Prostitution Prostitution laws in Saint Lucia
In Saint Lucia, the Criminal Code (Cap. 3.01) does not make the exchange of sex for money an offence as such, but loitering about or importuning passers-by in a public place for prostitution carries a $1,000 fine, and persistently soliciting in public for immoral purposes or knowingly living on the earnings of prostitution carries five years on indictment or two years summarily. Permitting premises to be used as a brothel or for habitual prostitution, using premises one occupies for one's own habitual prostitution, and letting premises for a brothel carry up to $15,000 or three years. Procuring a person to become a 'common prostitute' carries seven years. 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 is not in itself an offence, but the Criminal Code (Cap. 3.01) criminalises brothel-keeping, including a tenant or occupier using premises 'for habitual prostitution of himself or herself' (s. 143), procuring a person to become a 'common prostitute' (s. 141), public soliciting (ss. 150 and 151(1)(b)) and living on the earnings of prostitution (s. 151). The own-premises limb makes indoor work from a home one occupies an offence if habitual.[1][2]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Selling sex is not an offence as such. Loitering about or importuning a passer-by in a public place for prostitution carries a $1,000 fine; persistently soliciting or importuning in public for immoral purposes carries five years on indictment or two years summarily. A tenant or occupier who uses premises for their own habitual prostitution commits an offence punishable by up to $15,000 or three years.[1][2][3] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | No offence of paying an adult for sex was found. The public soliciting offences in ss. 150 and 151(1)(b) are not limited to sellers.[2][3] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Anyone who keeps or manages, or assists in the care or management of, a brothel is deemed its keeper and commits an offence. A tenant or occupier who knowingly permits premises to be used as a brothel or for habitual prostitution, and a landlord who lets premises knowing they will be so used, face up to $15,000 or three years; a police notice to the landlord fixes them with knowledge.[1] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Procuring any person to become a 'common prostitute', or to leave home or Saint Lucia to frequent a brothel, carries seven years on indictment. Knowingly living on the earnings of prostitution carries five years on indictment or two years summarily, with a presumption against anyone who lives with or controls a sex worker; a woman who controls a sex worker for gain faces the same.[2][4][5] |
| Advertising sexual services | Restricted | No offence aimed specifically at advertising sexual services was found. The soliciting offences are limited to public places, and a third party who profits from advertising others could face the living-on-earnings offence.[2] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex is not an offence as such. Loitering about or importuning a passer-by in a public place for prostitution carries a $1,000 fine; persistently soliciting or importuning in public for immoral purposes carries five years on indictment or two years summarily. A tenant or occupier who uses premises for their own habitual prostitution commits an offence punishable by up to $15,000 or three years.[1][2][3]
Note. Read from the Attorney General's Chambers online Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023).
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
No offence of paying an adult for sex was found. The public soliciting offences in ss. 150 and 151(1)(b) are not limited to sellers.[2][3]
Confidence: medium. Read from the Attorney General's Chambers online Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023). Only the prostitution sections of the Code were reviewed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Anyone who keeps or manages, or assists in the care or management of, a brothel is deemed its keeper and commits an offence. A tenant or occupier who knowingly permits premises to be used as a brothel or for habitual prostitution, and a landlord who lets premises knowing they will be so used, face up to $15,000 or three years; a police notice to the landlord fixes them with knowledge.[1]
Note. Read from the Attorney General's Chambers online Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023). The penalty in s. 143(5) is expressed for subsections (2) and (3); the keeper offence in s. 143(1) states no separate penalty.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Procuring any person to become a 'common prostitute', or to leave home or Saint Lucia to frequent a brothel, carries seven years on indictment. Knowingly living on the earnings of prostitution carries five years on indictment or two years summarily, with a presumption against anyone who lives with or controls a sex worker; a woman who controls a sex worker for gain faces the same.[2][4][5]
Note. Read from the Attorney General's Chambers online Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023).
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No offence aimed specifically at advertising sexual services was found. The soliciting offences are limited to public places, and a third party who profits from advertising others could face the living-on-earnings offence.[2]
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal Code, s. 143 Keeping brothel, Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023) Criminal Code, Cap. 3.01 (Revised Laws of Saint Lucia 2023) s. 141 · s. 143 · s. 149 · s. 150 · s. 151 | Procuring (s. 141), keeping brothel (s. 143), trading in prostitution by a woman (s. 149), soliciting (s. 150) and living on earnings (s. 151).[1] |
Sources
- Criminal Code, s. 143 Keeping brothel, Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023). Attorney General's Chambers, Saint Lucia. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code, s. 151 Living on earnings of prostitution, Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023). Attorney General's Chambers, Saint Lucia. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code, s. 150 Soliciting prostitution, Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023). Attorney General's Chambers, Saint Lucia. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code, s. 141 Procuring or aiding and abetting, Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023). Attorney General's Chambers, Saint Lucia. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Criminal Code, s. 149 Trading in prostitution by female, Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2023). Attorney General's Chambers, Saint Lucia. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026