Prostitution Prostitution laws in Honduras
Honduras does not criminalise selling or buying sex between adults. The 2019 Penal Code (Decree 130-2017) defines sexual exploitation as using people in prostitution or other sexual activities for a price (Art. 257), but punishes it for adults only when it is forced through violence, intimidation, deception, abuse of a position or other means that override the victim's will: five to eight years and a fine (Art. 258). Exploiting minors is punished whatever the means. The 2001 Police and Social Coexistence Law still says that exploiting another's prostitution and keeping a brothel are to be punished under articles of the 1983 Code that no longer exist, lets municipalities regulate prostitution 'without registration of any kind', and lists 'itinerant prostitutes' among the people treated as vagrants. No offence aimed at advertising sexual services was found.
Legal model
Legal, organisation banned. Selling and buying are legal, but brothels, procuring and organising are criminal offences.
Borderline. Selling and buying are not crimes. The Police and Social Coexistence Law (2001) declares exploiting the prostitution of another 'even with their consent' and keeping a brothel punishable, but only by reference to Arts. 148 and 149 of the 1983 Penal Code, which the 2019 Penal Code repealed. The 2019 Code punishes the sexual exploitation of adults only where it is forced (Art. 258), so non-coercive third-party involvement has no clearly applicable penalty.[1][2]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted Breach: administrative offence | Selling sex is not a crime. Municipalities, with the health and interior ministries, may regulate prostitution to protect health, order and security, 'without registration of any kind' (Art. 85 Police Law). Art. 99 of the same law lists 'prostitutas ambulantes' (itinerant prostitutes) among the people considered and sanctioned as vagrants.[1][2] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | No offence of paying an adult for sex was found in the 2019 Penal Code. Promoting, favouring or facilitating the sexual exploitation of a person under 18, or knowingly benefiting from it, is punishable by six to eight years (Art. 259).[1] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Restricted | The Police Law says that keeping, running, financing or knowingly renting premises for a brothel is to be punished under Art. 149 of the old Penal Code (Art. 87), but the 2019 Penal Code repealed that code and has no equivalent offence for adults outside forced exploitation (Art. 258). The Police Law also lists the supervision of 'casas de prostitución' among police functions.[1][2] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Promoting, favouring or facilitating the forced sexual exploitation of an adult, through violence, intimidation, deception, abuse of a position or any means that overrides the victim's will, is punishable by five to eight years and a fine of 100–500 day-units (Art. 258), aggravated by up to a third for organised groups or endangered victims (Art. 260). Trafficking for forced sexual exploitation is a separate crime (Art. 219).[1][2] |
| Advertising sexual services | Restricted | No offence specifically targeting advertisements for adult sexual services was found in the 2019 Penal Code. Advertising that promotes or facilitates forced exploitation, or the exploitation of minors, falls under Arts. 258 and 259.[1] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex is not a crime. Municipalities, with the health and interior ministries, may regulate prostitution to protect health, order and security, 'without registration of any kind' (Art. 85 Police Law). Art. 99 of the same law lists 'prostitutas ambulantes' (itinerant prostitutes) among the people considered and sanctioned as vagrants.[1][2]
Confidence: medium. The Police Law was read from an OCR of the Tribunal Superior de Cuentas copy marked 'actualizada-07'; later amendments and municipal ordinances (a Tegucigalpa ordinance on closed venues is reported by a sex workers' organisation) were not checked.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
No offence of paying an adult for sex was found in the 2019 Penal Code. Promoting, favouring or facilitating the sexual exploitation of a person under 18, or knowingly benefiting from it, is punishable by six to eight years (Art. 259).[1]
Confidence: medium. The Law against Trafficking in Persons (Decree 59-2012) was not reviewed for a client offence.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
The Police Law says that keeping, running, financing or knowingly renting premises for a brothel is to be punished under Art. 149 of the old Penal Code (Art. 87), but the 2019 Penal Code repealed that code and has no equivalent offence for adults outside forced exploitation (Art. 258). The Police Law also lists the supervision of 'casas de prostitución' among police functions.[1][2]
Confidence: low. Whether courts treat the Police Law's references to repealed articles as still enforceable, or apply other offences to venues, was not established; amendments to the 2019 Code after publication were searched for but not found.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Promoting, favouring or facilitating the forced sexual exploitation of an adult, through violence, intimidation, deception, abuse of a position or any means that overrides the victim's will, is punishable by five to eight years and a fine of 100–500 day-units (Art. 258), aggravated by up to a third for organised groups or endangered victims (Art. 260). Trafficking for forced sexual exploitation is a separate crime (Art. 219).[1][2]
The 1983 Code punished 'proxenetismo' (Art. 148). In the 2019 Code, sexual exploitation is defined in Art. 257 and punished for adults only in its forced form. The Police Law (Art. 86) still provides that anyone who exploits another's prostitution 'aun con el consentimiento de tal persona' (even with that person's consent) is to be punished under Art. 148 of the old code.
Confidence: medium. Based on the code as published in La Gaceta No. 34,940 of 10 May 2019; later reforms (2026 reforms touched other articles) were not found to amend Arts. 257–260.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No offence specifically targeting advertisements for adult sexual services was found in the 2019 Penal Code. Advertising that promotes or facilitates forced exploitation, or the exploitation of minors, falls under Arts. 258 and 259.[1]
Confidence: low. Inference from the absence of a specific provision; media, telecommunications and municipal rules were not reviewed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Código Penal, Decreto No. 130-2017 (La Gaceta No. 34,940, 10 de mayo de 2019) Penal Code (Decree 130-2017) Arts. 219, 257–260, 634 | Defines sexual exploitation (Art. 257), punishes forced sexual exploitation of adults (Art. 258) and exploitation of minors (Art. 259), and repeals the 1983 Penal Code (Art. 634).[1] | |
| Ley de Policía y de Convivencia Social, Decreto No. 226-2001 (actualizada) Police and Social Coexistence Law (Decree 226-2001) Arts. 85–89, 99 | Lets municipalities regulate prostitution without registration (Art. 85), refers exploitation and brothel-keeping to articles of the old Penal Code (Arts. 86–87), and treats 'itinerant prostitutes' as vagrants (Art. 99).[2] |
Timeline
- 10 May 2019The new Penal Code (Decree 130-2017) is published in La Gaceta, repealing the 1983 code and replacing 'proxenetismo' with a sexual-exploitation chapter that punishes adults' exploitation only when forced.[1]
Sources
- Código Penal, Decreto No. 130-2017 (La Gaceta No. 34,940, 10 de mayo de 2019) (Penal Code, Decree No. 130-2017 (Official Gazette No. 34,940, 10 May 2019)). Tribunal Superior de Cuentas de Honduras, 10 May 2019. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Ley de Policía y de Convivencia Social, Decreto No. 226-2001 (actualizada) (Police and Social Coexistence Law, Decree No. 226-2001 (updated)). Tribunal Superior de Cuentas de Honduras. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026