Legality of prostitution in the Americas varies by country. Most countries only legalized prostitution, with the act of exchanging money for sexual services legal. The level of enforcement varies by country. Some countries, such as the US and Canada, are unique in that the legality of prostitution is not the responsibility of the federal government but rather of the state, provincial, territorial, or federal district; this is due to their federalized systems.
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North America Bermuda
Prostitution is legal in Bermuda but related activities such as running a brothel are illegal under the Criminal Code. Women coming to the island to work as prostitutes, or is a known prostitute, may be refused entry under the immigration laws. Many of the prostitutes in the country are from Philippines, Dominican Republic and Panama. In 2010 the visa requirements for people from these countries was changed to attempt to curb prostitution. Street prostitution occurs in the capital, Hamilton, on Front Street.
Canada
Prostitution was traditionally legal as there were no laws prohibiting the exchange of sex for money or other consideration. On 20 December 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada found the laws prohibiting brothels, public communication for the purpose of prostitution, and living on the profits of prostitution to be unconstitutional. The ruling gave the Canadian parliament 12 months to rewrite the prostitution laws with a stay of effect so that the current laws remain in force. Amending legislation came into effect on 6 December 2014, which made the purchase of sexual services illegal, using the Swedish approach.
Greenland
Prostitution in Greenland is illegal. Although the country is subject to the law of Denmark in most areas of legislation, Denmark's decriminalization of prostitution in 1999 has not been applied in Greenland. In addition, Greenland is exempt from the obligations of the Palermo Protocol on human trafficking to which Denmark is a signatory, but there is little evidence of human trafficking in Greenland. A report published in 2008 indicated that Greenland had no signs of visible or organised prostitution, no services directed specifically at prostitutes and no instances of prostitution-related court cases. It did, however, refer to claims that transactional sex had sometimes been used, for example, in return for temporary housing. In a tradition associated with Greenlandic Inuit, hosts have been reported to have offered their wives to guests in a form of "hospitable prostitution". The colonists who founded the country's capital Nuuk in 1728 included prostitutes among their number.
Mexico
Prostitution in Mexico is legal under Federal law. Each of the 31 states enacts its own prostitution laws and policies. 13 of the states of Mexico allow and regulate prostitution.Weitzer, Ronald. 2013. Legalizing Prostitution: From Illicit Vice to Lawful Business. (Excerpt) Prostitution involving minors under 18 is illegal. Some Mexican cities have enacted "tolerance zones" ("zonas de tolerancia") which allow regulated prostitution and function as red light districts. In Tuxtla Gutiérrez, capital of the state of Chiapas, there is a state-run brothel at the Zona Galáctica. In most parts of the country, pimping is illegal, although pimp-worker relationships still occur, sometimes under female pimps called "madrotas".Patty Kelly, Lydia's Open Door: Inside Mexico's Most Modern Brothel (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008), 126. The government provides shelter for former prostitutes.
United States
Prostitution laws in the United States are determined at the state level. The practice is illegal in all but two of its 50 states and is illegal in all U.S. territories.
Nevada is the only U.S. jurisdiction which allows some legal prostitution in some of its counties. Currently 7 out of Nevada's 16 counties have active brothels. Prostitution outside these brothels is illegal throughout the state; prostitution is illegal in the major metropolitan areas (Las Vegas, Reno, and Carson City). Prostitution is heavily regulated by the state of Nevada (see Prostitution in Nevada).
Maine partially decriminalized prostitution following the Nordic model in 2023.
Recently, states such as New York and Washington also have considered legalizing or decriminalizing prostitution, but so far proposals have not materialized.
Central America
Belize
Prostitution is legal in Belize, but the buying of sexual services is not. Associated activities such as operating a brothel, loitering for the purposes of prostitution and soliciting sex are also illegal.
Prostitution is widespread and takes place on the streets and in brothels, bars, nightclubs and hotels.
Although denied by the government, the country is a destination for sex tourism. Child sex tourism is a problem, primarily by visitors from the United States.
Costa Rica
Prostitution is not illegal but many of the activities surrounding it are illegal,see SECCIÓN III: Corrupción, proxenetismo, rufianería (Articles 167 to 172). as the law forbids promoting or facilitating the prostitution of another, and therefore pimping, brothels, or prostitution rings are illegal.(free translation from Spanish) Prostitution is common and is practiced openly throughout the country, particularly in popular tourism destinations. Websites list detailed locations and hotels that allow prostitutes. These online fraternities provide forums for sex tourists to compare experiences and act as a guide for future sex tourists.
El Salvador
Prostitution itself is not prohibited by national law, but may be prohibited by local municipal ordinances. Municipal ordinances may also prohibit the purchase of sexual services. Related activities such as facilitating, promoting or giving incentives to a person to work as a prostitute (pimping) are illegal. The prostitution of children (those under 18) is also illegal. Brothel ownership, however, is legal. There are no specific laws against human trafficking, but any criminal offence that includes 'commerce in women or children' requires sentencing to be increased by 30%.
Those municipalities that do not prohibit sex work often set up zones for sex workers away from schools and churches. In the San Esteban area of San Salvador, 17 brothels were forcibly closed in August 1998 for being too close to schools and churches.
Guatemala
Prostitution itself is legal but procuring is prohibited. There is an offence of "aggravated procuring" where a minor is involved. Keeping a brothel is not prohibited.
Prostitution is widespread in Guatemala; Guatemala City alone has 9 red-light districts, including La Linea, El Trebol and Parque Concordia. Statistics from the Vigilancia Centinela de las Infecciones de Transmisión Sexual (VICITS) sexual health clinics from 2007 to 2011, showed 10.8 percent of the sex workers worked on the streets, the rest working indoors at strip clubs, brothels based at residential homes, bars etc.
Honduras
Prostitution is currently legal in Honduras. Because there is no law prohibiting prostitution, it is a prevalent form of occupation, especially amongst women and teenagers in cities. Although similar institutions such as brothel ownership and pimping are illegal, prostitution has remained largely unchecked by the government.
Lack of enforcement of current laws has created a profitable business out of prostitution — one in which both adults and children are a part. There are many causes to the high rates of involvement amongst the women and teens in cities, but the main reason is the high poverty levels. Participants see sex work as a viable option to escape poverty.
Nicaragua
Prostitution is legal, but promoting prostitution and procuring are prohibited.2008 Human Rights Report: Nicaragua. State.gov. Retrieved on 30 March 2011. The minimum age for prostitutes is 14 years old. It was estimated in 2015 that were around 15,000 prostitutes in the country.
Prostitution is common in Managua. Prostitutes work on the streets, in nightclubs and bars, or in massage parlors.
Prostitutes are known locally as "zorras".
Panama
Prostitution is legal and regulated. Prostitutes are required to register and carry identification cards. However, the majority of prostitutes are not registered. 2,650 sex workers were registered with the government in 2008, but there was no accurate information regarding the total number of persons practising prostitution in the country.2008 Human Rights Report: Panama. State.gov (25 February 2009). Retrieved on 2011-03-30. Some estimate put the number of unregistered prostitutes at 4,000.
The main area of prostitution in Panama City is El Cangrejo. Street prostitution also occurs on Avenida Mexico, Central Avenue and Avenida Perú.
South America
Argentina
Prostitution (exchanging sex for money) is legal under Federal law. Article 19 of the constitution states: "The private actions of people that do not offend in any way the public order and morality, nor damage a third person, are only reserved to God, and are exempt from the authority of the magistrates." Organised prostitution (brothels, prostitution rings and pimping) is illegal. In addition, individual provinces may place further restriction on the trade. For example, in San Juan, publicly offering sex services for money if punishable by up to 20 days in jail. In 2012, newspapers were banned from carrying classified-ads offering sexual services.
Bolivia
In Bolivia, prostitution is legal and regulated. It is only permitted by registered prostitutes in licensed brothels. Prostitutes must register and must undergo regular health checks for sexually transmitted diseases (every 20 days). The police are allowed to check whether the prostitutes are registered or not, and have attended a clinic during the previous 20 days.
In 2016 UNAIDS estimated there were 30,523 prostitutes in the country.
Brazil
Prostitution that is the exchange of sex for money as there are no laws forbidding adults from being professional sex workers, but it is illegal to operate a brothel or to employ sex workers in any other way.Gabriela Silva Leite , PBS Online NewsHour, 13 July 2003 Public order and vagrancy laws are used against street prostitutes. The affordability of prostitutes is the most inquired-about term in word completion queries on purchases on Google.
A 2013 survey published by UNAIDS estimated there to be 546,848 prostitutes in the country.
Chile
Adult prostitution is legal, subject to regulation, but related activities such as keeping brothels and pimping are prohibited.Report on Human Rights Practices 2006: Chile. United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (6 March 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Several hundred women were registered as prostitutes with the National Health Service, and undergo mandatory medical examinations.
Although illegal, brothels are set up in the more remote areas of Chile in ports, mining towns, logging areas or anywhere where there are men working away from home.
Colombia
Prostitution is legal, regulated and limited to brothels in designated "tolerance zones". Sex workers are required to regular health checks. However the laws are rarely applied and prostitution is widespread, partly due to poverty and internal displacement.
Domestically, organized crime networks, some related to illegal armed groups, are responsible for human trafficking for sexual slavery and the armed conflict has made a large number of internal trafficking victims vulnerable.
UNAIDS estimate there to be 7,218 prostitutes in the country.
Ecuador