Prostitution Prostitution laws in Togo
Togo's Penal Code of 24 November 2015 does not make selling sex an offence, but publicly soliciting by any means, even passively, in order to prostitute oneself is fined 100,000 to 300,000 CFA francs, with community service for a repeat within a year. Procuring, defined broadly as aiding, protecting or profiting from another person's prostitution, carries five to ten years and a fine of 5 to 20 million CFA francs, and the same article says the client of the person in prostitution is punished in the same way. Running, financing or tolerating prostitution in an establishment, or providing premises or vehicles for it, carries the same penalty. Procuring through a telecommunications network aimed at the public is an aggravating circumstance. In April 2025 the national police warned that clients are among those liable.
Legal model
Buying criminalised (Nordic model). Buying sex is an offence; selling it is not (the "Nordic" or "Equality" model).
Borderline. Selling sex is not an offence, but public soliciting is fined (Art. 398). The 2015 Penal Code ends its procuring article with a clause punishing the client of a person in prostitution in the same way as the procurer (Art. 402), which the national police read as covering clients. Running venues and procuring are crimes. Treated as buyer criminalisation, with public soliciting penalised.[1][2][3]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Selling sex is not an offence, but racolage is: publicly soliciting another person by any means, including a merely passive attitude, to induce them into sexual relations for payment or the promise of it (Art. 397). Doing so in order to prostitute oneself is fined 100,000 to 300,000 CFA francs; a repeat within a year is fined 300,000 to 500,000 and 10 to 30 days of community service (Art. 398).[1][2] |
| Buying sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | Art. 402, which sets the penalty for procuring, ends: the client of the person delivered to prostitution is punished under the same conditions as the procurer, that is five to ten years of criminal imprisonment and a fine of 5 to 20 million CFA francs. The national police cited Arts. 401 and 402 in April 2025 in warning that clients themselves are liable.[2][3] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Owning, managing, running, financing or helping to finance a prostitution establishment; habitually tolerating prostitution or the seeking of clients in any establishment open to the public; and selling or making available non-public premises or vehicles knowing they are used for prostitution are punished by five to ten years and a fine of 5 to 20 million CFA francs (Art. 403). Courts may close the establishment (Art. 402).[1][2] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Procuring is aiding, assisting or protecting another's prostitution, profiting from or sharing its proceeds, or recruiting or pressuring a person into it (Art. 401): five to ten years and 5 to 20 million CFA francs (Art. 402). Acting as an intermediary, or living or associating with sex workers without being able to justify one's income, is treated as procuring (Art. 404). Aggravated forms carry up to 20 years (Arts. 405–407).[1][2] |
| Advertising sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | No advert-specific offence was found, but racolage covers public soliciting by any means (Art. 397), and publicly spreading incitements to practices contrary to good morals by any means of communication carries six months to two years (Art. 394). Procuring by messages to the public over a telecommunications network is aggravated (Art. 405(9)), and aiding another's prostitution is procuring (Art. 401), which on its face could reach an ad site.[2] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex is not an offence, but racolage is: publicly soliciting another person by any means, including a merely passive attitude, to induce them into sexual relations for payment or the promise of it (Art. 397). Doing so in order to prostitute oneself is fined 100,000 to 300,000 CFA francs; a repeat within a year is fined 300,000 to 500,000 and 10 to 30 days of community service (Art. 398).[1][2]
Art. 410 allows people who have sold sex to be required to undergo health examinations and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and HIV, at the cost of the procurers who exploited them.
Confidence: medium. Read in a transcription of the Journal officiel of 24 November 2015; the official gazette PDF was downloaded but not read page by page. Loi n° 2016-027 amended the Code; its text was not found, so changes to these articles cannot be ruled out. The 2022 amendment (loi n° 2022-018) concerns other articles.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Art. 402, which sets the penalty for procuring, ends: the client of the person delivered to prostitution is punished under the same conditions as the procurer, that is five to ten years of criminal imprisonment and a fine of 5 to 20 million CFA francs. The national police cited Arts. 401 and 402 in April 2025 in warning that clients themselves are liable.[2][3]
Confidence: medium. The clause sits in the procuring article and refers to "la personne livrée à la prostitution"; whether it covers every client or only clients of a person who is being procured is open to interpretation. No prosecution of a client was found.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Owning, managing, running, financing or helping to finance a prostitution establishment; habitually tolerating prostitution or the seeking of clients in any establishment open to the public; and selling or making available non-public premises or vehicles knowing they are used for prostitution are punished by five to ten years and a fine of 5 to 20 million CFA francs (Art. 403). Courts may close the establishment (Art. 402).[1][2]
Confidence: medium. Art. 403(3) on making premises available covers premises used by one or more people for prostitution, so on its face it could reach a landlord of a sex worker working alone or with others.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Procuring is aiding, assisting or protecting another's prostitution, profiting from or sharing its proceeds, or recruiting or pressuring a person into it (Art. 401): five to ten years and 5 to 20 million CFA francs (Art. 402). Acting as an intermediary, or living or associating with sex workers without being able to justify one's income, is treated as procuring (Art. 404). Aggravated forms carry up to 20 years (Arts. 405–407).[1][2]
Confidence: medium. Read in a transcription of the official gazette. Art. 405 gives the same five-to-ten-year range as Art. 402 with a higher fine (10 to 30 million CFA francs).
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No advert-specific offence was found, but racolage covers public soliciting by any means (Art. 397), and publicly spreading incitements to practices contrary to good morals by any means of communication carries six months to two years (Art. 394). Procuring by messages to the public over a telecommunications network is aggravated (Art. 405(9)), and aiding another's prostitution is procuring (Art. 401), which on its face could reach an ad site.[2]
Confidence: low. Classification inferred from general provisions; no case applying them to online adverts or ad sites was found. Togo's cybersecurity and electronic communications laws were not checked.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Loi n° 2015-10 du 24 novembre 2015 portant nouveau code pénal (Journal officiel de la République togolaise, 60e année, n° 30 spécial) Law No. 2015-10 of 24 November 2015 on the new Penal Code arts. 394 · arts. 397–398 · arts. 401–410 | Book II, sections on soliciting (Arts. 397–398) and on procuring and related offences (Arts. 401–410), including the client clause in Art. 402.[1] | 24 November 2015 |
Timeline
- 24 November 2015The new Penal Code (Law No. 2015-10) is published in the Journal officiel, with offences of soliciting, procuring and running prostitution establishments, and a clause punishing clients like procurers.[1][2]
- 11 April 2025The Togolese national police issue a warning that procuring is a crime, naming clients among those liable under Arts. 401 and 402 of the Penal Code.[3]
Sources
- Loi n° 2015-10 du 24 novembre 2015 portant nouveau code pénal (Journal officiel de la République togolaise, 60e année, n° 30 spécial) (Law No. 2015-10 of 24 November 2015 on the new Penal Code (Official Gazette, special issue No. 30)). FAOLEX (copy of the Journal officiel de la République togolaise), 24 November 2015. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Journal officiel 60è année n°30 (24 novembre 2015): transcription (Official Gazette, year 60, No. 30 (24 November 2015): transcription). jo-togo.darkaa.com (unofficial transcription of the Journal officiel), 24 November 2015. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Togo : La Police nationale alerte - Toute forme de proxénétisme est un crime (Togo: the national police warns that every form of procuring is a crime). Actulomé, 11 April 2025. news · accessed 30 October 2026