Prostitution laws in Myanmarမြန်မာ
Myanmar's Suppression of Prostitution Act 1949, amended by Law No. 7/98 of 1998, criminalises people who sell sex rather than their clients. According to legal reviews of the Act, soliciting customers for prostitution (section 3) carries one to three years' imprisonment with hard labour and a possible fine, and a court may order detention in a designated facility instead of prison. Living on the earnings of a person whose occupation is prostitution and managing a brothel (section 5(1)) carry one to five years. The 1998 amendment widened "brothel" to any house, building, room, vehicle, vessel, aircraft or place habitually used for prostitution. The official text could not be opened for this review, so the detail rests on secondary legal analyses.
Legal model
Selling and buying prohibited. Selling sex is an offence (criminal or administrative), whether or not buying is.
The Suppression of Prostitution Act 1949, as amended in 1998, punishes publicly soliciting for prostitution and living from one's own prostitution, as well as brothel-keeping and living on the earnings of others. The Act contains no offence for clients.[1][2]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | Soliciting customers for prostitution is punished with one to three years' imprisonment with hard labour and a possible fine (section 3). Section 17 lets the court order detention in a designated facility instead of prison, including for persons who make their living from prostitution (section 7(1)(a)).[1][2] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | The Act does not include any offence for customers of sex workers.[1] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Managing a brothel is punished with one to five years' imprisonment and a possible fine. Since 1998 "brothel" covers any house, building, room, vehicle, vessel, aircraft or place habitually used for prostitution or used in any kind of business for that purpose.[1][2] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Depending on a person whose occupation is prostitution (living on the earnings) is punished with one to five years and a possible fine. Procuring persons for prostitution and renting premises for use as a brothel are also offences.[1][2] |
| Advertising sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | No provision specifically on advertising was identified. Offering one's own services publicly would fall under the soliciting offence, and advertising for others could amount to procuring or aiding prostitution.[1][2] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Soliciting customers for prostitution is punished with one to three years' imprisonment with hard labour and a possible fine (section 3). Section 17 lets the court order detention in a designated facility instead of prison, including for persons who make their living from prostitution (section 7(1)(a)).[1][2]
Confidence: low. The statute could not be opened (ILO NATLEX blocked; no official English text found). Section numbers and penalties are taken from the Asia Catalyst/Vance Center review (2018), which works from an unofficial translation.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
The Act does not include any offence for customers of sex workers.[1]
Confidence: low. Statute not checked; based on the Asia Catalyst/Vance Center review (2018). Buying sex from a child is covered by other laws not reviewed here.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Managing a brothel is punished with one to five years' imprisonment and a possible fine. Since 1998 "brothel" covers any house, building, room, vehicle, vessel, aircraft or place habitually used for prostitution or used in any kind of business for that purpose.[1][2]
Confidence: low. Statute not checked; secondary legal analyses only.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Depending on a person whose occupation is prostitution (living on the earnings) is punished with one to five years and a possible fine. Procuring persons for prostitution and renting premises for use as a brothel are also offences.[1][2]
Confidence: low. Statute not checked; secondary legal analyses only. Exact section numbers for procuring and renting premises were not confirmed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No provision specifically on advertising was identified. Offering one's own services publicly would fall under the soliciting offence, and advertising for others could amount to procuring or aiding prostitution.[1][2]
Confidence: low. Inference; neither the statute nor media and electronic-transactions law was reviewed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| A Legal Review of Detention Centers for Sex Workers in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam Suppression of Prostitution Act 1949, as amended by Law No. 7/98 s. 3 · s. 5(1) · s. 7(1)(a) · s. 17 | Main prostitution statute: soliciting, living on earnings, brothel management, detention of offenders in designated facilities.[1] | 1949 |
Timeline
Sources
- A Legal Review of Detention Centers for Sex Workers in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Asia Catalyst and Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice, June 2018. ngo · accessed 30 October 2026
- Input to thematic report of the SR Torture to HRC49: joint submission by ILGA Asia and C.A.N-Myanmar. ILGA Asia and C.A.N-Myanmar (via OHCHR), 31 August 2021. ngo · accessed 30 October 2026