Prostitution in Antigua and Barbuda is legal [1] and common. They tend to move around the Caribbean, never staying in one territory for long. In the capital, St. John's , there is a red-light district in Popeshead Street. It had operated for a number of years and was a household name on the island.
The nearby 'Jam Dung' was also raided. Their motto is 'Creating Positive Change' and the organisation receives government funding.
Sex trafficking is a problem in Antigua and Barbuda. The country is a destination and transit country for women and children subjected to sex trafficking. Documented and undocumented immigrants from the Caribbean region, notably from Jamaica , Guyana , Haiti , and the Dominican Republic , as well as from Southeast Asia , are most vulnerable to trafficking. Sex trafficking has been reported in bars, taverns, and brothels.
Recruitment of victims has often involved the promise of opportunities, such as a job offer to work as a dancer in a club. There are anecdotal reports of children subjected to sex trafficking, including by parents and caregivers. There have been concerns about trafficking-related complicity by police officers.
The Trafficking in Persons Prevention Act, , which was amended in to vest jurisdiction for trafficking cases to the High Court of Justice, prohibits all forms of trafficking and prescribes punishments of 20 to 30 years imprisonment and fines of , to , Eastern Caribbean dollars.
