Prostitution laws in Saint Kitts and NevisFederation of Saint Christopher and Nevis
In Saint Kitts and Nevis, selling and buying sex in private are not offences. The Small Charges Act (Cap. 4.36) makes keeping a brothel or disorderly house punishable by a fine of up to $3,500; a tenant or occupier knowingly permitting premises to be used for habitual prostitution, and a woman who controls a sex worker's movements for gain, face up to six months; loitering in a public place for prostitution 'to the annoyance of the public' carries two months, and a man persistently soliciting in public for immoral purposes six months. The Criminal Law Amendment Act (Cap. 4.05) covers detention in a brothel and procuring sex by threats or fraud. No offence aimed specifically at advertising sexual services was found.
Legal model
Legal, organisation banned. Selling and buying are legal, but brothels, procuring and organising are criminal offences.
Exchanging sex for money in private is not an offence, but the Small Charges Act (Cap. 4.36) penalises keeping a brothel (s. 19), permitting premises to be used for habitual prostitution, a woman controlling a sex worker for gain, and public loitering or soliciting for prostitution (s. 40). No general offence of living on the earnings of prostitution was found in the Acts reviewed.[1][2]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Selling sex in private is not an offence. Loitering or being in a public place for the purpose of prostitution or solicitation to the annoyance of the public carries up to two months; a 'common prostitute' wandering in public and behaving riotously or indecently carries up to six months.[1] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | No offence of paying an adult for sex was found. A male person who in a public place persistently solicits or importunes for immoral purposes faces up to six months, which could reach clients.[1] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Keeping a disorderly house or a brothel in any town or village, or allowing one's house to be used as a brothel, is punishable by a fine of up to $3,500. A tenant, occupier or person in charge who knowingly permits premises to be used for habitual prostitution faces up to six months.[1] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | A woman who for gain controls a sex worker's movements so as to aid or compel their prostitution faces up to six months. The Criminal Law Amendment Act penalises procuring sex by threats or fraud and detaining a woman or girl in a brothel. No general offence of living on the earnings of prostitution, or of procuring an adult for prostitution, was found in the two Acts reviewed.[1][2] |
| Advertising sexual services | Restricted | No offence aimed specifically at advertising sexual services was found. The Small Charges Act offences cover public loitering and soliciting only.[1] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex in private is not an offence. Loitering or being in a public place for the purpose of prostitution or solicitation to the annoyance of the public carries up to two months; a 'common prostitute' wandering in public and behaving riotously or indecently carries up to six months.[1]
Note. Read from the Revised Edition showing the law as at 31 December 2017; no 2020 revised text of these Acts was found. Nevis Island ordinances were not checked.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
No offence of paying an adult for sex was found. A male person who in a public place persistently solicits or importunes for immoral purposes faces up to six months, which could reach clients.[1]
Confidence: medium. Read from the Revised Edition showing the law as at 31 December 2017; no 2020 revised text of these Acts was found. Nevis Island ordinances were not checked.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Keeping a disorderly house or a brothel in any town or village, or allowing one's house to be used as a brothel, is punishable by a fine of up to $3,500. A tenant, occupier or person in charge who knowingly permits premises to be used for habitual prostitution faces up to six months.[1]
Note. Read from the Revised Edition showing the law as at 31 December 2017; no 2020 revised text of these Acts was found. Nevis Island ordinances were not checked.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
A woman who for gain controls a sex worker's movements so as to aid or compel their prostitution faces up to six months. The Criminal Law Amendment Act penalises procuring sex by threats or fraud and detaining a woman or girl in a brothel. No general offence of living on the earnings of prostitution, or of procuring an adult for prostitution, was found in the two Acts reviewed.[1][2]
Confidence: low. Read from the Revised Edition showing the law as at 31 December 2017; no 2020 revised text of these Acts was found. Nevis Island ordinances were not checked. The Trafficking in Persons (Prevention) Act and the Offences Against the Person Act provisions on procuring were not fully reviewed, so a wider third-party offence may exist.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No offence aimed specifically at advertising sexual services was found. The Small Charges Act offences cover public loitering and soliciting only.[1]
Confidence: low. Inference from the absence of a specific provision in the acts reviewed; electronic-communications, obscenity and trafficking laws were not reviewed for platform liability.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Small Charges Act, Cap. 4.36, Revised Edition showing the law as at 31 December 2017 Small Charges Act, Cap. 4.36 (Revised Edition, 31 December 2017) s. 19 · s. 40 | Disorderly houses and brothels (s. 19) and the prostitution offences in s. 40.[1] | |
| Criminal Law Amendment Act, Cap. 4.05, Revised Edition showing the law as at 31 December 2017 Criminal Law Amendment Act, Cap. 4.05 (Revised Edition, 31 December 2017) s. 2 · s. 9 | Procuring sexual intercourse by threats, fraud or drugs (s. 2) and unlawful detention, including in a brothel (s. 9).[2] |
Sources
- Small Charges Act, Cap. 4.36, Revised Edition showing the law as at 31 December 2017. Law Commission of Saint Christopher and Nevis. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Law Amendment Act, Cap. 4.05, Revised Edition showing the law as at 31 December 2017. Law Commission of Saint Christopher and Nevis. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026