Sex work is criminalised in Romania, nothing concerning sex work is legal. The Romanian Penal Code Art. 328 refers to sex work in the following manner: ‘the behaviour of a person who makes a living by engaging in sexual intercourse with different persons can be punished by a prison sentence of three months to three years’.

Therefore, in Romania, there are currently rarely any forms of prostitution that are not bound to some level of procuring, which puts sex workers in an extremely vulnerable situation. Since Romania entered the European Union, more aggressive and frequent police controls have led sex workers to become less visible and now more work in clubs, bars and apartments.

Sex workers are fined by the police daily. The fee is 500 Lei per fine, approx138 Euros. If the police catch sex workers with a client, they immediately receive a criminal record and are convicted; the client, on the other hand, only receives a minimal fine. Many sex workers have left Romania to work in other European countries.