Prostitution in Libya

Prostitution in Libya is illegal. Many of the sex workers are from sub-Saharan African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria. Desperate to flee the poverty of their countries, they have often been trafficked to Libya with the promise of a job in Italy. Some are working as prostitutes in Libya to pay off debt bondage in the hope of travelling on to Italy. The punishment for prostitiution in Libya is a 100 lashes.