Prostitution in Panama

Prostitution in Panamais legal andregulated.Prostitutes are required to register and carry identification cards.However, the majority ofprostitutesare not registered.There are 2,650 sex workers registered with the government in 2008, but there was no accurate information regarding the total number of persons practisingprostitutionin the country.Some estimate put the number of unregistered prostitutes at 4,000.
The main area of prostitution inPanama Cityis Bella Vista.Street prostitution also occurs on Avenida Ricardo Arias, Central Avenue and Avenida Perú.
There are many foreign prostitutes in the country, especially fromCuba, VenezuelaandColombia(Panama was part of Colombia until1903). To work as a prostitute, foreign prostitutes need an "alternadora" visa. As this is stamped into their passport, many work unofficially on tourist visas to avoid effectively having "prostitute" stamped in their passport.Working without the correct visa and being unregistered is an administrative offence not a criminal offence and usually punished with a small fine if caught.Unregisted prostitutes can still access health services at clinics such as the one inSanta Ana, Panama City.
During the construction of thePanama Canal(1904-1914), many prostitutes came to thecanal zoneto service the workers building the canal. Many were from theCaribbean, especially the English speaking islands.In 1905, the US Government arranged for several hundred women fromMartiniqueto be transported to Panama. PresidentRooseveltlaunched an inquiry into the morality of these women, in case they had been brought in to work as prostitutes.
After the completion of the canal, most of the migrant labour force left, leaving mainly US troops and civilians. These US citizens became the main customers of thered-light districtsin Panamanian cities close to the canal such as Panama City and Colon.(The US had deported 150 women back to the British Caribbean.)
The US government, concerned about the spread ofSTIs, tried to pressurise the Panamanian authorities into prohibiting prostitution and shutting  down the red-light districts. The Panamanians resisted the US pressures to alter the laws within an independent state. They saw the prostitutes as a buffer between the US servicemen and Panamanian women. It countered the US's argument with the suggestion that it was the US servicemen giving STIs to the prostitutes not the other way around.However, Panama did introduce regulation of prostitution, including health checks.
DuringWWII, theVincentian Fathersencouraged parishes to set up "Catholic recreational centers for servicemen" to try to get the serviceman away from the red-light districts.
In 2005, theWorld Health Organizationestimated that there was a 1.9%HIVprevalence rate amongst female sex workers compared to 0.92% prevalence rate amongst the overall adult population. However the figures were higher for sex workers in Panama City andColonthan for those in the rest of the country.A law on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections was adopted in 2000.In September 2016, a prostitute was sentenced to one years imprisonment for soliciting while knowingly being HIV positive.
Panama is listed as aTier 2country by theUS Department of StateOffice to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Panama is a source, transit, and destination country for men and women subjected tosex trafficking. Child victims of trafficking are typically Panamanian nationals subjected to commercial sex acts inside Panama. Panamanian women are subjected to sex trafficking in other countries, including TheBahamasandGuyana. In Panama, most identified trafficking victims are foreign adults exploited in sex trafficking, especially women fromBrazil,Colombia,Venezuela,Cuba, theDominican Republic,Honduras, andNicaragua. In 2016, the number of foreigntransgendervictims subjected to sex trafficking increased. Transgender individuals are discriminated against in Panama, making them more vulnerable to trafficking, especially given the high demand in Panama for sexual services from this population. Traffickers recruit female victims with promises of good jobs and high salaries in the housekeeping and restaurant industries, as well as for modelling and prostitution, but exploit them in sex trafficking.
Authorities have identified potential sex trafficking victims among Eastern European women working in nightclubs. Men from theUnited Stateshave been investigated aschild sex touristsin Panama. Panamanian and European officials report some men and women from Central America who transit Panama en route to the Caribbean or Europe are subjected to sex trafficking in their destination countries.
Panamanian officials continue to prosecute cases of sexual abuse of children in urban and rural areas, as well as within indigenous communities. Officials believed thatcommercial sexual exploitation of childrenoccurs, including in tourist areas in Panama City and in beach communities, although they do not keep separate statistics.
Article 187, Penal Code this Article states that anyone who uses, allows or permits aminorto participate in acts orindecent exposureorpornography, whether or not actually recorded, photographed or filmed, will be liable toimprisonmentfor six to eight years. The same penalty applies to anyone who uses email, the Internet or any other regional or mass media to incite minors to engage in online sex, or to provide or stimulatesexual services, through any of the above means, by phone or in person.
Article 190, Penal Code, imposes a penalty ofimprisonmentfor eight to ten years for anyone who promotes, directs, organizes, advertises, invites, facilitates or arranges for any local or mass media, local or internationalsex tourism, the recruitment of aminoraged between fourteen and seventeen forsexual exploitation, whether this actually takes place or not. The penalty will increase by half the maximum sentence if the victim is under the age of fourteen.