Petition to decriminalize porn gains 25,000 votes in five days

The petition to decriminalize the production of erotic content gained the necessary votes for consideration in a few days. This is stated on the website of the Office of the President.

The petition was registered on June 27. The author is Svetlana Dvornikova, who calls herself a model for OnlyFans (a platform for selling erotic content). As of 16:30 on July 2, the petition was signed by more than 25,100 people.

The author appeals to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and claims that she has paid more than UAH 40 million in taxes to the state over five years. According to her, at the same time, law enforcement officers opened criminal proceedings against her under the article on the importation, manufacture, sale and distribution of pornographic items.

"I am appealing to you as the guarantor of the Constitution of Ukraine to lend a helping hand to the draft law No. 12191 of November 11, 2024 "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine to Improve Its Certain Provisions on Criminal Offenses Against Public Order and Morality",the petition reads.

The woman believes that this draft law is "a step towards justice, protection of human rights and bringing our legislation to the standards of the civilized world".

"Tell me, why does the state prosecute for activities that have no victims? My work is a voluntary exchange between adults who know what they want. All participants are adults, all act of their own free will. Where is the crime here? Who is the victim?" the woman wrote.

The author noted that the draft law No. 12191 also strengthens the fight against real crimes. It establishes stricter penalties for involving children in porn production, increases liability for distributing such content to minors, and makes coercion of minors a particularly serious crime.

Dvornikova called on Zelensky to publicly support the draft law and facilitate its inclusion in the agenda of the Verkhovna Rada.

• On November 11, 2024, the parliament registered the bill No. 12191 on decriminalization of porn.
• In December, MP Zheleznyak reported that the parliamentary committee on law enforcement supported the relevant bill as a basis.