Prostitution Has Become Ukraine’s Trademark

Ukraine has long been a favored destination for foreign tourists because of its cheap and easy access to women. During the war, sex tourism within the country declined, but the number of Ukrainian sex workers remains high. Many of the men and women living off sex have found their place in the prostitution markets in European countries, bringing infections, including the HIV virus, with them as part of their services. For example, prostitutes from Ukraine have become the chief carriers and spreaders of HIV in Sweden.

Illustration (Photo: Getty Images)

Ukrainian gay prostitutes are spreading HIV in Sweden, according to the V4NA news agency, which compiled a report on Ukrainian prostitution and its consequences.

Sex workers wearing masks hold signs reading “Sex work is work,” “Legalize, don't criminalize,” and “My job, my choice” as they gather in front of the Ukrainian Parliament during the “Sex Workers March” event in Kyiv on March 3, 2017 (Photo: AFP)

According to the article, in Sweden, 48 percent of HIV infections stem from homosexual contact. The report also highlights that prostitutes from Ukraine have become the main HIV carriers in Sweden.  V4NA further noted that Ukrainians have now taken the lead in infecting local residents in Sweden with HIV. Until recently, this dubious title went to immigrants from Thailand and Uganda.

Prostitution: Now a Trademark of Ukraine

Prostitution in Ukraine is formally illegal, but in practice, it is widely tolerated, and the Ukrainian government mostly ignores it. Back in January 2005, the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, passed stricter penalties against human trafficking and forced prostitution, as previous laws criminalizing organized prostitution had little effect. However, the situation did not improve. The laws were only partially enforced, and nearly 70 percent of those convicted of human trafficking were released before serving their full prison terms. As the country opened up to the world, and especially following the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship co-hosted with Poland, sex tourism surged.

Prostitution became both a hallmark and a stigma of Ukraine.

Because of its cheap and easy women, Ukraine became a travel destination for many wealthy foreign tourists from Europe, the United States, and beyond — highlighted a study by Eurasia Review, which compiled an overview of the situation facing male and female Ukrainian prostitutes.

Before the Russia–Ukraine war, Ukraine was one of Europe’s most popular sex tourism destinations.

According to Ukraine’s government-run Public Health Center, prostitution was widespread in the country with an estimated 53 thousand sex workers. According to the the Ukrainian Institute of Social Sciences, before the outbreak of the 2014 Ukrainian crisis, the largest number of sex workers operated in the Kyiv region (around 10 thousand), the Odessa region (about six thousand), the Dnipropetrovsk region (about three thousand), and also in Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Crimea. Research by the Ukrainian State Institute for Family and Youth shows that for many women, sex work has become the only source of income: more than 50 percent of them support their children and/or parents.

Ukrainian Prostitutes Working in Poland

Many Ukrainian prostitutes lived in Poland even before the war. Estimates suggest their numbers range from ten to twenty thousand. Ukrainian sex workers are also present in large numbers in popular European tourist destinations such as the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Greece, and Turkey — and even in the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, South Korea, and Japan, all of which have become "workplaces" for Ukrainian prostitutes, the analysis says.

Ukrainian sex workers represent the largest group of foreign women engaged in prostitution in Turkey.

Alongside prostitution, human trafficking is also thriving in Ukraine, as criminal gangs recruit women from there into the sex trade. Many women who previously grew wealthy as sex workers abroad have become traffickers themselves. Some return to Ukraine and tell their friends how much money they made, convincing others to leave the country and enter prostitution.

Geldnot treibt ukrainische Frauen in die Sexarbeit. Ihre Kunden sind oft Soldaten, die auf Fronturlaub Nähe suchen oder einfach jemanden zum Reden. Doch das Geschäft ist illegal – und gefährlicher denn je. https://t.co/4cZI81baoi

— DER SPIEGEL (@derspiegel) January 19, 2025

HIV Infections on the Rise

At the start of the Russia–Ukraine war, sex workers' income dropped significantly. According to one analysis, their hourly rate fell from 12 US dollars to around six or seven dollar. This means they have to work more to earn the same income. With more frequent changes of partners, HIV infections have increased. At the same time, worsening living conditions and a sense of hopelessness have led to a growing number of drug addicts. As previously reported, the war and internal migration in Ukraine have created a concerning epidemiological situation: new HIV strains may spread more rapidly in regions where the conditions for further transmission are most suitable. HIV infections in Ukraine primarily affect young people. The disease has an increasingly negative affect on kids and minors in many regions of Ukraine. Even before the war, Ukraine already had a large population of people infected with HIV — many of them women who worked or had worked in prostitution. The same is true for men, who, although in smaller numbers, also work as sex workers in Ukraine and abroad.

Ukrainian Prostitutes in High Demand in Europe

The analysis also points out that based on data from European internet search engines, there’s been a significant increase in English-language searches for terms like “Ukrainian prostitutes,” “Ukrainian escort ladies,” and “Ukrainian pornography.” The Irish adult service website Escort-Ireland reported a 250 percent increase in traffic.

Many Ukrainian women end up as sex workers abroad, whilst Ukrainian men end up dying in war for Zelensky pic.twitter.com/fTKoqkqyKM

— LogKa (@LogKa11) April 13, 2024

Cover photo: Illustration (Photo: Getty Images)