Prostitution laws in HaitiHaïti / Ayiti
Haitian law does not make selling or buying sex between adults an offence, but which penal code applies is itself uncertain. The 1835 Penal Code, as amended by a 2005 decree, punishes habitually inciting or facilitating the debauchery of people under 18, not adult prostitution. A new Penal Code, adopted by presidential decree in 2020, punishes procuring but not prostitution; its entry into force has been postponed several times, and Haitian media disagree on whether it took effect on 24 June 2025. The 2014 law against trafficking in persons makes it a crime, seven to fifteen years, to recruit or house a person by coercive or fraudulent means for the exploitation of their prostitution, and punishes anyone who knowingly obtains sexual services from a trafficking victim. No specific advertising offence was found.
Legal model
Legal, organisation banned. Selling and buying are legal, but brothels, procuring and organising are criminal offences.
Low confidence. No offence of selling or buying sex between adults was found. The 1835 Penal Code addresses only the debauchery of young people under 18, and the 2014 trafficking law covers exploiting others' prostitution by coercive means. The 2020 Penal Code, adopted by decree, punishes procuring but not prostitution; whether it is in force is contested after repeated postponements, so the classification rests on it.[1][2][3][4]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Legal | No offence of selling sex was found in the 1835 Penal Code, and the 2020 code, according to its press coverage, does not punish prostitution. A Haitian lawyer quoted in a 2022 legal explainer nevertheless says adult prostitution is not recognised and can be treated as an offence against public decency.[1][3][5] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | Paying an adult for sex is not an offence on the texts checked. Anyone who obtains or tries to obtain sexual services from a person knowing that they are a trafficking victim commits a crime punishable by imprisonment ('réclusion') and a fine of 50,000–100,000 gourdes (2014 trafficking law, Art. 12).[2][5] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | No offence aimed at venues employing adults was found in the 1835 code. Housing or receiving a person by threats, force, fraud, deception or abuse of vulnerability for the exploitation of their prostitution is trafficking (seven to fifteen years), and the 2020 code, if in force, punishes those who assist or profit from another's prostitution.[2][3] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Under the 2014 trafficking law, recruiting, transporting, housing or receiving a person by coercion, fraud or abuse of vulnerability for 'the exploitation of the prostitution of others or procuring' is a crime punishable by seven to fifteen years and a fine of 200,000–1,500,000 gourdes; consent is invalid where those means were used. The 2020 code punishes helping, protecting, profiting from, recruiting for or pressuring someone into prostitution.[1][2][3] |
| Advertising sexual services | Restricted | No offence specifically targeting advertisements for sexual services was found in the texts checked. Advertising that forms part of recruiting a person by coercive or fraudulent means for exploitation would fall under the 2014 trafficking law.[2] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
No offence of selling sex was found in the 1835 Penal Code, and the 2020 code, according to its press coverage, does not punish prostitution. A Haitian lawyer quoted in a 2022 legal explainer nevertheless says adult prostitution is not recognised and can be treated as an offence against public decency.[1][3][5]
Confidence: low. The text of the 2020 code itself was not opened; the 1835 code was consulted through WIPO Lex. Enforcement practice was not researched.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Paying an adult for sex is not an offence on the texts checked. Anyone who obtains or tries to obtain sexual services from a person knowing that they are a trafficking victim commits a crime punishable by imprisonment ('réclusion') and a fine of 50,000–100,000 gourdes (2014 trafficking law, Art. 12).[2][5]
Confidence: medium. The 2020 Penal Code reportedly adds an offence of paying minors for sex; its client provisions for adults were not verified.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
No offence aimed at venues employing adults was found in the 1835 code. Housing or receiving a person by threats, force, fraud, deception or abuse of vulnerability for the exploitation of their prostitution is trafficking (seven to fifteen years), and the 2020 code, if in force, punishes those who assist or profit from another's prostitution.[2][3]
Confidence: low. Brothel-specific provisions of the 2020 code and their article numbers could not be verified, and the code's legal status is contested.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Under the 2014 trafficking law, recruiting, transporting, housing or receiving a person by coercion, fraud or abuse of vulnerability for 'the exploitation of the prostitution of others or procuring' is a crime punishable by seven to fifteen years and a fine of 200,000–1,500,000 gourdes; consent is invalid where those means were used. The 2020 code punishes helping, protecting, profiting from, recruiting for or pressuring someone into prostitution.[1][2][3]
Confidence: low. Whether non-coercive procuring of adults is an offence depends on whether the 2020 code is in force. The 1835 provision on inciting the debauchery of young people (numbered 281 or 282 depending on the edition) concerns only people under 18 since the 2005 decree.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No offence specifically targeting advertisements for sexual services was found in the texts checked. Advertising that forms part of recruiting a person by coercive or fraudulent means for exploitation would fall under the 2014 trafficking law.[2]
Confidence: low. Inference from the absence of a provision; the 2020 Penal Code's text and media laws were not reviewed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Loi No CL/2014-0010 sur la lutte contre la traite des personnes (Le Moniteur No. 103, 2 juin 2014) Law CL/2014-0010 on combating trafficking in persons Art. 1.1.1 · Art. 12 | Defines exploitation to include the exploitation of others' prostitution and procuring, and punishes clients of known trafficking victims.[2] | 2 June 2014 |
| Code pénal de Haïti Penal Code (1835, as amended) Arts. 281–283 | Punishes inciting or facilitating the debauchery of young people under 18; contains no adult prostitution offence. To be replaced by the 2020 code once that takes effect.[1] |
Pending and under review
Stalled · updated 9 July 2025
Entry into force of the 2020 Penal Code
The Penal Code adopted by decree in March 2020 punishes procuring but not prostitution. Its entry into force was postponed several times, the last scheduled date being 24 June 2025; one broadcaster reported that it took effect that day, while Le Nouvelliste wrote in July 2025 that it had still not entered into force.[3][4][6]
Timeline
- 2 June 2014The law against trafficking in persons (CL/2014-0010) is published in Le Moniteur, covering exploitation of others' prostitution by coercive means.[2]
- 2020A new Penal Code adopted by presidential decree (dated 1 March 2020) is published; it punishes procuring but not prostitution, with entry into force deferred by 24 months.[3][6]
- 24 June 2025Scheduled entry into force of the 2020 Penal Code after a further twelve-month postponement; reports conflict on whether it took effect.[4][6]
Sources
- Code pénal de Haïti (Penal Code of Haiti). WIPO Lex (Organisation Mondiale de la Propriété Intellectuelle). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Loi No CL/2014-0010 sur la lutte contre la traite des personnes (Le Moniteur No. 103, 2 juin 2014) (Law No. CL/2014-0010 on combating trafficking in persons (Official Journal No. 103, 2 June 2014)). Le Moniteur, Journal officiel de la République d'Haïti (copie CEPAL), 2 June 2014. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Nouveau Code pénal : la prostitution n'est pas punie, le proxénétisme, oui (New Penal Code: prostitution is not punished, procuring is). Le Nouvelliste, 10 August 2020. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- Le nouveau Code pénal haïtien est-il dans l'impasse ? (Is the new Haitian Penal Code at an impasse?). Le Nouvelliste, 9 July 2025. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- Que dit la législation haïtienne sur la profession du sexe ? (What does Haitian legislation say about sex work?). ODELPA, 11 September 2022. ngo · accessed 30 October 2026
- Haïti sous le joug du nouveau Code pénal : le silence coupable du CPT (Haiti under the new Penal Code: the CPT's culpable silence). Radio Télé Monopole, 24 June 2025. news · accessed 30 October 2026