Article of the Ethiopian Criminal Code states the following:. Whoever, for gain, makes a profession of or lives by procuring or on the prostitution or immorality of another, or maintains, as a landlord or keeper, a brothel, is punishable with simple imprisonment and fine. Ethiopia , Art. Whoever, with a view to encouraging debauchery or satisfying the sexual urge of others, publicly advertises by any means that debauchery may be enjoyed in a particular place, is punishable with fine or arrest.
Participants in the Addis Ababa group said that crackdowns against street sex workers do occur, usually associated with key dates in the government calendar[,] such as meetings of the African Union or elections. Even then, the police mainly move women on rather than arrest them. Overs June , According to the same source, while Ethiopian law "contains a range of provisions that could be used against the sex industry, they are not enforced" ibid. According to an April report on pregnancy and Ethiopian sex workers by consortium partners of Link Up, a project "to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights SRHR of one million young people most affected by HIV" in five countries, including Ethiopia [3], violence against sex workers is a "pervasive problem," and perpetrators include police as well as intimate partners and clients Population Council et al.
According to the same source, during interviews with 30 female sex workers and 10 "key informants" in Adama city, Ethiopia, one interviewee stated that "'it is the police who harass us a lot on the streets. They ask us to give them money'" ibid. According to an article published in the academic journal Annals of the American Association of Geographers , on the mobility and livelihood strategies of young female sex workers in Ethiopia, some of the girls interviewed [4] had to change work locations "because of β¦ negative interactions with security and police" van Blerk 19 Jan.
In contrast, according to Overs' report, "[p]articipants in each group were unanimous that police usually ignore sex workers" Overs June , According to the same source, while there were "some anecdotes about violence by police[,] there was a clear indication from each group that it is rare" ibid.
The UHAI report states that over the past five years, "police attitude[s] and behavior[s] towards sex workers[have] improved," and according to interviewees, "there has been a reduction in solicitation of sex or money as bribes by the police" UHAI 13 May , Cases of arrest, prosecution and conviction of sex workers in Ethiopia could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.
