Prostitution laws in Lebanonلبنان
Lebanon has a dormant licensing system and a criminal ban on everything outside it. A 1931 law regulates licensed brothels, with governor's permits, police registration of the women and twice-weekly medical checks, but licences reportedly stopped being issued in 1975. Article 523 of the Penal Code punishes anyone who practises or facilitates "secret prostitution", meaning prostitution outside that law, with one month to a year in prison and a fine. Other articles punish luring women into prostitution, holding a person in a brothel, using public means to attract people to debauchery and living off another's prostitution. General Security still issues "artist" visas for foreign women working in tourist establishments; the so-called super nightclubs that employ them have long been reported as a front for prostitution.
Legal model
Selling and buying prohibited. Selling sex is an offence (criminal or administrative), whether or not buying is.
Borderline. A 1931 law still provides for licensed brothels with registered women and medical checks, but licences have reportedly not been issued since 1975. Outside that system, Article 523 of the Penal Code punishes anyone who practises "secret prostitution" or facilitates it, so in practice selling sex is an offence. The client is not targeted by a specific provision.[1][2][3]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | Anyone who practises secret prostitution or facilitates it is punishable by one month to one year in prison and a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 Lebanese pounds (Penal Code Article 523, paragraph 2). "Secret" prostitution is prostitution outside the licensing system of the 1931 law, under which no licences are reported to have been issued since 1975.[1][2][3] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | No provision of the Penal Code found for this overview makes paying for sex an offence; Articles 523 to 527 target those who practise or facilitate secret prostitution and third parties. Adultery by a married person is a separate offence (Articles 487–489).[2][4] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | On paper the 1931 law allows licensed houses run by women over 25, with governor's permits, police registration and twice-weekly medical examinations. Licences are reported not to have been issued since 1975, so brothels operate outside the law and facilitating secret prostitution is an offence under Article 523. Governors may close hotels, cafés or nightclubs that facilitate indecency.[1][2][3][5] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Luring or taking away a woman or girl under 21, even with her consent, or an older woman by deceit, violence, threat or abuse of influence, to satisfy another's desires carries at least a year and a fine (Article 524). Holding a person in a brothel against their will, including over a debt, carries two months to two years (Article 525), and living off another's prostitution six months to two years (Article 527).[1][2][4] |
| Advertising sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | Habitually facilitating public solicitation for profit, or using public means to attract people to debauchery, is punishable by one month to one year and a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 Lebanese pounds (Penal Code Article 526, as described in a 2016 legal article). No specific provision on online advertising was found.[2] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Anyone who practises secret prostitution or facilitates it is punishable by one month to one year in prison and a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 Lebanese pounds (Penal Code Article 523, paragraph 2). "Secret" prostitution is prostitution outside the licensing system of the 1931 law, under which no licences are reported to have been issued since 1975.[1][2][3]
Confidence: medium. Text from a Ministry of Justice page showing fines as amended in 1993; a 2014 amendment to Article 523 (aggravation within the family) was not checked. The 1975 date comes from news reporting.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
No provision of the Penal Code found for this overview makes paying for sex an offence; Articles 523 to 527 target those who practise or facilitate secret prostitution and third parties. Adultery by a married person is a separate offence (Articles 487–489).[2][4]
Confidence: low. Whether clients are prosecuted as accomplices or under other provisions was not checked.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
On paper the 1931 law allows licensed houses run by women over 25, with governor's permits, police registration and twice-weekly medical examinations. Licences are reported not to have been issued since 1975, so brothels operate outside the law and facilitating secret prostitution is an offence under Article 523. Governors may close hotels, cafés or nightclubs that facilitate indecency.[1][2][3][5]
General Security issues an "entry visa of an artist to touristic enterprises", with monthly fees per artist by venue class; news reporting has long described the so-called super nightclubs that employ these women as fronts for prostitution.
Confidence: medium. The 1931 law itself was not opened; its content is taken from a 2016 article by a lawyer in the Lebanese Army's official magazine. Sources differ on its date (6 February or 6 December 1931).
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Luring or taking away a woman or girl under 21, even with her consent, or an older woman by deceit, violence, threat or abuse of influence, to satisfy another's desires carries at least a year and a fine (Article 524). Holding a person in a brothel against their will, including over a debt, carries two months to two years (Article 525), and living off another's prostitution six months to two years (Article 527).[1][2][4]
Confidence: medium. Articles 525 to 529 are taken from the 2016 Army magazine article rather than a statute text.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
Habitually facilitating public solicitation for profit, or using public means to attract people to debauchery, is punishable by one month to one year and a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 Lebanese pounds (Penal Code Article 526, as described in a 2016 legal article). No specific provision on online advertising was found.[2]
Confidence: low. The statute text of Article 526 was not opened, and the UN ESCWA 2024 review summarises Articles 526 and 527 differently (forced prostitution and living off others' prostitution). Lebanon has no general cybercrime law according to the same review.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| قانون العقوبات — مواد ذات صلة بالأحداث Penal Code of 1943, as amended art. 523–529 | Articles 523 to 529 punish secret prostitution, its facilitation, luring, holding persons in brothels, public solicitation and living off prostitution.[1] | |
| البغاء والدعارة في القانون اللبناني Law of 1931 regulating prostitution | Provides for licensed brothels, registration and medical checks; reportedly unused for new licences since 1975.[2] | 1931 |
Timeline
- 1931A law under the French mandate sets up licensed brothels with registered women and compulsory medical checks.[2][3]
- 1975The government stops issuing brothel licences, according to news reporting.[3]
- 27 May 1993Law No. 239 updates the fines for the prostitution offences in Articles 523 and 524 of the Penal Code.[1]
Sources
- قانون العقوبات — مواد ذات صلة بالأحداث (Penal Code — provisions relating to minors (including Articles 523 and 524)). Ministry of Justice of Lebanon (juvenile justice site). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- البغاء والدعارة في القانون اللبناني (Prostitution in Lebanese law (Defence Magazine, issue 371)). Lebanese Army (official website), May 2016. government · accessed 30 October 2026
- Sex for Sale in Beirut. Foreign Policy, 9 February 2012. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- Country matrix 2024: Lebanon — Gender Justice and the Law. UN ESCWA, UNDP, UNFPA and UN Women. intergovernmental · accessed 30 October 2026
- Entry visa of an artist to touristic enterprises. General Directorate of General Security. government · accessed 30 October 2026