Law on Combating Prostitution (Law No. 10 of 1961)

This law contains special provisions to protect against prostitution by children under 16 years of age and increased penalties for those perpetrators who are responsible for the minor’s upbringing.

While prostitution in Syria is illegal, the law is not strictly enforced. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS estimates there are 25 000 prostitutes in the country. Since the start of the Syrian Civil War, many women have fled the country and turned to prostitution to survive in Jordan, Turkey, and Lebanon. Sex trafficking and child sex tourism are also problems in Syria, and even before the war, a large number of Iraqi women and children displaced due to the war in Iraq were forced into prostitution to survive. The situation continues deteriorated further as a consequence of the civil war, increasing vulnerabilities of women and children to prostitution and child sex work.