Abstract:
Prostitution in Ethiopia was a field of engagement for numerous Ethiopian women since a
long ago. Despite its prevalence in somehow a modern/settled manner since the medieval
period, it was not legally addressed in an effective manner. For this reason, prostitution is
highly blamed to be a source of problems like trafficking in persons, sexually transmitted
diseases, violence against occupants of the field, public nuisance, and enhance child
prostitution among others. Hence, the research focuses on studying the opportunities and
challenges of regulating prostitution and determine the appropriate legal model to
address the above problems based on Ethiopian lived realities.
To this end, the research adopts qualitative legal research methods. In doing so,
international and domestic laws on the subject area and vast literatures on theoretical
frameworks of prostitution, approaches of prostitution regulation and recognition, and
opportunities and challenges of regulation are consulted. Besides, the researcher also had
interviews with some selected Ethiopian Ministry of Health, Ethiopian Ministry of Women
and Children, Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association, and Ethiopian Family Guidance
Association officials and experts.
The main findings of the study are that regulating prostitution have both opportunities and
challenges to Ethiopia. As an opportunity, achievement of an improved working conditions
for prostitutes, reduction of incidences of human trafficking, avoiding street prostitution
and public nuisance, increased income of prostitutes and government’s tax revenue, and
control of sexually transmitted diseases and as a challenge, increase cross boarder
migration, inevitability of underground sex work, and stigma against prostitutes for it is
considered immoral are identified. Nonetheless, the research had indicated in advance
that these challenges could be eliminated. Henceforth, migration is identified as it would
not be savior in Ethiopia for prostitutes from neighboring countries would not influx in to
Ethiopia since they would not have a better economic advantage in Ethiopia and Ethiopia
is in a geo political sphere where free flow of labor and goods is restricted. Underground
sex work on the other hand could be eliminated through allowing police checkups and
imposing responsibility on clients not to purchase cervices from illegal sex workers and
public stigma against prostitutes could be done the same through public education.
Finally, the study concludes the regulation/legalization model of addressing prostitution is
appropriate for Ethiopia compared to criminalization and decriminalization since the
latter two are extreme models while regulation is a middle ground. As a result, the
research recommends Ethiopia to consider existing legal frameworks so that it could be
possible to introduce a comprehensive regulatory framework and to introduce some exit
arrangements to allow the sector be occupied only by those engaged voluntarily.