Prostitution In Belarus: What's The Legal Status?

Prostitution in Belarus is illegal but commonplace. While it is an administrative offence, running a brothel is forbidden and engaging in other means of pimping are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Belarusian authorities officially consider prostitution a blatantly illegal activity, but despite their efforts, they are still unable to eradicate the problem. This may be due to the existence of networks that operate under the protection of high-ranking officials with a direct or indirect interest in the business.

Prostitution is more common in smaller, local hotels, and it is not unheard of for sex workers to try to enter hotels in search of customers.

Prostitution is illegal in Belarus but commonplace

Belarusian authorities struggle to stamp out prostitution, which is often organised by networks of criminal groups. These networks have their own working mechanisms and include taxi drivers, hotel, sauna and flat personnel and managers.

Prostitution is not visible on the streets of Belarus, as the authorities do not tolerate it. However, it is known to exist in luxury entertainment houses and casinos, and the police have been accused of turning a blind eye to the practice.

In 2012, several employees of the elite entertainment centre Dankoff Club were arrested on suspicion of organising prostitution services. The owner of the club, Jury Dańkoŭ, was also jailed. The police report that they had been watching the suspects for three years, indicating that the security services are spying on the industry.

In 2017, street protests against the government's introduction of a tax on the unemployed included the arrest of large numbers of protesters, journalists and passersby.

Running a brothel is forbidden

Prostitution in Belarus is largely an administrative offence, rather than a criminal one. However, the authorities do not tolerate it on the streets, and those who are caught face fines. Despite this, prostitution networks are known to exist under the protection of high-ranking officials.

In 2012, the owner of the Dankoff Club, Jury Dańkoŭ, was arrested on suspicion of organising prostitution services. Dańkoŭ had patrons in the security services who controlled the gambling industry in Belarus. It is believed that his arrest was the result of a conflict with these influential friends.

In 2020, a special police unit arrested two employees of the Shangri La Casino, who were suspected of providing prostitution services to the casino's VIP clients. The casino had been under surveillance since it opened in 2009.

In addition to running a brothel, other activities related to prostitution are prohibited in Belarus. This includes profiting from or aiding prostitution, as well as soliciting in public places.

Engaging in other means of pimping is punishable by up to 10 years in prison

While prostitution is illegal in Belarus, it is commonplace and is treated as an administrative, rather than a criminal, offence. Running a brothel is forbidden, and engaging in other means of pimping is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. This means that individuals who facilitate or derive financial gain from prostitution can face severe penalties.

In Belarus, prostitution is not visible on the streets as the authorities do not tolerate it. However, the police often encounter branching networks of criminal groups that secretly organise and profit from this business. These groups are highly organised with their own division of labour and working mechanisms, and they may include taxi drivers, hotel personnel, and managers of saunas and flats for rent.

Belarusian authorities have attempted to crack down on prostitution, particularly in elite clubs and casinos that offer VIP clients intimate services. In 2012, for example, there were arrests made at the Dankoff Club, and the owner of the club was jailed. In another case, a Minsk police lieutenant was accused of abuse of authority—he had continuously forced prostitutes to give him their services for free. He presented himself as an officer of the human trafficking department and promised them safe work in exchange for free sex. The lieutenant now faces up to ten years in prison.

While prostitution is illegal in Belarus, the country has a history of corruption and officials turning a blind eye to the practice. This may be due to the existence of high-level protection networks that allow the industry to thrive.

Prostitution is not visible on the streets

Prostitution is illegal in Belarus, but it is commonplace and is treated as an administrative, rather than a criminal, offence. Running a brothel is forbidden and engaging in other means of pimping are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

In Belarus, prostitution is not visible on the streets. The authorities do not tolerate it, but, as the police say, they encounter plenty of branching networks of criminal groups that secretly organise this highly profitable business. Such groups include taxi drivers, personnel and the managers of hotels, saunas and flats for rent.

Prostitution is more likely to occur in luxury entertainment houses, casinos and nightclubs. For example, in 2012, employees of the elite entertainment centre Dankoff Club were arrested on suspicion of organising prostitution services. The owner of the club, Jury Dańkoŭ, was also jailed. In a similar case in 2024, a special police unit arrested two employees of the Shangri La Casino, who were suspected of organising prostitution services for the casino's VIP clients.

In 2024, a Minsk police lieutenant was arrested and accused of abuse of authority. He had been continuously forcing prostitutes to give him their services for free. Presenting himself as an officer of the human trafficking department, he promised them safe work in exchange for free sex.

Belarusian authorities maintain an active policy to combat human trafficking

Prostitution is illegal in Belarus, but it is commonplace and is treated as an administrative offence rather than a criminal one. Running a brothel is forbidden, and engaging in other means of pimping are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The Government of Belarus does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking and has been placed in Tier 3 by the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Despite this, the government has increased efforts to address trafficking, including conducting trafficking-related investigations and prosecutions, and identifying and referring more victims to services.

Belarus is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to human trafficking, specifically forced prostitution and forced labour. The majority of identified Belarusian victims are females forced into prostitution abroad, including in Russia, Germany, Latvia, other European countries, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, and the UAE. There are also reports of women from low-income families in Belarus being subjected to forced prostitution within the country, in Minsk.

The Belarusian government has taken some positive steps to combat human trafficking, including:

• Sustaining law enforcement efforts, with Belarusian law prohibiting human trafficking for sexual exploitation and labour exploitation under Article 181 of its criminal code, which prescribes penalties of two to 15 years' imprisonment and asset forfeiture.
• Conducting trafficking-related investigations and prosecutions: in 2019, the government reported four trafficking investigations under Article 181, and initiated four trafficking prosecutions under this article.
• Increasing training for law enforcement: the Interior Ministry's law enforcement academy provides trafficking-specific training, utilizing the International Training Center for Migration and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, a joint effort between the Government of Belarus and an international organization.
• Identifying and referring victims to services: in 2019, the government identified 128 confirmed trafficking victims and nine potential victims, and referred 48 victims to NGOs for reintegration services.
• Providing in-kind assistance to anti-trafficking NGOs: the government provides facilities for seminars, conferences, and training, expedited approval of projects and grants, and tax-exempt status.
• Participating in multilateral anti-trafficking activities: Belarus coordinates the Group of Friends United against Human Trafficking at the UN and leads efforts to strengthen the implementation of the UN's Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons.

However, there are also areas where the Belarusian government's efforts to combat human trafficking have been criticized, including:

• Inadequate protection services for victims: the government's victim assistance services have been criticized for being underutilized and burdened by bureaucratic requirements, delays, and inconsistent quality of service.
• Lack of funding for NGOs: while the government provides in-kind assistance, it does not provide direct financial support to anti-trafficking NGOs.
• Limited activities of civil society organizations: as part of its repression of civil society and independent activism, the government has widely limited the activities of organizations providing support to trafficking victims.
• Inadequate prevention efforts: the government has not reported conducting any public awareness campaigns or providing funding or assistance to NGOs for prevention activities.
• Lack of investigations or charges related to illegal recruitment: for the fifth consecutive year, the government did not report investigating or filing charges against companies related to illegal recruitment.
• Inadequate labor inspections: efforts to enforce and deter violations through labor inspections remain inadequate.
• Orchestrating a migration crisis: in 2021, the government facilitated the entry of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers, mainly from the Middle East and Africa, and encouraged or forced them to attempt irregular border crossings, increasing their vulnerability to human trafficking.
• State-sponsored forced labor: the government has been criticized for a pattern of forced labor in public works projects and the agricultural sector, including the practice of "subbotniks" or voluntary service days, which are mandated by law.

Overall, while the Belarusian authorities have taken some steps to combat human trafficking, there are still significant concerns and areas for improvement, particularly regarding the protection of victims, support for civil society organizations, and prevention efforts.

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