By Matija Šerić
The Russo-Ukrainian war has significantly reduced the number of foreign clients for sex workers. Working conditions have deteriorated both in terms of safety and finances compared to the pre-war period. According to accounts from the sex workers themselves, hourly rates have dropped from $12 to $6–7. In addition, their safety is at risk. Soldiers and other clients often refuse to pay the agreed amount, and sex workers are frequently raped, robbed, or beaten.
Ukrainian Refugees in Europe
The Russian invasion triggered the largest wave of refugees in Europe since 1945. It is estimated that eight million Ukrainians have left their country—mostly women and children—and many of them are extremely vulnerable, making them targets for human traffickers. At least on paper, European countries were generous toward the Ukrainian citizens who flooded their borders, granting them automatic residency permits for up to three years, as well as work permits.
Ukrainian refugees were thus given access to housing, healthcare, and language courses ahead of asylum seekers fleeing violence and repression in Middle Eastern countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, or Libya. The cost for Poland, which alone took in at least 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees, amounts to $10 billion. Germany, the Czech Republic, and other EU countries have also assumed major financial responsibilities. In theory, Ukrainian refugees receive strong support and protection from host countries, but in practice, this is often not the case.
Ukrainian Refugees – Victims of Foreign Predators
Ukrainian refugees have become double victims, as they are being targeted by malicious individuals in the very countries that offered them refuge. Security services in European countries need to strengthen the legal framework and its enforcement on the ground to protect refugees from predators attempting to draw them into the criminal world of prostitution. In April 2022, the United Nations warned that human traffickers would exploit the girls and women fleeing Ukraine, and some human rights groups highlighted the risks posed by EU-sponsored programs. These programs gave private individuals the option to host Ukrainian refugees in their homes. Background checks and safety assessments of those homes were often neglected in the face of massive waves of people fleeing the war.
European countries are battling criminal networks that have targeted Ukrainian women for decades—and the Ukrainian crisis and Russian invasion were seen by traffickers as a godsend. Now, human traffickers no longer need to go to Ukraine to find victims, as their countries are full of Ukrainian refugees. Consequently, the number of potential victims has multiplied. These criminals don’t only seek to exploit women as conventional prostitutes in brothels or on the streets, but also through online platforms. Ukrainian girls—including minors—are frequently featured as available for online erotic and pornographic content. Websites offering jobs to Ukrainian women in nightclubs or on webcams sometimes mention a maximum but not a minimum age, highlighting the vulnerability of minors.
It’s fair to say the situation is alarming. Data from European internet search engines show a dramatic rise in queries such as “Ukrainian prostitutes,” “Ukrainian escort girls,” and “Ukrainian pornography.” Irish website Escort-Ireland reported a 250% surge in visits within weeks of the Russian invasion. According to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the site claimed it offered users the chance to live out their “war-inspired fantasies.” About a month after the Russian invasion began, the site’s management boasted: “Ukraine is winning on the battlefield of Escort-Ireland.” In Sweden—where, like in Ireland, offering services is legal but buying sex is not—30 out of 38 men arrested in March 2022 were charged with purchasing sex from Ukrainian refugees.
Potential Solutions
Many European countries lack appropriate laws enabling police to seize electronic evidence for prosecuting human traffickers. Existing EU laws prohibit online content showing sex or sexual violence involving minors, but loopholes still allow websites to advertise sexual services for individuals under 18. Thousands of such websites are currently active across Europe. Website administrators claim that the volume of ads exceeds their capacity to verify the legality of the content.
Nonprofit organizations across Europe, along with state welfare agencies, have intensified awareness campaigns highlighting the risks Ukrainian women face. However, more must be done to create a safe environment, particularly in terms of childcare, psychological and physical support, and employment opportunities. Additionally, European policymakers and law enforcement agencies should launch a comprehensive crackdown on human traffickers, especially those abusing online platforms. To combat the unwanted sexual exploitation of Ukrainian women in Europe, the EU must revise its legal framework, ensure police action, and expose traffickers who mask their exploitative businesses under the guise of masseuses, cleaners, domestic helpers, or caregivers. In reality, these are often fronts for prostitution involving women who typically do not want to be involved.
Within Ukraine itself, new laws are needed to either eradicate prostitution entirely or legalize and regulate it. Everything depends on the political worldview of Ukrainian lawmakers. They must decide whether prostitution is an industry by which Ukraine will become internationally known—like Thailand—and whether it will be part of the country’s tourism offering. On the other hand, they may conclude that prostitution is unacceptable and work to significantly reduce it. If they choose that path, they must offer alternatives by creating moral and legal employment opportunities for women. This current grey zone—where prostitution is technically illegal but socially tolerated—is the worst option and causes the most harm to Ukrainian women who often engage in it against their will.
