Prostitution in Kyrgyzstan has been legal since , [1] but the operation of brothels , pimping , and recruiting persons into prostitution are illegal, with penalties of up to five years [2] [3] There are estimated to be 7, sex workers in the country.
Prostitution has been blamed for a rise in AIDS. Sex trafficking is a problem in the country. NGOs and sex workers report harassment and corruption by law enforcement and forced health checks. A few "mamochki" madams are on the street, the sex workers being in nearby hotels. Kyrgyz police officers allegedly exploit female trafficking victims, including some younger than age 18, for sex both in saunas and on the street.
Concerns persist about police misconduct and corruption, including allegations that police threaten and extort sex trafficking victims, including minors, and reports that police accept bribes from alleged traffickers to drop cases.
The organisation was started in by a group of sex workers as a "trade union". In it was registered as an NGO and received the status of a public organisation. Tais Plus were successful in opposing an amendment to the law in that criminalised sex work, and again in against a proposed amendment to make prostitution an administrative offence.
Kyrgyzstan is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to sex trafficking. Underage teenage girls from Uzbekistan increasingly are subjected to sex trafficking in the southern region of the Kyrgyzstan. Some men and women from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan , and Turkmenistan transit the country as they migrate to Russia, the UAE, and Turkey, where they may be subjected to sex trafficking.
