Prostitution is illegal inSaudi Arabia,[1] and is punishable by imprisonment and fines.[2] Flogging was also a possible punishment until April 2020 when it was abolished by the order of theSaudi Supreme Court General Commission.[3][4] Foreign nationals are also deported after punishment.[5] If the parties are also charged withadultery,fornication andsodomy, which can apply to both the prostitute and theclient since all sexual activity outside a lawful marriage is illegal, the punishment can be death.[6][7]
Prostitutes tend to be mostly fromNigeria,Ethiopia,[8]Yemen,Morocco, andTajikistan.[9]
The Religious Police are responsible for carrying out floggings. Prostitutes may be whipped in public. Some of these have been carried out excessively and deaths have resulted.[5] In June 2007, 80 women were sent to trial for prostitution and 20 men for trafficking or pimping.[5]However, the punishment of flogging was abolished in April 2020, and replaced by fines or jail time.[4] Foreign prostitutes who are arrested by theSaudi vice police face deportation.[8]
Historically, prostitution was connected toslavery in Saudi Arabia. TheIslamic Law formally prohibited prostitution. However, since the principle ofconcubinage in Islam inIslamic Law allowed a man to have sexual intercourse with his female slave, prostitution in the Islamic world was commonly practiced by a pimp selling his female slave on the slave market to a client, who was then allowed to have sex with her as her new owner; the client would then cancel his purchase and return the slave to her pimp on the pretext of discontent, which was a legal and accepted method for prostitution in the Islamic world.[10]Female slaves were used as nurses in Saudi Arabia, a profession which was equated with prostitution.[11]After the abolition of slavery in Saudi Arabia in 1962, former slaves were often forced to rely on prostitution to survive.[12]
Saudi Arabia is a destination country for women subjected to forced prostitution.[13]
Saudi Arabia is one of the largest consumers ofdomestic workers. Around 30% of Saudi's population of 27.3 million are immigrants from other countries. The Law requires that all of theexpatriates in Saudi Arabia should have anemployment contract while they are in the country.[14] But with some unfair work practices such as sexual harassment, extreme working conditions, and other human rights violations, many try to escape their employers. Runaways are often kidnapped and forced into prostitution.[15] E-commerce sites are being used for buying and selling maids online.[16]
In 2013, the government did not report any prosecutions or convictions of alleged human traffickers.[15] In 2017, although there were 177 trafficking cases prosecuted, none were for sex trafficking.[13]
TheUnited States Department of StateOffice to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons ranks Saudi Arabia as a 'Tier 2 Watch List' country.[13]
