Red-light districts are areas associated with the sex industry and sex-oriented businesses (e.g. sex shops and strip clubs). In some of these places prostitution occurs, whether legally or illegally. The enforcement of prostitution laws varies by region.
Following is a partial list of well known red-light districts around the world, both current and historical.
Africa Algeria Prostitution in Algeria is illegal.
Constantine Rahbat al-Jammal (defunct)
Burkina Faso Prostitution is not specifically prohibited by the law, but soliciting and pimping are illegal. Ouagadougou Dapoya
Egypt Prostitution in Egypt is illegal.
Alexandria Kom al-Nadura (defunct) Kom Bakir (defunct) Al-Tartushi (defunct) Cairo Wagh El Birket (defunct)
Ivory Coast Prostitution in Ivory Coast is legal.
Abidjan Marcory Zone 4 Rue Princesse
Kenya Prostitution is illegal.
Nairobi Koinange Street
Mauritania Prostitution in Mauritania is illegal.
Nouakchott El Mina
Morocco Prostitution is illegal.
South Africa Prostitution is illegal.
Tunisia Prostitution is regulated.
Tunis Sidi Abdallah Guech
Asia Bangladesh Prostitution in Bangladesh is legal and regulated.
Cambodia Prostitution is illegal, but tolerated.
Phnom Penh Svay Pak
China
Prostitution is illegal.
Hong Kong Prostitution itself is not illegal but operating a brothel is illegal.
Lockhart Road Sham Shui Po/Fuk Wa Street
India Prostitution is legal when performed by a person acting alone in private but public solicitation, brothels and pimping are illegal (however in practice prostitution is tolerated and regulated).
Indonesia
Prostitution is illegal in non-regulated areas. Prostitution is legal in some locations (including pimping and maintaining a brothel).
Iran
Prostitution in Iran is illegal, and incurs various punishments ranging from fines and jail terms to execution for repeat offenders. Tehran Shahr-e No (demolished 1980)
Iraq
Prostitution in Iraq is illegal, and penalties are severe.
Baghdad Al-Battaween Bataween Haifa Street/Salhia neighborhood Kamaliyah () Zayouna
Israel
Tel Aviv Old bus station area.
Japan
Prostitution is illegal but narrowly defined. Many sexual acts for pay that would be considered to be prostitution in other countries are legal.
Jordan Prostitution is illegal.
Amman Jubeiha Sweifieh
Kyrgyzstan Prostitution is legal but pimping and operating a brothel are illegal.
Bishkek Pravda Street
Malaysia Prostitution in most of Malaysia is legal and widespread, though there are laws against prostitution-related activities. However, prostitution is illegal in Malaysia's Kelantan state.
Kuala Lumpur Brickfields area: Jalan Hicks and Jalan Thamibipilly Bukit Bintang: Jalan Alor and Changkat Bukit Bintang Chow Kit Jalan Petaling Lorong Haji Taib Johor Bahru Johor Bahru City Square Wong Ah Fook Street Jalan Meldrum Kotaraya Taman Sentosa
South Korea
Prostitution is illegal, but in practice it is tolerated and regulated.
Pakistan
Prostitution is illegal, but in practice it is somewhat tolerated although not regulated.
Philippines
Prostitution is illegal, but widespread and generally tolerated.
Angeles City Fields Avenue Manila EDSA Entertainment Complex, Pasay Ermita Malate Padre Burgos Street, Makati Poblacion, Makati Olongapo City Subic Bay
Singapore Prostitution itself is not illegal; however, public solicitation, living on the earnings of prostitution, and maintaining a brothel are illegal.
Geylang Orchard Towers
Taiwan Prostitution in Taiwan was made illegal under a 1991 law. Legislation was introduced in 2011 to allow local governments in Taiwan to set up "special zones" where prostitution is permitted. Outside these zones prostitution is illegal. As of 2017 no "special zones" had been opened.
Taipei Snake Alley (defunct)
Thailand
Prostitution is illegal in Thailand, and solicitation and public nuisance laws are in effect. In practice it is tolerated and partly regulated.
Turkey Prostitution is legal and regulated.
Ankara Bentderesi Istanbul Züraga Sokaği (Giraffe Lane), Beyoğlu
Europe
Austria Prostitution is legal and regulated.
Linz Bäckermühlweg Vienna Gürtel Stuwerviertel
Belgium
Prostitution is legal, though brothels are not. Enforcement of the law can be lax.
Croatia Prostitution is illegal.
Zagreb Tkalčićeva Street (defunct since World War II)
Czech Republic Prostitution is legal, but brothels and other forms of procuring are prohibited.
Prague Perlovka
Ostrava
Denmark Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal.
Copenhagen Halmtorvet Istedgade
Finland Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal.
Helsinki Aleksis Kiven katu and Vaasankatu
France Paying for sex, pimping and keeping a brothel are illegal. Prostitutes commit no offence unless soliciting.
Germany
Prostitution is legal and regulated.
Gibraltar
Prostitution is illegal.
Seruya's Ramp, (Calle Peligro) (defunct)
Greece Prostitution is legal and regulated.
Athens Fylis Street Metaxourgeio Area Piraeus Troumpa (defunct)
Ireland Paying for sex is illegal, as is soliciting in a public place, operating brothels, and other forms of pimping.
Dublin Monto (defunct) Grafton Street (defunct)
Italy Prostitution in Italy is legal, although organized prostitution, whether indoors in brothels or controlled by third parties, is prohibited.
Catania, Sicily San Berillo Venice Carampane di Rialto, including Ponte delle Tette (defunct)
Lithuania Prostitution in Lithuania is illegal.
Vilnius bus station and Vilnius railway station area
Luxembourg Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal.
Luxembourg railway station area
Malta Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal.
Gżira Mello Area (Triq Testaferrata) Marsa Albert Town Area St. Julian's Paceville Valletta Strait Street – known as "The Gut" by the British Navy (defunct)
Netherlands
Prostitution and associated activities are legal and common. A total of 11 cities in the Netherlands have red light districts with window prostitution.
Portugal Prostitution is legal, but running brothels and pimping are illegal.
Lisbon Cais do Sodré (defunct) Rua Nova do Carvalho (defunct) Porto Rua Coelho Neto Rua Conde de Ferreira Rua Escura Braga Residencial Cairense
Serbia Belgrade Picin park Plavi most Novi Sad Kaćka petlja Partizanska street
Spain Brothels are illegal (since 1956), but "clubs" and "wiskerias" are fronts for prostitution and are tolerated.
Switzerland Prostitution is legal and regulated.
United Kingdom
England Prostitution is not illegal when performed by a person acting alone in private, but public solicitation, brothels and pimping are. The Policing and Crime Act 2009 makes it illegal to pay for sex with a prostitute who has been "subjected to force" and this is a strict liability offence (clients can be prosecuted even if they did not know the prostitute was forced).
Northern Ireland
Belfast Albert Memorial Clock, Belfast (defunct) Amelia Street (defunct) Linenhall Street
Scotland
Wales Cardiff Tiger Bay Newport Commercial Road, Pillgwenlly (Pill)
North America
Antigua and Barbuda Prostitution is legal, but related activities are prohibited.
St. John's Popeshead Street.
Aruba Prostitution is legal and regulated. Sint Nicolaas.
Barbados Prostitution is legal, but related activities such as brothel keeping and solicitation are prohibited.
Bridgetown Nelson street
Canada
Prostitution is legal but the purchase of sexual services is not (the client commits the offence not the prostitute). Many associated activities (brothels, advertising, street walking) are also illegal.
Montreal Red-Light District (historic): The area centred around Saint Catherine Street and Saint-Laurent Boulevard was historically the city's red light district throughout much of the 20th century, as well as being known for strip clubs and sex shops. In recent decades this has changed drastically as the area gentrified into the Quartier des Spectacles and today prostitution is virtually nonexistent.
Centre-Sud: The Centre-Sud, of which Sainte-Marie is a part, was notorious for prostitution from the 1990s well into the 2010s, particularly on Ontario Street and Dufresne Street. In recent years, gentrification has changed this significantly.Sexe de rue Hochelaga-Maisonneuve: Known for prostitution, particularly in the lower southwestern Hochelaga segment. Ahuntsic: Located in the north end of Montreal, parts of the Ahuntsic neighbourhood have long been known for prostitution and drugs, partly due to a large presence of cheap motels on Lajeunesse Street and proximity to Quebec Autoroute 40. Vancouver Chinatown, Vancouver (historic): Dupont Street, between Westminster Ave (Main Street) and Carrall, was Vancouver's first official red light district which began when Bridie Stewart set up a shop at 101 Dupont. The district was relocated in 1906 to Shanghai and Canton Alley, which collaboratively hosted 105 brothels. It was later closed and relocated to Shore Street, then Alexander in 1912. West End, Vancouver: An unofficial city red-light district located on and around Davie Street. The sex work hub from the 1960s-1983. Coined the "Prostitution Capitol of Canada", which served as a safe community where cisgender, transgender, and two-spirit workers of many ages worked together and looked out for each other's safety.Cole, Dale, J. (Director). (1984). Hookers on Davie [Video file]. Canada: Spectrum Films. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3ixQS_Ihdk The location of the informative documentary Hookers on Davie. Diminished by the 1983 injunction formed by the Concerned Residents of the West End (CROWE) which forcefully displaced sex workers out of the West End. Downtown Eastside: An unlisted district in Vancouver where workers face routine violence and harassment.Lyons, Tara (2017). "The impact of construction and gentrification on an outdoor trans sex work environment: Violence, displacement and policing" (PDF). Sexualities Article. Retrieved 6 April 2021. The Downtown Eastside is the sex trades final destination of city displacement over several years. In 2003, a large number of sex workers went missing and/or were murdered. Many of these were tied to serial killer Robert Pickton, and were the largest contributor to the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) cases over the years. Today workers are increasingly facing the effects of new developments and surveillance that are pushing them into isolated areas where they are at greater risk of harm; forcing them to rush or forgo screening and negotiation processes that puts them at a greater risk of bad dates and STI contraction.Sex Workers United Against Violence; Allan, Sarah; Bennett, Darcy; Chettiar, Jill; Jackson, Grace; Krüsi,, Andrea; Pacey, Katrina; Porth, Kerry; Price, Mae (2020). "My Work Should Not Cost Me My Life" (PDF). The Case against Criminalizing the Purchase of Sex in Canada. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
Costa Rica Prostitution is legal, but related activities such as brothel keeping are illegal.
San José Gringo Gulch
Guatemala Prostitution is legal, but procuring is prohibited.
Guatemala City La Linea El Trebol Parque Concordia
Mexico
Prostitution is legal and regulated.
Panama Panama City El Cangrejo
United States Prostitution laws vary by state and territory, however it is illegal except for some rural counties of Nevada. Strip clubs are legal in most areas, including fully nude strip clubs. Many massage shops offer "happy endings", which is an illegal form of prostitution.
Oceania
Australia
Prostitution laws vary by state, either being legal or decriminalized.
New Zealand
Prostitution and associated activities are legal.
See also
Prostitution by region Prostitution law
References