Prostitution in Yemen is illegal but common especially in Aden and in the capital, Sana'a. Some hotels have "house prostitutes" and it is possible to book a room and a woman to be ready on arrival. Many sex tourists from other Gulf states , particularly Saudis and Emiratis , indulge in what are known as "tourist marriages". Sex trafficking [7] and child prostitution [5] [7] are problems in the country.
In , the Yemeni religious police led a crackdown against Chinese -organised prostitution in Sana'a. The workers at many massage parlors , spas and restaurants were dragged out into the streets, and the establishments were closed down. It was alleged that corruption had allowed the establishments to operate up to that time. Zindani, who was designated as a terrorist by the United States in , had previously issued a fatwa sanctioning the demolition of the house of a man suspected of running a prostitution ring.
In January , armed Islamists attacked a hotel in Aden which they suspected of being used for prostitution. More than 10 gunmen opened fire on the Layali Dubai Dubai Nights hotel before setting fire to it. Yemen is a country of origin and, to a lesser extent, transit and destination, for women and children subjected to sex trafficking.
The ongoing conflict, lack of rule of law, and the deteriorating economy have likely disrupted some trafficking patterns and exacerbated others. Traffickers, security officials, and employers forced some Yemeni children into sex trafficking in Saudi Arabia. Prior to the conflict, Yemen was a transit point and destination for women and children, primarily from the Horn of Africa , who were subjected to sex trafficking. Ethiopians and Somalis travelled voluntarily to Yemen with the hope of employment in Gulf countries, but some women and children among this population may have been exploited in sex trafficking in Yemen.
Others migrated based on fraudulent offers of employment as domestic workers in Yemen, where they were subsequently subjected to sex trafficking. Some female refugees were previously forced into prostitution in Aden and Lahij Governorates. The UN estimated that the protracted Syrian conflict resulted in an influx of as many as , Syrian refugees to Yemen; Syrian refugee women and children begging in the streets were highly vulnerable to sex trafficking in the country. Yemeni children have been subjected to sex trafficking within the country and in Saudi Arabia.
