Prostitution remains a troubling social and legal issue in Ghana. Despite the existence of laws criminalising certain activities associated with the practice, it continues to operate openly in many parts of Ghana.
From Madina and Lapaz to Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Spintex and other communities across the country, the sight of young women soliciting clients, particularly at night, has become increasingly familiar.
This raises an important question: Are our existing laws sufficiently effective in addressing the situation, or has the time come for Parliament to take a stronger position?
The Bible, particularly Leviticus 19:29, Proverbs 6:24–26 and 1 Corinthians 6:15–18, contains teachings against sexual immorality and prostitution.
As a Christian, I recognise these moral teachings. However, my concern in this discussion is primarily legal: whether Ghana's existing laws adequately address prostitution and its growing social implications.
Under section 276(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), a person who persistently solicits or importunes in a public place, or within sight of a public place, for the purpose of prostitution commits a criminal offence. The punishment for a first offence is a fine not exceeding twenty-five penalty units, while a second or subsequent offence is dealt with as a misdemeanour.
Section 274 further criminalises knowingly living on the earnings of prostitution and exercising control, direction or influence over a person's movements for the purpose of facilitating or compelling prostitution. Section 275 addresses persistent solicitation or importuning in public places to obtain clients for prostitutes or for other immoral purposes, while section 277 deals with the keeping or management of brothels.
What becomes clear from these provisions is that Ghana's criminal law primarily targets specified activities connected with prostitution rather than expressly criminalising every consensual act of prostitution between adults.
This distinction raises another important question. If prostitution and its related activities are already subject to criminal sanctions, why does the practice appear to be flourishing in several communities?
Occasionally, we hear reports of police operations in which women suspected of engaging in prostitution are arrested.
In some communities, residents have witnessed suspects fleeing during police raids. Yet, after these operations, little is sometimes heard about the outcome of the arrests, whether charges were brought or whether the suspects were eventually prosecuted.
More importantly, several reported convictions involving prostitution-related conduct have focused on human trafficking and the activities of those who recruit, control or exploit women for commercial sex.
This approach is undoubtedly important. The Human Trafficking Act, 2005 (Act 694), provides a legal framework for dealing with persons involved in trafficking others for exploitation. Those who recruit vulnerable young women, deceive them with promises of employment and subsequently force them into prostitution must face the full rigours of the law.
Indeed, several reported cases demonstrate how Ghana's criminal justice system has responded to human trafficking and prostitution-related offences.
In September 2026, the Accra Circuit Court sentenced Gift Chinyere Aminu, a 36-year-old Nigerian commercial sex worker, to seven years' imprisonment with hard labour for human trafficking and prostitution-related offences. The prosecution established that she was involved in forcing women into prostitution and collecting proceeds from their activities. (Source: Ghana Business News, 7 September 2026.)
Similarly, in October 2025, the Achimota Circuit Court sentenced Chukwudi Nwachukwu, a 29-year-old Nigerian, to ten years' imprisonment for trafficking his younger sister and nine other girls from Nigeria to Ghana for prostitution. The victims, aged between 15 and 18, had been promised employment but were subsequently forced into commercial sex work. The court also ordered him to compensate each victim with GH¢15,000. (Source: Ghana News Agency, 29 October 2025.)
In October 2026, the Gender-Based Violence Court in Tamale sentenced Mariam Yussif, a 24-year-old Nigerian national, to seven years' imprisonment with hard labour for human trafficking. She was convicted on 22 October 2026 following a trial involving the recruitment and transportation of victims from Nigeria to Ghana for sexual exploitation. (Source: MyJoyOnline, 24 October 2026.)
In another case, Baba Issa Zakaria, a 25-year-old commercial motorcycle rider, was sentenced by the Odumase Circuit Court in April 2025 to ten years' imprisonment following proceedings involving human trafficking, sextortion and other offences connected with prostitution. He was reported to have facilitated the recruitment of Nigerian women into prostitution in Agomanya. (Source: Pulse Ghana, 18 April 2025.)
Also, in May 2025, the Tarkwa Circuit Court sentenced Patience Gideon, also known as Gold, a 32-year-old Nigerian commercial sex worker, to twenty years' imprisonment for trafficking four women from Nigeria into Ghana for prostitution. She was additionally convicted of illegal abortion, assault and a prostitution-related offence, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently. (Source: Graphic Online, 12 May 2025.)
These convictions, together with others recorded over the years, demonstrate that Ghana's courts have imposed substantial punishment in cases involving human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
However, they also raise a question central to this discussion: Why do several reported prosecutions appear to focus on trafficking and exploitation, while comparatively less public attention appears to be given to the independent offences of persistent public solicitation and other prostitution-related activities under Act 29?
The successful prosecution of traffickers is commendable, particularly where vulnerable young women are deceived, coerced or exploited. Nevertheless, human trafficking and prostitution-related offences are legally distinct, and enforcing the laws against one should not necessarily mean overlooking the other.
Are the existing penalties sufficiently deterrent? Are prosecutions for persistent public solicitation being pursued consistently? Or has the concentration on trafficking inadvertently left other prostitution-related offences inadequately addressed?
These are questions worth examining, especially because the effectiveness of criminal legislation cannot be measured merely by its existence. Its enforcement, consistency and practical impact are equally important.
The concern, however, extends beyond criminal enforcement.
In communities such as Madina REDCO, Ritz Junction, Lapaz and Circle, concerns have been raised about the effects of openly practised prostitution on neighbourhood life. Some residents worry about children's exposure to inappropriate sexual activities, while others are concerned about the stigma attached to living or operating businesses in areas associated with prostitution.
Children growing up in environments where sexual exploitation is prevalent may face risks of abuse, social stigma and psychological distress. Such concerns require attention, although the presence of prostitution in a community does not necessarily mean that every child living there will experience these consequences.
The situation has also assumed a new dimension through technology.
Prostitution is no longer confined to streets, drinking spots and brothels. Digital platforms have created additional avenues through which commercial sexual services may be advertised and arranged.
TikTok, dating applications and other online platforms may be used by individuals to advertise sexual services, negotiate payments and arrange private meetings without necessarily engaging in traditional street solicitation.
This emerging form of what may be described as e-prostitution raises serious questions about the adequacy of a legal framework that places significant emphasis on solicitation in public places or within sight of them.
How effectively can our existing laws address solicitation conducted entirely through digital platforms? Should Parliament reconsider the scope of the current offences to reflect the changing nature of the practice?
These questions cannot be ignored.
Other countries have adopted different legal approaches to prostitution. The Netherlands and Germany permit prostitution under regulatory frameworks, while New Zealand has adopted a decriminalisation model. Sweden, on the other hand, criminalises the purchase rather than the sale of sexual services.
These approaches reflect different legislative choices about morality, individual autonomy, public health, exploitation and the role of criminal law.
On the African continent, the legal position also varies considerably. Broadly, countries have adopted approaches involving legalisation and regulation, the prohibition of activities associated with prostitution without necessarily criminalising the private act itself, broader criminalisation, or varying degrees of practical tolerance despite legal restrictions.
Senegal provides a notable example of state-regulated prostitution. Its legal framework permits adult prostitution subject to registration and health-related requirements. Persons operating within the framework are required to comply with prescribed medical monitoring and documentation requirements, while activities such as unlawful solicitation and exploitation remain subject to criminal sanctions.
A different approach exists in countries such as the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone and Togo, where the legal treatment of prostitution and associated activities differs in scope. In several of these jurisdictions, the private exchange of sexual services is not itself expressly prohibited, although activities such as procuring, operating brothels or public solicitation may attract criminal sanctions.
Other countries, including South Africa and Uganda, maintain broader criminal restrictions on prostitution or the commercial exchange of sexual services. Across parts of East and West Africa, the position is more complex, with national legislation, local rules and enforcement practices producing different legal outcomes.
There are also jurisdictions where prostitution-related activities continue openly despite existing legal restrictions. In such circumstances, the practical operation of the law may differ from what the legislation appears to require, particularly where enforcement is irregular or selective.
These contrasting approaches demonstrate that prostitution is not merely a question of morality. It is equally a matter of legislative policy, public protection, enforcement and the regulation of human conduct.
Ghana must therefore decide whether its present legal position remains appropriate.
Some may argue that prostitution is an age-old social phenomenon that cannot realistically be eliminated and should therefore be regulated. Others may contend that the practice contradicts our moral values and that stronger criminal sanctions are necessary to discourage it.
Whichever position one supports, the present situation demands serious legislative attention.
Parliament must consider whether to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework governing prostitution or strengthen the existing criminal regime to address the practice and its related activities more effectively, including those carried out through digital platforms.
Such a review must also distinguish between persons who voluntarily engage in prostitution and those who are trafficked, coerced or exploited. Victims of trafficking require protection and justice, not punishment for exploitation forced upon them.
Ultimately, the issue is not simply whether prostitution is morally acceptable. It is whether Ghana has a clear, coherent and enforceable legal policy capable of addressing its contemporary realities.
We cannot continue to maintain laws against certain prostitution-related activities while allowing uncertainty about their enforcement and effectiveness to persist.
The time has come for a deliberate national conversation backed by legislative action.
Should Ghana regulate prostitution under a clearly defined legal framework, or should Parliament strengthen the law and its enforcement to decisively discourage the practice?
Whatever the answer, maintaining the status quo without properly confronting the issue should no longer be an option.
