Prostitution Prostitution laws in Tunisiaتونس
Tunisia keeps a colonial-era licensing system on paper but criminalises prostitution outside it. Article 231 of the Penal Code punishes women who, outside the cases provided for by regulations, offer themselves to passers-by or engage in prostitution, even occasionally, with six months to two years in prison, and treats anyone who has sex with them as an accomplice liable to the same penalty. Procuring carries one to three years (Article 232), and publicly drawing attention to an opportunity for debauchery, including by electronic messages, carries six months (Article 226 bis). The 1942 decree regulates registered sex work in licensed houses, subject to medical checks, a special tax and Interior Ministry registration. The last houses, in Tunis and Sfax, were closed in March 2020 during the COVID-19 crisis; no reopening was found.
Legal model
Selling and buying prohibited. Selling sex is an offence (criminal or administrative), whether or not buying is.
Borderline. A decree of 30 April 1942 and a 1977 Interior Ministry circular still provide for licensed houses with registered women, so Tunisia is often listed as a regulated country. Outside that system, Article 231 of the Penal Code punishes women who sell sex and, as accomplices, their clients. The last licensed houses, in Tunis and Sfax, have been shut since March 2020, so in practice no legal route was found to exist in 2026.[1][2][3]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | Outside the cases provided for by the regulations in force, women who offer themselves to passers-by by gestures or words, or engage in prostitution even occasionally, face six months to two years in prison and a fine of 20 to 200 dinars (Article 231). The only exception is registered work in a licensed house under the 1942 decree, and no such house was found to be operating in 2026.[1][2][3] |
| Buying sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | Anyone who has sexual relations with a woman covered by Article 231 is treated as an accomplice and faces the same penalty of six months to two years and a fine of 20 to 200 dinars. This paragraph was added in 1968.[1] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Licensed Breach: criminal offence | A decree of 30 April 1942 still provides for licensed houses in which registered women may work, subject to medical tests, a special tax and Interior Ministry registration. In practice the remaining houses in Tunis (Sidi Abdallah Guech) and Sfax have been closed since March 2020. Running prostitution outside that system falls under the procuring offence (Article 232).[1][2][3] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | Anyone who knowingly aids, protects or assists another's prostitution or soliciting, shares its proceeds, lives with a person habitually engaged in it without sufficient resources of their own, recruits or keeps a person for prostitution even with consent, or acts as an intermediary is a procurer, punishable by one to three years and a fine of 100 to 500 dinars (Article 232). Aggravating circumstances raise this to three to five years (Article 233).[1] |
| Advertising sexual services | Illegal Criminal offence | Publicly drawing attention to an opportunity to commit debauchery by writings, recordings, or audio, visual, electronic or optical messages is punishable by six months in prison and a fine of 1,000 dinars (Article 226 bis). Offering oneself to passers-by by gestures or words is covered by Article 231, and assisting another's soliciting is procuring under Article 232.[1] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Outside the cases provided for by the regulations in force, women who offer themselves to passers-by by gestures or words, or engage in prostitution even occasionally, face six months to two years in prison and a fine of 20 to 200 dinars (Article 231). The only exception is registered work in a licensed house under the 1942 decree, and no such house was found to be operating in 2026.[1][2][3]
Note. Article 231 is worded for women only. The status of licensed houses after 2021 could not be confirmed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Anyone who has sexual relations with a woman covered by Article 231 is treated as an accomplice and faces the same penalty of six months to two years and a fine of 20 to 200 dinars. This paragraph was added in 1968.[1]
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
A decree of 30 April 1942 still provides for licensed houses in which registered women may work, subject to medical tests, a special tax and Interior Ministry registration. In practice the remaining houses in Tunis (Sidi Abdallah Guech) and Sfax have been closed since March 2020. Running prostitution outside that system falls under the procuring offence (Article 232).[1][2][3]
Confidence: medium. The 1942 decree itself could not be opened; its content is taken from the UN ESCWA country matrix. Nawaat reported in 2021 that no authority had ordered the Sfax houses closed for good; their status since then was not confirmed.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
Anyone who knowingly aids, protects or assists another's prostitution or soliciting, shares its proceeds, lives with a person habitually engaged in it without sufficient resources of their own, recruits or keeps a person for prostitution even with consent, or acts as an intermediary is a procurer, punishable by one to three years and a fine of 100 to 500 dinars (Article 232). Aggravating circumstances raise this to three to five years (Article 233).[1]
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
Publicly drawing attention to an opportunity to commit debauchery by writings, recordings, or audio, visual, electronic or optical messages is punishable by six months in prison and a fine of 1,000 dinars (Article 226 bis). Offering oneself to passers-by by gestures or words is covered by Article 231, and assisting another's soliciting is procuring under Article 232.[1]
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Décret du 9 juillet 1913 portant promulgation du Code Pénal Penal Code (Decree of 9 July 1913), as amended art. 226 bis · art. 231–235 | Article 231 criminalises selling sex outside the regulated system and its clients; Articles 232 to 235 cover procuring; Article 226 bis covers publicly drawing attention to debauchery.[1] |
Timeline
- 30 April 1942Decree regulating prostitution in licensed houses, still cited as in force by the UN in 2024.[2]
- 2 July 1964Law No. 64-34 reinserts Articles 231 to 235 on prostitution and procuring into the Penal Code.[1]
- 8 March 1968Law No. 68-1 adds the paragraph making clients accomplices under Article 231.[1]
- 2 August 2004Law No. 2004-73 adds Article 226 bis, including the offence of publicly drawing attention to an opportunity for debauchery.[1]
- March 2020The licensed houses in Tunis and Sfax are closed during the COVID-19 health crisis.[3]
Sources
- Décret du 9 juillet 1913 portant promulgation du Code Pénal (Decree of 9 July 1913 promulgating the Penal Code (consolidated)). DCAF, Tunisia security-sector legal database. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Country matrix 2024: Tunisia — Gender Justice and the Law. UN ESCWA, UNDP, UNFPA and UN Women. intergovernmental · accessed 30 October 2026
- A Tunis et à Sfax: Les travailleuses du sexe, victimes collatérales du Covid-19 (In Tunis and Sfax: sex workers, collateral victims of Covid-19). Nawaat, 17 August 2021. news · accessed 30 October 2026