On May 28, 2025, an international online meeting of participants from organizations working in the field of implementing the Swedish model – the Nordic model of equality in European countries took place, with the representatives of Ukrainian partner organizations “All-Ukrainian League “Legalife” and CSO “Democracy Development Center”. українською
Head of the All-Ukrainian League “Legalife” Yulia Dorokhova and program director of the CSO “Democracy Development Center” Maria Dmytrieva spoke about the peculiarities of Ukrainian legislation in the field of combating human trafficking and in particular involvement in prostitution, as well as about the implementation of the Swedish model. The discussion included issues relevant to Ukrainian women, including refugees, the impact of Russian aggression on women in Ukraine, and the situation of migrant women.
The meeting was organized by the federal association of networks and initiatives “Bundesverband Nordisches Modell e.V.”, which includes dozens of organizations working together to change prostitution policy in Germany.
According to Yulia Dorokhova, under the legalization of prostitution, in Germany there are actually two governments: the political one and the other dark one. A woman involved in street prostitution pays a “tribute” of 150-170 euros every week. Women are simply dragged to “earn” money in street toilets for price less than a pack of cigarettes. “Nobody protects them. At the beginning of the invasion, there was still support at the border, now everyone has forgotten about them, women and children. Women are recruited to the Emirates through the darknet, then they don’t return and disappear. A month ago, a girl was found on the street in Dubai who jumped out of a window because she was being forced to have sex with animals on demand – while the men watched. Now she is all broken, she doesn’t speak, she is in the hospital. Also, many women are no longer found, they have already disappeared. We need support. It is currently provided by the European Network of Migrant Women, but the network of involving women into prostitution is very large. For example, to enter the UK, you need a visa and an invitation from host, then girls are promised help, but then they see that women are disoriented, do not know the language, have no support, and women in a bad psychological state are hunted, the same thing happens in Romania, Greece, etc.,” said Yulia Dorokhova.
Kerstin Neuhaus, a representative of the Bundesverband Nordisches Modell e.V., added that she was a social worker in assistance for refugee women, warning them not to trust strangers. However, now, especially in Berlin, there are a lot of Ukrainian women who have already suffered from being involved in prostitution, the problem is tremendous.
It also emerged that although German law prohibits the job-centers to offer women “work” in prostitution, there have been reports in the media and in private conversations of cases when these managers have offered them exactly that “possibility”. The same happens in other countries, where vulnerable groups of women are called “fresh girls”; “sex workers” organizations do not protect prostituted women and girls, but instead protect pimps. In Belgium, a “progressive” law has been passed, according to which a pimp can sue a woman in court for refusing clients.
To overcome this, representatives of Ukrainian organizations are building a network of contacts, including among European government officials. “If the EU approves the Swedish model, it will be easier for Ukraine, which is focused on European integration, to do the same,” says Maria Dmytrieva. According to her, there are also supporters of the Swedish model within the country, including law enforcement officers who have received appropriate training, as well as politicians. However, after visiting EU countries, Ukrainian migrants flee home under bullets, without waiting for the war to end. As Natalia Semenova, a participant in the event, testified, these women receive terrible medical care abroad, women don`t even receive prescribe for antibiotics, except vitamins. There is no help from benefactors either, only food. There is also no work, the attitude towards women in prostitution is terrible, but apart from them, no one knows what is really happening: only those who make money from them are on the top of attention.
Summing up the discussion, Yulia Dorokhova noted that along with lobbying for the legalization of prostitution in Ukraine, there is no less a problem – corruption, including that of law enforcement officers who cover it all up. In her words, “the Swedish model is good, but I don’t know what will stop corruption in this country, we need to use European methods, but must understand what is being done here. We need to spread information about the Swedish model among women, because so far only propaganda about “sex work” is being spread. To do this, we need to give the floor to real women who have already experienced legalization and can talk about it.”
This is the first event in a series of online meetings to discuss the topic “International Perspectives on Prostitution”, which will take place in the future.