Albania’s Penal Code Reform: Why Decriminalizing Prostitution Is the Right Step Forward

 Albania is on the brink of a significant legal and social reform. The head of the Working Group for the new Penal Code, Arben Rakipi, has announced that the draft proposes decriminalizing prostitution—a move long overdue in a society that is slowly catching up with modern realities.

 Arben Rakipi in a publich speech (Archive)

At present, both sex workers and their clients face jail time under the law. A person who voluntarily sells sexual services may be sentenced to fines and up to 1.5 years in prison, while even the client risks prosecution. This outdated approach has done little to curb the practice, yet it has pushed vulnerable people further into the shadows, where exploitation, abuse, and lack of health protection thrive.

Rakipi’s proposal is not a reckless copy of France or Italy, where prostitution itself is not criminalized. It is a recognition that the Albanian system of punishment simply does not work. By keeping prostitution underground, the state loses the ability to regulate it, protect sex workers, and ensure public health standards. Worse, it criminalizes people who often have no other source of livelihood and stigmatizes them for life.

Decriminalization brings clear benefits.

• Better protection of vulnerable individuals: Sex workers who are victims of violence or trafficking would be able to report abuses without fear of self-incrimination.

• Improved public health: With regulation, health checks and education on safe practices become possible, reducing risks for both sex workers and clients.

• Focus on real crime: Law enforcement resources should be targeting trafficking, forced prostitution, and organized crime—not punishing consenting adults.

• Economic transparency: Bringing this activity out of the shadows opens the door for taxation and regulation, rather than fueling an untouchable black market.

Opponents may argue that prostitution undermines social morals or family values. But morality enforced through punishment rarely works; it only drives the issue further underground. In fact, criminalization has been shown in many countries to empower traffickers and pimps, since sex workers cannot turn to the authorities without fear of arrest.

Albania has already seen how influencers, public debates, and even youth culture increasingly recognize the existence of sex work as a social reality. Turning a blind eye or criminalizing it has only created hypocrisy: everyone knows it exists, yet the state pretends it doesn’t—until it sends someone to jail.

Rakipi is right: criminal sanctions in this field are ineffective and useless. By decriminalizing prostitution, Albania would not only align with European standards but also take a bold step toward protecting human dignity, reducing exploitation, and building a more transparent and just society.

The Penal Code reform is a chance to correct a long-standing mistake. If Albania truly wants to modernize its justice system and strengthen the rule of law, decriminalization is not just an option—it is a necessity.