Prostitution laws in Nepalनेपाल
Nepal folds prostitution into its anti-trafficking law. Section 4(1) of the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act 2007 lists selling or buying a person, putting someone into prostitution with or without benefit, unlawful organ removal and वेश्यागमन (visiting a sex worker as a client) as acts of human trafficking. A client faces one to three months' imprisonment and a fine of 2,000 to 5,000 rupees. Anyone who puts another person into prostitution faces about ten to fifteen years. A "victim" includes a person "put into prostitution", and the Act creates no offence for the seller. Sex workers have instead been prosecuted under the Some Public (Crime and Punishment) Act 1970. A First Amendment Bill, tabled in 2025 and approved again by the Cabinet in July 2026, rewrites the trafficking definition.
Legal model
Buying criminalised (Nordic model). Buying sex is an offence; selling it is not (the "Nordic" or "Equality" model).
The Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act 2007 treats prostitution entirely as trafficking. Putting someone into prostitution "with or without any benefit" and वेश्यागमन (going to a sex worker as a client) are both defined as human trafficking. The Act creates no offence for the person who sells sex, who falls within its definition of a victim. In practice, research by the Forum for Women, Law and Development found that police released clients and prosecuted sex workers under the Some Public (Crime and Punishment) Act 1970.[1][2][3]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | The 2007 Act creates no offence for selling sex and treats a person "put into prostitution" as a victim. Sex workers have nonetheless been detained and prosecuted under the Some Public (Crime and Punishment) Act 1970, a public-order law.[2][3] |
| Buying sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | Going to a sex worker as a client (वेश्यागमन) is defined as an act of human trafficking and punished by one to three months' imprisonment and a fine of 2,000 to 5,000 rupees. FWLD reported in 2014 that in practice clients caught in raids were released.[1][2][3][4] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | No separate brothel offence was found. Running a brothel involves putting others into prostitution, which is human trafficking under section 4(1)(b) regardless of whether the operator profits, and is punished under section 15(1)(b).[2][3] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Putting someone into prostitution, "with or without any benefit", is human trafficking punishable by about ten to fifteen years' imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 rupees. Transporting a person within Nepal or abroad for prostitution by enticement, deception, coercion or similar means is a separate offence.[1][2] |
| Advertising sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | No provision specifically on advertising sexual services was found. A third party who places ads to supply others for prostitution risks the offence of putting someone into prostitution, which applies with or without benefit.[2] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
The 2007 Act creates no offence for selling sex and treats a person "put into prostitution" as a victim. Sex workers have nonetheless been detained and prosecuted under the Some Public (Crime and Punishment) Act 1970, a public-order law.[2][3]
Confidence: medium. The Some Public (Crime and Punishment) Act 1970 was not read; its use against sex workers is documented by an NGO study (FWLD 2014, including a 2009 Kathmandu raid), not by court statistics.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Going to a sex worker as a client (वेश्यागमन) is defined as an act of human trafficking and punished by one to three months' imprisonment and a fine of 2,000 to 5,000 rupees. FWLD reported in 2014 that in practice clients caught in raids were released.[1][2][3][4]
Section 4(1)(घ) of the Nepali text reads "वेश्यागमन गर्ने", which the unofficial English translation renders as "to go for in prostitution" and FWLD as "engaging in prostitution as a client". The penalty sits in section 15(1)(घ) (rendered in the English translation as "a person engaged in prostitution").
Confidence: medium. The official Nepali text on the Law Commission portal could not be opened (connection refused); its wording of section 4(1) was confirmed through a search result and a Nepali news article quoting it. The penalty was read in an unofficial English translation.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
No separate brothel offence was found. Running a brothel involves putting others into prostitution, which is human trafficking under section 4(1)(b) regardless of whether the operator profits, and is punished under section 15(1)(b).[2][3]
Confidence: medium. The English translation states the section 15(1)(b) penalty as "Ten years to Five years" with a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 rupees, an evident typographical error; other translations give ten to fifteen years. The official Nepali text could not be opened to settle it.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Putting someone into prostitution, "with or without any benefit", is human trafficking punishable by about ten to fifteen years' imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 rupees. Transporting a person within Nepal or abroad for prostitution by enticement, deception, coercion or similar means is a separate offence.[1][2]
Confidence: medium. Penalties as given in an unofficial English translation; see the note on brothels.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No provision specifically on advertising sexual services was found. A third party who places ads to supply others for prostitution risks the offence of putting someone into prostitution, which applies with or without benefit.[2]
Confidence: low. Advertising, electronic transactions and public-decency laws were not checked; this entry only reflects the trafficking Act. Whether a sex worker's own advertisement is an offence was not established.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| मानव बेचबिखन तथा ओसारपसार (नियन्त्रण) ऐन, २०६४ Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act 2064 (2007), Act No. 5 of 2064 s. 2 · s. 4 · s. 15 | Defines putting someone into prostitution and visiting a sex worker as a client as human trafficking, sets the penalties, and treats persons put into prostitution as victims.[1] | 24 July 2007 |
Pending and under review
Proposed · updated 29 July 2026
Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) (First Amendment) Bill
Tabled in the House of Representatives on 24 July 2025. It broadens the definition of trafficking in line with the Palermo Protocol (forced labour or service, child trafficking, smuggling), raises the maximum fine to 500,000 rupees and adds extraterritorial jurisdiction. The Cabinet approved submitting it to Parliament again on 29 July 2026. Press reports do not say whether it changes the treatment of clients or sex workers.[5][6]
Timeline
- 24 July 2007The Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act 2064 is authenticated and published, defining visiting a sex worker as a trafficking act.[2]
- 27 February 2009During a raid on a Kathmandu brothel, clients are released and the women prosecuted under the Some Public (Crime and Punishment) Act, an example FWLD cites of the 2007 Act's client offence going unenforced.[3]
- 24 July 2025The government tables the Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) (First Amendment) Bill in the House of Representatives.[5]
- 29 July 2026The Cabinet approves submitting the First Amendment Bill to the Federal Parliament.[6]
Sources
- मानव बेचबिखन तथा ओसारपसार (नियन्त्रण) ऐन, २०६४ (Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act 2064 (2007)). Nepal Law Commission (नेपाल कानून आयोग), 24 July 2007. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act, 2064 (2007), unofficial English translation. The Warnath Group (copy of the English translation), 24 July 2007. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act, 2007: Its Implementation. Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD), 2014. ngo · accessed 30 October 2026
- होशियार ∕ मानव तस्करी र बेचबिखनमा पर्नुहोला (Beware of falling into human smuggling and trafficking). eAdarsha. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) (Amendment) Bill tabled at HoR. The Himalayan Times, 25 July 2025. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- Cabinet Meeting Approves 9 Bills for Federal Parliament, Decides on Administration and Technical Education. Ratopati (English), 29 July 2026. news · accessed 30 October 2026