Prostitution in Mongolia is illegal [1] but widespread in some areas. Sex trafficking [5] and child prostitution , including child sex tourism , [6] are problems in the country.
Although illegal, prostitution in Mongolia is on the rise, partially due to the growing mining industry. In the capital, Ulaanbaatar , prostitution was previously centred on the park in front of the Ulaanbaatar Hotel , where most wealthy westerners stayed when in the country.
In recent years it has moved into karaoke bars, hotels, saunas and massage parlours. Whilst there are occasional raids by the police, they establishments generally operate untroubled by law enforcement. The number of men employed at the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine and the Tavan Tolgoi coal fields has led to a great rise in the number of sex workers in these areas. Along the main highways leading to the Chinese border, truck drivers will exchange diesel for sex.
The prostitutes along the highways are known as "diesel girls" [3]. Mongolian women in China work as prostitutes in bars in Beijing , [7] such as Maggie's. As sex work in the country is underground due to the legal situation, sex workers have little access to sexual health services.
Sex tourism occurs in the country. Police report that 1, women and adolescents are working in bars, massage parlours and hotels catering to foreigners and tourists. Japanese and South Korean tourists engage in child sex tourism in the country. Mongolia is a source and destination country for women, and children subjected to sex trafficking.
