View source for Prostitution in Niger

{{short description|none}}
{{distinguish|Prostitution in Nigeria}}
'''Prostitution in Niger''' is illegal<ref name="indy">{{cite news|title= Niger's border prostitutes and the profits of Islam  |work=[[The Independent|Independent]]|date=2001-05-05|url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/nigers-border-prostitutes-and-the-profits-of-islam-683723.html|access-date=2012-04-12|location=London}}</ref> but common in the cities, near mines and around military bases.<ref name="chartsbin">{{cite web|title=The Legal Status of Prostitution by Country|url=http://chartsbin.com/view/snb|website=ChartsBin|access-date=2 February 2018}}</ref> [[UNAIDS]] estimate there are 46,630 sex workers in the country.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sex workers: Population size estimate - Number, 2016 |url=http://www.aidsinfoonline.org/gam/stock/shared/dv/PivotData_2018_7_22_636678151733621264.htm |website=www.aidsinfoonline.org |publisher=UNAIDS |access-date=21 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604174922/http://www.aidsinfoonline.org/gam/stock/shared/dv/PivotData_2018_7_22_636678151733621264.htm |archive-date=4 June 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Many have turned to [[prostitution]] because of poverty.<ref>{{cite web|title=Famine heightens prostitution in Niger|url=http://www.panapress.com/Famine-heightens-prostitution-in-Niger--13-573383-18-lang4-index.html|website=Panapress|access-date=2 February 2018|date=9 September 2005}}</ref>

Some [[Nigeria|Nigerian]] [[prostitute]]s ply their trade on the [[Niger]] border as many prostitutes are persecuted in their homeland and Niger is perceived as being more amiable and less likely to prosecute them for their trade.<ref name="indy" /> Nigerian men prefer to cross the border to seek sex as the punishment in [[Islam|Islamic]] Northern Nigeria is 50 lashes for "procuration of woman".<ref name="indy" />

In 2017 the government ordered a clampdown on prostitution throughout the country.<ref>{{cite web|title=Court convicts 11 prostitutes in Niger - Vanguard News|url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/02/court-convicts-11-prostitutes-niger/|website=Vanguard News|access-date=2 February 2018|date=6 February 2017}}</ref>

==HIV==
{{see also|HIV/AIDS in Niger}}
HIV is a problem in the country. Preventative measures, including distribution of [[condom]]s have seen prevalence rates fall in recent years.<ref>{{cite web|title=HIV declines in Niger State – Ministry|url=https://sundiatapost.com/2015/11/30/hiv-declines-in-%E2%80%8Eniger-state-ministry/|website=Sundiate Post|access-date=2 February 2018|date=30 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203065317/https://sundiatapost.com/2015/11/30/hiv-declines-in-%E2%80%8Eniger-state-ministry/|archive-date=3 February 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Sex workers are one of the high risk groups. In 2016 UNAIDS estimated there was a 17% prevalence rate amongst sex workers.<ref>{{cite web |title=HIV prevalence amongst sex workers |url=http://www.aidsinfoonline.org/gam/stock/shared/vc/vcshare.html?id=d9c0ff12-f62c-44e7-8e2c-dbe736bbea30 |website=www.aidsinfoonline.org |publisher=UNAIDS |access-date=22 July 2018 |date=2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722130109/http://www.aidsinfoonline.org/gam/stock/shared/vc/vcshare.html?id=d9c0ff12-f62c-44e7-8e2c-dbe736bbea30 |archive-date=22 July 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Sex trafficking==
{{see also|Human trafficking in Niger}}
Niger is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to sex trafficking. Victims from [[Benin]], [[Burkina Faso]], [[Cameroon]], [[Ghana]], [[Mali]], Nigeria, and [[Togo]] are exploited in sex trafficking in Niger. Corrupt [[marabouts]] or loosely organised clandestine networks may also place Nigerien girls into commercial sex. Nigerien girls are subjected to sex trafficking along the border with Nigeria, sometimes with the complicity of their families. In the [[Tahoua Department|Tahoua region]] of Niger, some girls in forced marriages may be exploited in commercial sex after fleeing these nominal unions.  In [[Algeria]], Nigerien women and girls were vulnerable to sex trafficking.<ref name="state17">{{cite web|title=Niger 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report|url=https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2017/271254.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703181420/https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2017/271254.htm|url-status=dead |archive-date=3 July 2017|website=U.S. Department of State|access-date=2 February 2018}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>

Nigerien women and children are recruited from Niger and transported to Nigeria, [[North Africa]], the [[Middle East]], and [[Europe]] where they are subjected to sex trafficking. Some migrants were suspected to be traffickers, particularly Nigerien migrants to Algeria. Traffickers operated primarily small, freelance operations in loosely organised networks of individuals, including some marabouts. There have been reports of freelance business people (both men and women) and informal travel agencies that recruit women to the Middle East or to northern Nigeria for sex trafficking. Niger is a transit country for women and children from [[West Africa|West]] and [[Central Africa]] migrating to North Africa and [[Western Europe]], where some are subjected to sex trafficking. In some instances, law enforcement and border officials have accepted bribes from traffickers to facilitate the transportation of victims through the country.<ref name="state17" />

The [[United States Department of State]] [[Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons]] ranks Niger as a '[[Trafficking in Persons Report#Ranking System|Tier 2 Watch List]]' country.<ref name="state17" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ49N0us6WI The Life Of A Nigerian Prostitute] on [[YouTube]]

{{Africa in topic|Prostitution in}}
{{Niger topics}}

[[Category:Prostitution by country|Niger]]
[[Category:Society of Niger]]
[[Category:Prostitution in Africa|Niger]]
[[Category:Women's rights in Niger]]
[[Category:Human rights in Niger]]
[[Category:Social issues in Niger]]