On Friday, members of the Ukrainian Parliament, also known as the Verkhovna Rada, announced that they have collected enough signatures for a bill to make the production of pornography not a criminal offense.
Yaroslav Zheleznyak, the leading supporter of the idea, claims that the current laws encourage corruption. He argues that legalizing pornography could bring in financial support for the military.
The proposed Measure 9623 would adjust Article 301 of Ukraine’s criminal code, which Zheleznyak criticized as “foolish.” It doesn’t change anything related to child pornography, human trafficking, or prostitution.
Zheleznyak mentioned to the Kyiv Post, “We are not even talking about OnlyFans, but about consuming this content in general.” He added that it’s a Soviet legacy to send someone to prison for up to eight years for sending or receiving nudes.
Many Ukrainians are currently involved in making pornography as part of their jobs.
According to Zheleznyak, the government received over 34 million hryvnia ($920,000) in taxes in the first half of 2023 from websites like OnlyFans, whose main owner is Ukrainian-American businessman Leonid Radvinsky.
A charity that uses nudes to raise funds for the Ukrainian military has also supported the initiative. The group, called ‘Teronlyfans,’ rewards those who donate to the armed forces or refugees with spicy photos.
Anastasia Kuchmenko, an executive at Teronlyfans, told the Kyiv Post, “This is a good representation of the role of the body in war. As citizens of Ukraine, our primary responsibility is to provide our soldiers with everything they need.”
Even though the group deals in “erotic and not pornographic content,” Kuchmenko admits that they could face prosecution if the government did not turn a blind eye to their activities.
Zheleznyak also argued that Ukrainian police have more important tasks than pursuing cam girls. He cited statistics showing that 85,500 man-hours were spent on porn cases in 2021, which he said was a year of daily work, without holidays, for 41 investigators. His amendments note that over 700,000 people received a court summons in 2022 for charges under Article 301.
While the proposal already has the necessary co-sponsors to move to a vote, some Ukrainians are not happy about it.
One comment on Zheleznyak’s Telegram channel said pornography is worse than alcoholism, while another claimed that “the same people that are for the legalization of LGBTs are for the legalization of porn,” and that this will “lead to great problems and the degradation of the nation.”
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