Our Story

“Legalife-Ukraine” is a charitable organization, which was founded on the initiative of sex workers who have joined efforts to protect their rights.

Activists of the CO “Legalife-Ukraine” have been defending the rights of sex workers in Ukraine since 2011, advocating the decriminalization of sex work and combating stigma and discrimination against sex workers. 

Nataliya Isaieva, the head of the organization, explains:

“Our activism has literally grown out of the need for qualified medical and legal assistance in cases of police misconduct and abuse. We realized that we need to change the laws so that sex workers would not be afraid of police raids, administrative liability, and responsibility for “pimping and pandering …”.

The Chairperson of the Board Olena Fiskova recalls:

“We laid an ambush and recorded audio and video of how police workers were violating the law – illegal detentions, humiliation and abusive treatment of sex workers. And after that, we filed complaints and lawsuits… ”.

The history of the organization began in 2006-2007 in Kropyvnytskyi (at that time – Kirovohrad) with the personal story of sex worker Nataliya Isaieva, now the director of the CO “Legalife-Ukraine”.

At that time, Nataliya joined two local charities working on HIV/AIDS prevention. First, as a client, and then as a volunteer. At the same time, Nataliya continued to provide sex services.

Later on, working together on HIV prevention and treatment projects, Nataliya Isaieva together with Olena Fiskova and Irina Khmelnitska formed an initiative group to protect sex workers’ rights. The activists worked both with sex workers and their clients: providing counseling and HIV-testing, handing out condoms, directing them to medical assistance, and explaining basic legal rules they needed to know to protect their rights and maintain good health.

Further development of the initiative was induced by Natalie’s unjustified detention by local police. Law enforcement officials called her, pretending that they need advice on HIV-prevention and offered to meet. During the meeting, a handful of marked bills suddenly appeared in her handbag, which became the reason for her detention under Article.181.1 “Prostitution” of the Code on Administrative Offences of Ukraine. Nataliya was kept in the police station for a long time, having no access to drinking water, she was not allowed to sit down, threatened and forced to sign the charges record.

Finding herself at liberty, Nataliya decided that she had to do her best to stop these “werewolves”, wearing police uniforms, and deprive them of the opportunity to abuse other sex workers. The following day, she addressed a statement to the Prosecutor’s Office and the regional department of the Internal Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

At that time, community activists had already formed a legal organization for sex workers – “All-Ukrainian League “Legalife” and started the process of its official registration. Nataliya joined the Board of the organization together with Olena Zuckerman, Olena Bubulich and others. While attending the International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Olena Zuckerman collected a large number of conference participants’ signatures for the petition to defend Nataliya, emphasizing the inadmissibility of violations of sex workers’ rights by the state and law enforcement agencies. Later, the petition was sent to the President of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Health and other institutions. Such publicity could not be ignored – official inspections regarding the law enforcement officers’ misconducts were held and they were dismissed from their duties.

This is how the story of sex workers’ self-organization began, and our activism has grown into a professional activity in the field of sex workers’ rights protection.

Since 2009, with the support of the Open Society Foundation, we’ve been providing quasi-legal support and documenting violations of sex workers’ rights.

As Nataliya Isaieva recalls:

“We were driving on highways, hiding behind the trees and laying ambushed for hours to record audio/video of the incidents of violent behavior and violations of sex workers’ rights by law enforcement officials. As a result, we have prepared complaints and claims. We were explaining to girls what human rights exactly police officers had violated and how, why they shouldn’t agree to sign illegal charging documents, which tools they can use to protect themselves and their loved ones from blackmail and threats by the police. We taught the girls how to deal with law enforcement representatives properly, how to use technical tools for audio and video recording of violations, etc.”.

“We encouraged girls to advocate their rights on their own, not to leave violence unpunished, to contact the authorities and institutions in such cases, but … The main problem we faced was the unwillingness, and more often the fear of sex workers to protect themselves. We realized that it was dangerous for each of them and for their families. Literally, it was a matter of life and death: there were cases when sex workers disappeared, later they were found dead, and the cause of death was claimed to be an accident, suicide, etc. ”  

“With the support of the Human Rights Emergency Response Fund, in 2012 we were able to provide sex workers, who suffered from police abuse, with crisis housing, transportation, food, and also with legal assistance at court to prosecute offenders. But, unfortunately, we had this opportunity only for one year. “

In 2011, the members of the Board of self-organized sex workers “All-Ukrainian League “Legalife” decided to register the Kirovohrad branch of the “All-Ukrainian League “Legalife”, as our initiative group was one of the most efficient in Ukraine.

In 2012, a branch of the “All-Ukrainian League “Legalife” was officially registered in Kirovohrad.

In August 2015, we became an independent organization: we changed the name of the organization and registered the legal entity “All-Ukrainian Charitable Organization “Legalife-Ukraine”.

Later, in July 2018, the head office and the main staff of the organization moved to Kyiv, changing the official registered address of the organization from Kropyvnytskyi to Kyiv. Since that time, the organization has been named the Charitable Organization “Legalife-Ukraine”.

From the beginning to the present day, the organization’s activists have been protecting sex workers’ rights in Ukraine, advocating the decriminalization of sex work, and combating stigma and discrimination in various ways. “Legalife-Ukraine” is actively engaging sex workers from all over Ukraine to join the human rights movement.

We’ve understood that the laws need to be changed so that sex workers no longer have to live in fear for their lives and for the lives of their loved ones.

Our organization has an ambitious goal – to change laws and abolish penalties for sex work in Ukraine.