At the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, women-refugees to European countries and their children became targets of those who create criminal sexual content, including with minors. This was confirmed by independent consultant on human rights issues, expert on gender-based violence and human trafficking Tetyana Kotlyarenko (Switzerland), who participated in an expert online discussion on the topic ” Contemporary Challenges in Addressing Online Sexual Exploitation.” українською
The event was held on April 18, 2025, it was the second event in a series of discussions organized by the CSO “Democracy Development Center” at the initiative of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Public Council under the inter-factional association “Equal Opportunities” of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service Issues, the Higher School of Public Administration, and with the support of UN Women in Ukraine.
According to Tetyana Kotlyarenko, when considering this problem, it is especially necessary to pay attention to the situation of Ukrainian women-migrants.
“I would like to go back to the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, when, as an advisor on women’s and children’s rights, I interviewed those who left Ukraine. These women and children were hunted by those who intended to create sexual content, including with minors, of an illegal nature. Vulnerable Ukrainian women and their children became the target of online sexual exploitation, the demand for which is very high online, because the pornography that is produced is also exploitation. “The fact that these people are refugees already makes them much more vulnerable. We conducted trainings for those who work with refugees from the war in Ukraine, and even during the training they were approached with such proposals,” said Ms. Tetyana.
According to her, it is necessary to talk about the nature of online exploitation, because current laws focus on the traditional idea of exploitation and human trafficking, even though a lot of recruitment now takes place online.
“Criminals contact online, they don’t even need pimps, they use people via the Internet. There are many technical methods. It is also important to talk about the changes that are happening through technology. There is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence now. It can be used for good purposes, but human traffickers are expanding their activities with its help. “They quickly find vulnerable women and children, use them for grooming, it’s like a “technical pimp.” The evolution of technology is expanding the exploitation of women and children, even children who are now in Ukraine, because they can be contacted via the Internet,” the expert explains.
It is significant that now they are talking about protecting children from Ukraine, but in the same countries they are criminally exploiting children from Ukraine. About 300 children were taken from such situations, they were dragged into sexual exploitation via the Internet. There is still an understanding of different models of what is the effectiveness of prevention. Normalizing online communication, says Tetyana Kotlyarenko, is a model of equality, or the Swedish Nordic model. It can protect women and children, if it is implemented, then all vulnerable people who are involved in sexual activity should be protected, and those who exploit them should be punished. Today, any woman and child in Ukraine is vulnerable, and pornography is a huge driving force that pulls this whole train of sexual exploitation.