In 2012, Ukraine briefly became gripped by hysteria over “sex tourism.” The country was preparing to host tens of thousands of football fans for the Euro championships, leading many to predict a sharp rise in prostitution. The high-profile sporting event would “promote sex tourism in Ukraine, and demean women here even more,” Anna Gutsol, the founder of the radical feminist group FEMEN, said at the time, as she led a group of topless activists in protest in Kiev. “In Europe, Ukrainian women have the unfortunate reputation as beautiful, cheap sex dolls,” she said. “And when the fans get here that image will only be reinforced.” [...]
“Sex tourism is no longer an issue as it was four years ago,” said Volodomyr Paniotto, director at the Kiev International Institute of Sociology. “We’re now much more concerned about homophobia, which is hampering our efforts to join the international community.” [...]
If Ukraine’s gaze has shifted, it’s also true that the sex tourist geezers of yore have headed for the exits in the wake of the war with Russia. In cafés, I almost never see those bright-eyed, gray-haired men communicating stiltedly with stunning young women through bored translators anymore. Though Ukraine has become a lot cheaper in dollars after the currency collapsed in the wake of the 2014 Maidan Revolution, and its major cities are as safe as their counterparts in the West, fear has kept the sex tourists at bay. [...]
While the sex tourists are gone, for the most part young women, unfortunately, have an even harder time in post-revolutionary Ukraine than before. Salaries have plummeted, while inflation has skyrocketed. Many are still keen to seek a more stable future in the West, and are awaiting visa liberalization with the EU with bated breath. A recent survey by a major newspaper indicated that 65 percent of Ukrainians would emigrate to the West, given a chance.
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