In Lebanon, prostitution occurs in different forms and is practiced in ways and within networks that differ according to the nationalities of women.

Lebanese women

Hundreds of Lebanese women engage in practicing prostitution, either as a primary or a secondary profession. Communication with customers may occur directly through their presence in cafes, restaurants or on the streets, or through cab drivers and hotel workers, or thanks to organized networks and jobs in nightclubs and cabarets. The activity of these sex workers is not subjected to any supervision, as they may deliver their services at any time in any place, based on a mere phone call with the client. For the most part, prostitutes are paid LBP 100 000 to LBP 300 000 in exchange of a few hours of sexual services. However, the price may be raised, depending on the beauty of the girl or the duration spent with the client. Usually, prostitutes dwell in Greater Beirut, but may move to other regions as well.

Syrian women

It is common knowledge that the entry from Syria to Lebanon is visa free, and all that the Syrian nationals (both male and female) require to travel to Lebanon is an entry card showing the stamp of the General Security and allowing its holder to reside in Lebanon for 6 months. Some networks solicit Syrian women and summon them to Lebanon to work in prostitution in clubs designed strictly for them, where a client may walk in, then escort the prostitute he chooses out of the club, or have intercourse in equipped rooms inside the club. Clients may also take prostitutes to their houses or to hotel rooms.

The networks provide houses for the Syrian prostitutes, and send them to the places that the clients specify as per their phone conversation with the pimps. Likewise that of Lebanese women, the business of Syrian prostitutes is not subjected to oversight or to specific timing.

The prices range from USD 100 and USD 200 in exchange of one hour or an hour and a half, while only LBP 100 000 is paid for spending half an hour inside the club. As soon as they spend some time in Lebanon and acquire good connections with their clients, some Syrian prostitutes hurry to break away from their networks and set out on their own, especially that the networks benefit from 70% of the prostitutes’ pay in return of the protection and shelter they provide for those.

The number of Syrian prostitutes in Lebanon has proliferated as a result of the current crisis in Syria.

Foreign “artists”

Under the name “artist”, thousands of women from Ukraine, Moldavia, Romania, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tunisia, Morocco, and Dominica enter Lebanon to serve in the nightclubs in Beirut, Hazmieh, Sin El-Fil and Jounieh among many others. The “artists” carry out their prostitution career by virtue of an employment agreement lasting from 3 to 6 months, after which, they must return to their home countries to spend an equal duration there, before having the permission to fly back to Lebanon, if they so wish. Throughout their stay in Lebanon, foreign prostitutes are to confine themselves in their place of work and residence, which is usually a hotel that they may only leave between 1 pm and 7pm or 8 pm before heading to the club from 10 pm until 5 am. The work at the club is restricted to strip dancing or keeping the clients company. LBP 40 000 to LBP 60 000 is charged for sitting with them for half an hour and the price increases to LBP 100 000 to LBP 130 000 for an extra hour. The two parties agree to meet outside the club on the next day or any other day during the week, and the client should spend a minimum of an hour and a half, so that the girl consents to meeting him later.

The artists receive a monthly pay ranging between USD 600 to USD 800 in addition to a commission for keeping the clients company. They also benefit from USD 100 to USD 200 when meeting the clients, a price that grows proportionally with the woman’s beauty and sex appeal.

In large clubs that include rooms for the residence of artists, clients may visit in daytime between 1 pm and 6 pm, pick one of the women who failed to get a client the night before, and take her out after paying the club a sum standing somewhere between LBP 100 000 and LBP 130 000. Another USD 100 to USD 200 is paid to the girl for engaging in sexual intercourse.

Brothels

Hotels and furnished apartments are currently considered the most common places for practicing prostitution. Given the recession in the tourism market and the decline in the hotels’ occupancy rates, the hotels who once refrained from permitting sexual encounters in their rooms, are now loosening their grip and welcoming clients and artists of all kinds. Such hotels usually charge USD 20 to USD 60 for a 2 to a 4-hour stay, depending on their level and classification, noting that some hotels are established solely for prostitution purposes.

Nightclubs

There are 50 nightclubs licensed by the Ministry of Tourism and distributed primarily in Hamra, Phoenicia, Hazmieh, Sin El-Fil, Jounieh and Maameltein. Those include small clubs housing no more than 6 artists and larger ones with over 15 artists. A total of 800 to 1000 foreign artists work in these clubs throughout the year.

The Lebanese law defines prostitution as an illegal activity, but fails to take any action to curb its proliferation, especially that it booms in the tourism and hotel market and is being covered by the official authorities responsible for censorship and law implementation.