Prostitution laws in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso's Penal Code (Law No. 025-2018/AN of 31 May 2018) defines prostitution as habitually engaging in sexual acts with others for payment but does not punish it as such. Publicly soliciting another person by any means, including passive conduct, for paid sex carries one to three months and a fine of 250,000 to 600,000 CFA francs (Article 533-20). Procuring carries three to ten years (Article 533-22), and five to ten years when committed through an electronic network reaching the public (Article 533-24). Running a prostitution establishment, or providing premises or vehicles knowing they will be used for prostitution, carries five to ten years (Article 533-26). In July 2026 a Ouagadougou court fined 13 women for soliciting via WhatsApp and convicted five people who ran WhatsApp groups or let a villa for procuring. A new Penal Code was adopted on 20 October 2026.
Legal model
Legal, organisation banned. Selling and buying are legal, but brothels, procuring and organising are criminal offences.
Prostitution is defined in the Penal Code but is not itself an offence, and buying is not an offence. Public soliciting 'by any means, including passive conduct' is (Article 533-20), and in 2026 a court applied it to adverts posted on WhatsApp. Procuring and brothel-keeping are criminalised. A new Penal Code adopted on 20 October 2026 had not been published when this entry was reviewed.[1][2][3]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Prostitution is defined (Article 533-20, first paragraph) but not punished. Publicly soliciting another person by any means, including passive conduct, to induce sexual relations for payment or a promise of payment carries one to three months and a fine of 250,000 to 600,000 CFA francs (Article 533-20). Publicly soliciting people for debauchery by gestures or words carries two months to one year (Article 533-28).[1][2] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | No offence of buying sex from an adult was found in the Penal Code. Habitually inciting to debauchery or favouring the corruption of minors carries two to five years (Article 533-19).[1] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Running or financing a prostitution establishment, tolerating prostitution in a place open to the public, or providing premises or vehicles knowing they will be used for prostitution carries five to ten years and 3 to 10 million CFA francs (Article 533-26). Habitually receiving sex workers in a hotel, bar or club carries two to five years (Article 533-27); tolerating habitual clandestine debauchery in private premises two months to two years (Article 533-29).[1][2] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Aiding, assisting or protecting another's prostitution, profiting from or sharing its proceeds, receiving support from a person habitually engaged in it, or recruiting or pressuring someone into it carries three to ten years and 1 to 6 million CFA francs (Article 533-22). Acting as an intermediary or living with a sex worker without justifying one's resources is treated as procuring (Article 533-23).[1] |
| Advertising sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | No separate advertising offence exists, but soliciting 'by any means' covers online adverts. On 1 July 2026 the Ouagadougou II court gave 13 women three months suspended and a 500,000 CFA franc fine each for soliciting after they posted nude photos with phone numbers and rates on WhatsApp. Procuring committed through an electronic network addressed to the public is aggravated (Article 533-24).[1][2] |
| Online platforms and ad sites | Illegal Criminal offence | People who run online spaces connecting clients with sex workers are prosecuted as procurers. In the July 2026 Ouagadougou case three men who administered WhatsApp groups linking clients with women offering sexual services were convicted of procuring and given three years suspended and a 1 million CFA franc fine each.[1][2] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Prostitution is defined (Article 533-20, first paragraph) but not punished. Publicly soliciting another person by any means, including passive conduct, to induce sexual relations for payment or a promise of payment carries one to three months and a fine of 250,000 to 600,000 CFA francs (Article 533-20). Publicly soliciting people for debauchery by gestures or words carries two months to one year (Article 533-28).[1][2]
Note. The text read is the 2018 Code as published by the Police Academy; it was amended in 2019 (Law No. 044-2019/AN), which was not checked for these articles. The October 2026 Code may change them.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
No offence of buying sex from an adult was found in the Penal Code. Habitually inciting to debauchery or favouring the corruption of minors carries two to five years (Article 533-19).[1]
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Running or financing a prostitution establishment, tolerating prostitution in a place open to the public, or providing premises or vehicles knowing they will be used for prostitution carries five to ten years and 3 to 10 million CFA francs (Article 533-26). Habitually receiving sex workers in a hotel, bar or club carries two to five years (Article 533-27); tolerating habitual clandestine debauchery in private premises two months to two years (Article 533-29).[1][2]
Note. In the July 2026 case a defendant who rented out a furnished villa knowing it was used for prostitution was convicted of procuring.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Aiding, assisting or protecting another's prostitution, profiting from or sharing its proceeds, receiving support from a person habitually engaged in it, or recruiting or pressuring someone into it carries three to ten years and 1 to 6 million CFA francs (Article 533-22). Acting as an intermediary or living with a sex worker without justifying one's resources is treated as procuring (Article 533-23).[1]
Aggravated procuring (five to ten years and 1 to 10 million francs, Article 533-24) includes offences against several people or a vulnerable person, by a relative or official, with a weapon or violence, and 'through the use, for disseminating messages to an undetermined public, of an electronic communications network'. Procuring by an organised gang carries eleven to thirty years; with torture or barbaric acts, life imprisonment (Article 533-25).
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No separate advertising offence exists, but soliciting 'by any means' covers online adverts. On 1 July 2026 the Ouagadougou II court gave 13 women three months suspended and a 500,000 CFA franc fine each for soliciting after they posted nude photos with phone numbers and rates on WhatsApp. Procuring committed through an electronic network addressed to the public is aggravated (Article 533-24).[1][2]
Note. The news report does not cite the articles applied; matching the conviction to Article 533-20 is an inference from the charge of soliciting.
Checked 30 October 2026
Online platforms and ad sites
People who run online spaces connecting clients with sex workers are prosecuted as procurers. In the July 2026 Ouagadougou case three men who administered WhatsApp groups linking clients with women offering sexual services were convicted of procuring and given three years suspended and a 1 million CFA franc fine each.[1][2]
Confidence: medium. Based on one news report of a first-instance judgment, open to appeal; the articles applied are not stated in the report. No case concerning a website or international platform was found.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Loi n° 025-2018/AN du 31 mai 2018 portant Code pénal Penal Code (Law No. 025-2018/AN of 31 May 2018) art. 533-19–533-30 | Section 2 of the chapter on morals (Articles 533-19 to 533-30) defines prostitution and criminalises soliciting, procuring and prostitution establishments.[1] | 2018 |
Pending and under review
Adopted · updated 20 October 2026
New Penal Code adopted by the Assemblée législative du peuple
The legislature unanimously adopted a revised 933-article Penal Code on 20 October 2026, reintroducing the death penalty for some offences, adding offences relating to information and communication technologies and reaffirming the criminalisation of homosexuality. Press reports do not mention the prostitution, soliciting or procuring articles, so whether Articles 533-19 to 533-30 change is not known.[3]
Next: Promulgation and publication in the Journal officiel
Timeline
- 31 May 2018The National Assembly adopts Law No. 025-2018/AN, a new Penal Code with the soliciting, procuring and establishment offences in Articles 533-19 to 533-30.[1]
- 1 July 2026The Ouagadougou II court convicts 13 women of soliciting through WhatsApp and five people of procuring, including administrators of WhatsApp groups.[2]
- 20 October 2026The Assemblée législative du peuple adopts a new Penal Code; its prostitution provisions were not reported.[3]
Sources
- Loi n° 025-2018/AN du 31 mai 2018 portant Code pénal (Law No. 025-2018/AN of 31 May 2018 on the Penal Code). Académie de police du Burkina Faso, 31 May 2018. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- À la barre : 22 prévenus condamnés pour prostitution en ligne, proxénétisme et exercice illégal de professions (In court: 22 defendants convicted of online prostitution, procuring and illegal practice of professions). Minute.bf, 3 July 2026. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- Burkina Faso : Le nouveau Code pénal réintroduit la peine de mort pour certaines infractions (Burkina Faso: the new Penal Code reintroduces the death penalty for some offences). Burkina24, 21 October 2026. news · accessed 30 October 2026