About war and sex work in Ukraine 2026 with Oksana Tropina, Kherson city, Ukraine

WE CONTINUE OUR SERIES OF INTERVIEWS ‘ABOUT WAR AND SEX WORK IN UKRAINE’ with our leaders and paralegals in 2026. Almost a year has passed since our last public conversation with our regional representatives, when we talked about the lives of Ukrainians, the fate of sex workers and the sphere of sex services in Ukraine during the war. This year, we return to this conversation to recall the events of four years of this war and analyse their impact on our community and society.

OKSANA TROPINA is a leader and paralegal of the sex workers’ community at the CO «Legalife-Ukraine» in frontline city of Kherson.

Natalia Dorofeeva, CO “Legalife-Ukraine” (ND): Hello, Oksana! This is our first interview with you, so we would like to learn more about you and your life before Legalife-Ukraine.

Oksana Tropina: I was born in the Kherson region in a multinational village, where the vast majority of residents were Jewish. Living and growing up alongside representatives of different nationalities had a significant impact on my later life. And not only because I have many contacts, as of today, ‘all over the globe.’ But also because, from my childhood, I knew and understood that people differ not only in appearance but also in their traditions and upbringing.

Our family was an ordinary, average, so to speak, rural family. My father was a builder, driver, and firefighter. My mother was a medical professional. My younger brother and I were raised by our parents and grandparents.

From my early school years, I dreamed of becoming a teacher, and my dream came true. My first degree is in teaching. I have experience working in a rural school and later as a college teacher.

In 2008, I moved to the public sector and became a trainer, facilitator, and human rights defender. Currently, I have a degree in psychology. From 2016 to 2024, I was the regional coordinator for public relations for the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in the Kherson region.

As for my family life, I have been married for over 30 years and have an adult son. We support each other as much as possible in the current circumstances. My husband has a disability and needs constant help. My mother is not feeling well after suffering a concussion, losing her home and being forced to relocate. She needs treatment and assistance. Therefore, I have practically no free time today. Before the war, I used to paint, knit, and cook various delicacies. Now I barely have time to cook for myself, for my husband and my mother.

I have no reason to regret anything, because I am sure that most of our wishes can be realized. Of course, this depends on the security situation. This war has changed all our plans, but it has not cancelled them.

ND: How did you decide to join us and defend the rights of sex workers (SWs)? Perhaps you have a personal story that led to this decision?

Oksana: I don’t remember exactly, but approximately since 2010, I have periodically ‘crossed paths’ with representatives of the SW, LGBTQI, and HIV+ communities in my work, and I knew about the difficulties they face in their daily lives, how little they know about their rights, their uncertainty about their ability to defend themselves, and so on.

I have been working officially as a paralegal and leader of CO «Legalife-Ukraine» since 2024. But I have always defended people’s rights, probably since my earliest childhood. My father taught me to ‘perceive anyone first and foremost as a person, and only then as a specialist, friend, etc.’

In the 1970s and 1980s, there was no such thing as a ‘human-centred approach.’ It was only later that I realised that his words had become fundamental to me and to the direction of my work in general.

In 2016, at the very beginning of my human rights work, there was an incident that became the starting point for my collaboration with sex workers.

The universe heard me, and at one of the events I met an incredible person, a woman who defends the rights of sex workers.

I still remember with disgust the situation when someone rushed to ‘report’ information about her to me — not verbatim, but the gist was this: don’t even think about agreeing to live in the same room with her, she’s a "prostitute and also an HIV+ status".  The person who said this ceased to exist for me from that moment on...

But the lady they had spoken so badly about and I lived together in a hotel room, and I remember how we talked until almost morning.

After that event, I returned to Kherson and shortly afterwards received an offer to hold an information event for police officers. At that point, I was already able to freely enter the Main Department of the National Police in the Kherson region, even without prior notice, because I had a certificate from the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights. The first lesson showed me how much work lay ahead: dismissive, discriminatory behavior, “covering up” one’s performance with administrative protocols, lack of response to the SWs appeal about the violation of rights, and much more. And I did. Everything that was in my power according to the powers within the framework of various projects.

ND: I wonder, how your loved ones feel about your work to protect the rights of sex workers?

Oksana: All my loved ones have known for a long time that I am ready to help anyone. So my decision did not come as a surprise to them. To answer briefly, they do not condemn me, but they often ask for explanations, especially of new terms.

ND: Can you tell me what is most attractive about working with the CO "Legalife-Ukraine" and what difficulties do you face?

Oksana: It may sound pretentious, but what I like most is that I can really help. The most difficult thing is the security situation in Kherson; it is not always possible to stay in the city. It is difficult to refrain from negative communication with representatives of the police, local authorities, medical and social institutions, because there is burnout and deformation, as with any person.

ND: Oksana, please tell us how sex workers live in Kherson today and what is happening in the sex work market. What changes has the war brought about?

Oksana: In general, as I always say, sex workers are members of our community just like everyone else, so they have similar problems. Life in Kherson is already a very big risk for everyone without exception, but there are also specific issues.

Many people have left Kherson and the region, including SWs. Some have settled in a new place, some have returned, and some are planning to return.

The war also affects personal life and relationships with loved ones. Sex workers also get divorced, and during the full-scale invasion, some have reported the breakdown of their families. This applies to both families with legal relationships and cohabitants.

As for work, of course, the curfew makes it impossible to work on the streets in the usual places. That is why sex workers look for clients by phone and meet them in rented apartments, often near military bases.

There are women who did not engage in sex work before the full-scale invasion. As far as I know, they saw no other way to survive (they lost their jobs, homes, relatives, etc.).

Both female and male sex workers are more likely to experience violence, pressure from police officers, and unjustified refusals to provide social, medical, or other services guaranteed by the state.

Their health and psychological state have deteriorated. I regularly hear complaints about people’s emotional state. For example, one woman came to me in a state of near hysteria, and I couldn’t immediately understand what she wanted or how I could help. We sorted things out over the phone first, met the next day, discussed everything and drew up a plan of action. It turned out that her flat had been damaged (like many others in Kherson): the windows were broken, there was a lot of glass, and she and her mother had suffered concussions. The residents of the building knew what to do and immediately took action. The first step was to call the KHOA hotline and file a report with the police. But at the second step, the woman heard, ‘We know you [we once filed an administrative report against her], we know what you do. And what do you want, for us to accept your report?’

Of course, this is not literally true, but I often encounter similar problems in my work. As a rule, I have to go with the SW to the police department, explain the situation, and in some cases ‘threaten’ to bring them to justice or appeal to higher authorities.

And all this is about safety: travelling under constant shelling, nerves, emotional state...

If I compare the situation before the war and now, I can say for sure that it has deteriorated significantly. First of all, it is important that the vast majority of police officers in the city are from other regions of Ukraine, not locals. And I often hear things like, ‘I don’t care where you complain, because I’m only here for two weeks and then I’m going home.’

Before the war, we had established contacts with many police officers, they worked on a permanent basis, and we regularly conducted training with them, including interactive training with practical tasks. So it was much easier.

A working meeting with Oksana Pashchenko, director of the territorial centre for social services (provision of social services) in the Central District of Kherson.

ND: Tell us more about the requests and needs that women turn to you with. What help and services do you provide them as a community leader?

Oksana: Like everyone else in Kherson, the girls are in an unstable emotional state, sometimes experiencing uncontrolled aggression or, conversely, depression. We have established communication with a psychotherapist, but the girls very rarely (almost never) agree to undergo psychotherapy sessions.

They often come to me without even realising that they need psychological support: ‘Talk to me, you can listen to me, it’s very difficult for me, everything has changed’ or they cry. If I refer them to a psychologist, in 99 out of 100 cases they refuse. Therefore, I provide psychological support as one of the services within my capabilities. I also conduct group consultations on pre-agreed topics. Once a week, I try to organise information meetings, depending, of course, on the security situation in the city.

I provide legal advice, or rather legal guidance, on access to various services. Most often, these are citizens’ appeals (to the police, Local government bodies, military administrations), medical and social services.

As an example, one of the latest cases: a woman found out about the HIV+ status of a man she was providing services to and went to a medical facility for testing. She did everything right: she received an electronic referral from her family doctor, came to see the therapist on duty (her family doctor is currently not in Kherson), but was refused an HIV test because «there is no one to do it with, and nothing to do it with». At the reception desk, she was told to pay in cash and she could get everything done right away. In such cases, I am often asked to provide support.

As for receiving support in the form of humanitarian aid, as a rule, SWs are grateful. They are all ordinary people with their own needs and habits, so they are sometimes dissatisfied with something, ask for something extra, and so on. There was a case where a woman, an IDP, moved from Beryslav (Берислав) to Kherson (Херсон), leaving with only the clothes she was wearing and her documents in her purse. She was grateful for any help. Then the girls shared with her what they had received themselves.

In this photo: humanitarian aid to women in Kherson from the CO «LEGALIFE-UKRAINE»

ND: What about security and violence issues? Are there opportunities to provide support to SWs in your city?

Oksana: Security in Kherson is primarily about active combat operations. When it comes to violence, there is a centre in the city for women with children who have suffered from domestic violence, where they can stay for a while and receive comprehensive legal, social and humanitarian services. There is also a document renewal service.

For my part, I also advise and explain how to act in a given situation. But often, perhaps half of the requests are for support, because people cannot cope on their own.

A meeting with Natalia Krasko (Наталія Краско), head of a shelter for victims of violence, on the availability of services for SW women.

ND: You mentioned frequent violations of SWs rights by representatives of various government agencies. Can you recall one of the most difficult cases in your practice as a paralegal at Legalife-Ukraine?

Oksana: It is difficult for me to name a specific case as difficult. They are all quite similar. The case that stands out most in my memory is one that a woman brought to me a little over a year ago. She is SW, living with HIV and lived in (occupied by now) Kakhovka town and only last year was she able to get out of there.

When she told me about it during our first meeting, I was shocked. I myself had lived through the occupation of Kherson from the first to the last second and understood very well what she was saying. The woman walked along the bottom of the Kakhovka Reservoir. Only at night. On the third day, she came across our Sabotage and Reconnaissance Group, the guys were making their way to Kakhovka. She said that she ‘howled (literally howled, biting her fists so as not to be heard) when she saw them and heard Ukrainian language, which scared the guys.’

Then they helped her get to Beryslav, then to Kherson. She had her Ukrainian passport and an empty water bottle with her.

And then the ‘bureaucratic circles’ began. We met her by chance. We talked a little, and then together we went to the office, where she was once again refused an IDP certificate. We left the office with the certificate.

Next came the hospital, examinations, treatment, food and hygiene supplies. What struck me most was that this woman was the one who initiated the organisation of aid for our boys in the Kherson area when wet wipes arrived. She knew how necessary they were during the summer heat in our region. It was she who, while receiving humanitarian aid, suggested: ‘Girls, let’s help the boys, it will be quieter in Kherson that way.’ This woman has gone through incredible trials, survived so much that it would be enough for the scripts of several horror films, and was left with nothing... And then she had to defend her rights at every step.

A meeting on improving medical care for women of the SWs with Oksana Tishchenko (Оксана Тищенко), head of the women’s clinic at the Kherson City Clinical Hospital named after Afanasy and Olga Tropin

ND: Please tell me, does the SWs have the capacity to solve such problems and counteract violations on its own, without your help?

Oksana: Theoretically, yes, but in practice, I see that it does not. Especially now in Kherson. I will name a few reasons, but this is not an exhaustive list: low legal awareness, insecurity, inability to deal with government officials, lack of desire to defend one’s rights.

ND: Who and how helps you in supporting and protecting the rights of SWs? Which organisations do you cooperate with?

Oksana: There are doctors who are friendly, there are police officers (there are few of ours left in Kherson, the vast majority are from other regions), there are doctors from the regional phthisiopulmonological dispensary, the MANGUST Charitable Foundation (БФ МАНГУСТ), the Positive Women NGO (ГО «Позитивні жінки»), the AIDS Centre, the Homeless Registration Centre, and the Centre for Victims of Domestic Violence. Thanks to the doctors, we are able to get advice and recommendations more quickly, as well as get tested and examined. We keep in touch with public organisations and help with humanitarian aid. And, of course, consultations, explanations, and support.

ND: What do you think could change the lives of sex workers in Ukraine right now and make it safe?

Oksana: I really hope for our victory and the opportunity to continue working towards the decriminalisation of sex work. I will definitely continue to work on this because I am sure that it is necessary for all of us, not just for sex workers.

ND: Oksana, thank you for your candid conversation. Finally, could you give some advice to our colleagues who are new to activism?

Oksana: My advice is to only do what you personally believe in and work with those you want to help.

Interview by Natalia Dorofeeva, CO “Legalife-Ukraine”