractions commises à raison du sexe des personnes et de protection de la femme en République du Bénin Law No. 2021-11 of 20 December 2021 on special provisions for punishing offences committed on grounds of sex and protecting women art. 2 (new arts. 551–555 of the Penal Code) | Amends sexual-offence articles of the 2018 Penal Code (sexual harassment, rape, sexual assault on minors, incest).[5] | 20 December 2021 |
Timeline
- 28 December 2018Law No. 2018-16 on the Penal Code is promulgated, replacing the colonial-era code; it contains no offence of selling or buying sex.[1][2]
- November 2021The prefect of the Littoral department campaigns against sex work in Cotonou and promises to close all brothels; a law lecturer argues that arrests lack a legal basis under the 2018 Code.[4]
- 20 December 2021Law No. 2021-11 amends sexual-offence articles of the Penal Code.[5]
- 2 September 2024Police in Cotonou's 12th arrondissement report about twenty sex workers arrested for soliciting in an operation begun a week earlier.[3]
Sources
- Loi n° 2018-16 du 28 décembre 2018 portant code pénal en République du Bénin (Law No. 2018-16 of 28 December 2018 on the Penal Code of the Republic of Benin). Droit et politique en Afrique (scan of the promulgated text), 28 December 2018. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Loi n°2018-16 du 28 Décembre 2018 portant code pénal en République du Bénin (Law No. 2018-16 of 28 December 2018 on the Penal Code (National Assembly archive record)). Assemblée nationale du Bénin (documentation archive), 28 December 2018. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Cotonou : Une vingtaine de travailleuses du sexe interpellée pour racolage (Cotonou: about twenty sex workers arrested for soliciting). Bip Radio, 2 September 2024. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- Traque des prostituées: un juriste apprécie le fondement juridique de l'action de Alain Orounla (Hunt for sex workers: a lawyer assesses the legal basis of Alain Orounla's action). Bénin Web TV, 5 November 2021. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- Loi n° 2021-11 du 20 décembre 2021 portant dispositions spéciales de répression des infractions commises à raison du sexe des personnes et de protection de la femme en République du Bénin (Law No. 2021-11 of 20 December 2021 on punishing offences committed on grounds of sex and protecting women). Assemblée nationale du Bénin (documentation archive), 20 December 2021. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026