Prostitution in Togo: Difference between revisions
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==Human rights concerns== |
==Human rights concerns== |
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In the 2000s concerns were raised internationally about child prostitution in Togo.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=TOGO: Child prostitution goes unchecked in Togo |url=http://www.irinnews.org/report/49619/togo-child-prostitution-goes-unchecked-in-togo |newspaper=IRIN Africa |location=Lomé |date=23 April 2004 |access-date=14 September 2015 }}</ref> |
In the 2000s concerns were raised internationally about child prostitution in Togo.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=TOGO: Child prostitution goes unchecked in Togo |url=http://www.irinnews.org/report/49619/togo-child-prostitution-goes-unchecked-in-togo |newspaper=IRIN Africa |location=Lomé |date=23 April 2004 |access-date=14 September 2015 }}</ref> |
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Togolese law explicitly prohibits the sexual exploitation of children and child prostitution, although it is not effectively enforced.<ref name=HRR>{{cite news|title= 2010 Human Rights Report: Togo |work=[[US State Department]]|date=|url= https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/af/154374.htm|accessdate=2012-04-11}}</ref> NGO organizations such as UNICEF have intervened to try to get child prostitutes off the streets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/2009_2839.html |title=Togo - Nadia’s story: from prostitution to rehabilitation |last1=Martin-Achard| first1= Nicolas |last2=Bonnaud |first2= Hadrien |date=20 November 2008 |website=www.unicef.org |publisher=UNICEF |access-date=14 September 2015 |quote=In line with the objectives for 2012 and in partnership with the Government of Togo, UNICEF provides a minimum package of services to vulnerable children.}}</ref> There are also reports of women being trafficked for prostitution.<ref name=HRR/> In 2014, it was extimated there were 10,284 sex workers in the country.<ref name="unaids">{{cite web|title=Togo 2016 Country factsheet|url=http://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/togo|website=[[UNAIDS]]}}</ref> |
Togolese law explicitly prohibits the sexual exploitation of children and child prostitution, although it is not effectively enforced.<ref name=HRR>{{cite news|title= 2010 Human Rights Report: Togo |work=[[US State Department]]|date=|url= https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/af/154374.htm|accessdate=2012-04-11}}</ref> NGO organizations such as UNICEF have intervened to try to get child prostitutes off the streets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/2009_2839.html |title=Togo - Nadia’s story: from prostitution to rehabilitation |last1=Martin-Achard| first1= Nicolas |last2=Bonnaud |first2= Hadrien |date=20 November 2008 |website=www.unicef.org |publisher=UNICEF |access-date=14 September 2015 |quote=In line with the objectives for 2012 and in partnership with the Government of Togo, UNICEF provides a minimum package of services to vulnerable children.}}</ref> There are also reports of women being trafficked for prostitution.<ref name=HRR/> In 2014, it was extimated there were 10,284 sex workers in the country.<ref name="unaids">{{cite web|title=Togo 2016 Country factsheet|url=http://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/togo|website=[[UNAIDS]]|access-date=16 January 2018 }}</ref> |
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==Sexual health== |
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HIV<ref name="unaids" /> and [[syphilis]]<ref name="syphilis">{{cite web|last1=Halatoko|first1=Wemboo Afiwa|last2=Landoh|first2=Dadja Essoya|last3=Saka|first3=Bayaki|last4=Akolly|first4=Koffi|last5=Layibo|first5=Yao|last6=Yaya|first6=Issifou|last7=Gbetoglo|first7=Dodji|last8=Banla|first8=Abiba Kere|last9=Pitché|first9=Palokinam|title=Prevalence of syphilis among female sex workers and their clients in Togo in 2011|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5320666/|website=BMC Public Health|accessdate=16 January 2018|doi=10.1186/s12889-017-4134-x|date=21 February 2017}}</ref> are problems in the country. Sex workers and their clients are high risk groups, especially as [[condom]] use is inconsistent,<ref name="hiv11">{{cite web|last1=Pitché|first1=Palokinam|last2=Gbetoglo|first2=Komi|last3=Saka|first3=Bayaki|last4=Akakpo|first4=Séfako|last5=Landoh|first5=Dadja Essoya|last6=d'Alméida|first6=Stéphane|last7=Banla|first7=Abiba Kere|last8=Sodji|first8=Dométo|last9=Deku|first9=Kodzo|title=HIV prevalence and behavioral studies in female sex workers in Togo: a decline in the prevalence between 2005 and 2011|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3809967/|website=The Pan African Medical Journal|accessdate=16 January 2018|doi=10.11604/pamj.2013.15.62.2457|date=21 June 2013}}</ref> although there are 11 different prevention programmes distributing condoms throughout the country.<ref name="unaids" /> |
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==Sex trafficking== |
==Sex trafficking== |
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Revision as of 18:31, 16 January 2018
Prostitution in Togo is legal, but related activities such as solicitation, living off the earnings of prostitution or procuring are prohibited.[1] Punishment is up to 10 years imprisonment if minors or violence is involved.[1]. There are reports of brothels[2] and prostitutes working in various parts of Lomé, including Décor and Kodjoviakope (near Aflao across the Ghanaian border). The nationalities of the prostitutes include Togolese as well as Nigerians, Liberians, Ghanaians and Ivorian nationals. It is not uncommon for prostitutes travel between Togo and neighbouring countries to find work.[3]
Human rights concerns
In the 2000s concerns were raised internationally about child prostitution in Togo.[4] Togolese law explicitly prohibits the sexual exploitation of children and child prostitution, although it is not effectively enforced.[5] NGO organizations such as UNICEF have intervened to try to get child prostitutes off the streets.[6] There are also reports of women being trafficked for prostitution.[5] In 2014, it was extimated there were 10,284 sex workers in the country.[7]
Sexual health
HIV[7] and syphilis[8] are problems in the country. Sex workers and their clients are high risk groups, especially as condom use is inconsistent,[9] although there are 11 different prevention programmes distributing condoms throughout the country.[7]
Sex trafficking
Togo is a source, transit and, to a lesser extent, destination country for women, and children subjected to sex trafficking. The western border of the Plateau region, which provides easy access to major roads leading to Lome, and Accra, Ghana, was a primary source for trafficking victims during the reporting period. Most Togolese victims are children exploited within the country. Traffickers bring children from rural areas to Lome, where they are exploited in child sex trafficking. Girls from Ghana are exploited in sex trafficking in Togo. From September to April, many Togolese adults and children migrate in search of economic opportunities to Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali, where many are subjected to sex trafficking. Togolese women have been fraudulently recruited for employment in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, the United States, and Europe, where they are subjected to forced prostitution.[10]
The United States Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons ranks Togo as a "Tier 2" country.[10]
References
- ^ a b "Togo: Code pénal du Togo (révisé en avril 2000)". Wipo. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- ^ "Togo child prostitute crackdown". BBC. Retrieved 2012-04-11.
- ^ "Prostitutes leave Lome bases for Ghana". Modern Ghana. 5 February 2008. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- ^ "TOGO: Child prostitution goes unchecked in Togo". IRIN Africa. Lomé. 23 April 2004. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- ^ a b "2010 Human Rights Report: Togo". US State Department. Retrieved 2012-04-11.
- ^ Martin-Achard, Nicolas; Bonnaud, Hadrien (20 November 2008). "Togo - Nadia's story: from prostitution to rehabilitation". www.unicef.org. UNICEF. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
In line with the objectives for 2012 and in partnership with the Government of Togo, UNICEF provides a minimum package of services to vulnerable children.
- ^ a b c "Togo 2016 Country factsheet". UNAIDS. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ^ Halatoko, Wemboo Afiwa; Landoh, Dadja Essoya; Saka, Bayaki; Akolly, Koffi; Layibo, Yao; Yaya, Issifou; Gbetoglo, Dodji; Banla, Abiba Kere; Pitché, Palokinam (21 February 2017). "Prevalence of syphilis among female sex workers and their clients in Togo in 2011". BMC Public Health. doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4134-x. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ Pitché, Palokinam; Gbetoglo, Komi; Saka, Bayaki; Akakpo, Séfako; Landoh, Dadja Essoya; d'Alméida, Stéphane; Banla, Abiba Kere; Sodji, Dométo; Deku, Kodzo (21 June 2013). "HIV prevalence and behavioral studies in female sex workers in Togo: a decline in the prevalence between 2005 and 2011". The Pan African Medical Journal. doi:10.11604/pamj.2013.15.62.2457. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Togo 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
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