Ukrainian parliament to debate decriminalising pornography
The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, is planning to adopt a law to decriminalise pornography, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak announced on Tuesday.
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In Ukraine, the ban on pornography is so wide that it includes sending nudes via direct messages or posting explicit content to specialised websites.
The practice has long been ridiculed — and criticised — by Ukrainians who point out that child pornography and adult sex tapes for private use cannot be equalled.
The new draft law, which is yet to be published online, proposes that criminal liability be held only for non-consensual pornography, such as revenge porn or deepfake; ‘extreme porn’, including violent content, bestiality, and necrophilia; and child pornography.
Consequently, criminal liability will be removed for other methods of producing and distributing pornography.
"To avoid the temptation to manipulate: Pimping, involvement in prostitution, and human trafficking also remain criminal offences," Mr Zhelezniak posted on Telegram, noting that the said crimes are dealt with in separate provisions of the Ukrainian criminal code.
"Let us relieve law enforcement agencies of ‘control purchases’ from webcam models," he added, referring to one of the ways the police investigate distribution of pornography, spending taxpayers’ money.