More than 3,000 humanitarian packages were given to sex workers of Ukraine with support of Aidsfonds

We would like to share the current results of the project ‘Solidarity in Action’ providing humanitarian and psycho-emotional support to sex workers in Ukraine during the war. The project is being implemented in 18 cities across Ukraine with the support of our partners from the Netherlands, Aidsfonds – Soa Aids Nederland.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The war and its consequences have a painful impact on the psychological and physical health, as well as the economic and material situation of our community members. In addition to the existing stigma and discrimination, as well as the risks associated with the illegality of sex work in Ukraine, new risks to life have emerged, and the conditions of sex work have become even more dangerous. Vulnerability to rights violations and violence has increased.

Among our clients, many women have been left without a livelihood, without housing, they cannot provide themselves and their families with the necessary resources and products. Criminalisation and the lack of official employment deprive sex workers of state aid for war victims. On the other hand, women who did not provide sex services for remuneration before the war are now forced to engage in sex work. Most often, these are internally displaced women who are forced to migrate across the country, having minor children or sick parents to support, while they have no housing, work, legal and informational support.

Obviously, in such conditions, representatives of our community are largely excluded from making humanitarian decisions that affect their families. Living on the brink of survival and struggling daily for basic resources, without access to legal, medical, and social services, does not promote women’s leadership in advocacy programmes.

To strengthen women’s leadership, it is necessary to restore the connections in the community disrupted by the war, return women’s motivation for joint action and participation in advocacy activities, in particular in humanitarian planning and implementation of events. This will only be possible if the primary survival needs of sex workers (SWs) are met. These are the results that our project ‘Solidarity in Action’ aims to achieve.

The main goals of the project are to create and expand access for sex workers (SWs) to adapted services, increase mutual support and the ability to initiate and influence programmes for the community.

In the photo: mutual aid groups for sex workers, Kyiv, 2025

ABOUT THE RESULTS

1. Thanks to the project, sex workers in 18 cities of Ukraine gained access to resources necessary for survival in wartime: food, hygiene products, warm clothing, and other necessary items. In total, from May to July 2025, 664 sex workers received 3,312 humanitarian packages of various types.

2. Sex workers in crisis situations, who are homeless or do not have their own housing, are extremely vulnerable to violence and do not have access to HIV programmes and services, medical care, legal assistance or social protection, which poses a threat to their lives and the lives of their loved ones. The project provides temporary housing for sex workers who find themselves in crisis situations, require treatment, suffer from psycho-emotional disorders, etc. Thanks to the project, 103 sex workers and their family members in Kyiv, Poltava and Mykolaiv have already benefited from this service.

3. Sex workers who are at increased risk of violence in war conditions, face stigma, discrimination and violations of their rights were provided with 309 psychological consultations through the SW Hotline.

4. SWs who needed social and medical assistance received 180 information consultations through the hotline and were referred to friendly organisations and services to receive medical, social and legal services.

5. To provide psychological and emotional support to community activists, to restore their sense of security, and renew their motivation to live, learn, and take joint action, 54 mutual aid groups and three mental health prevention training sessions were held, with over 700 SWs who took part in this sessions.

CONCLUSIONS

Today, in the context of war, our main task is to ensure the preservation of life and health of SWs. Due to criminalization, SWs in Ukraine do not count on help from the state, therefore, the CO Legalife-Ukraine is the only source of stable support for many SWs. Considering the closed nature of the community due to the criminalisation of sex work, stigma and discrimination, we strive to ensure the anonymity and preservation of confidential data of SWs, and to simplify the procedures for receiving services for beneficiaries as much as possible.

Due to the opportunity of receiving humanitarian aid, the number of SWs contacting us is growing. Thanks to mutual support, close communication, and shared problems, the community is uniting and growing stronger, with some clients joining our movement. Thus, despite the difficult conditions, we are strengthening our activities to mobilize and protect the rights of SWs in Ukraine.

Our main principle is the active involvement of community activists in planning and implementing project activities, collecting needs and providing services to SWs. Unfortunately, recently, especially in 2025, there has been a tendency to reduce donor funding for mobilization and leadership training programs. But it is very important for us to continue to support and develop women’s leaders at the local level. It is thanks to strong, sustainable leaders and their activity that our Organization continued its activities in the regions and supported the community in times of crisis.

Also, it is important to develop partner networks – such cooperation increases the effectiveness of activities and the quality of services for the community in conditions of crisis and lack of resources. Using strategic partnerships, regional leaders have established the referral of SWs through an extensive partner network of NGOs and government agencies. Most often, these are community self-organisations, HIV service and human rights NGOs, AIDS centres and Trust Offices, state social services and medical institutions. Such connections also allow partners to be promptly informed about projects and involved in joint actions.

The project fully meets the needs of SWs according to our systematic surveys among sex workers. The use of an approach that meets the current needs of sex workers for various types of support (material, informational, psychological), cooperation with partners, attracting additional funding and active work of regional leaders to attract new beneficiaries allow us to increase the coverage of services. The increase in number of participants in mutual aid groups and the number of calls to our Hotline prove the effectiveness of the initiative. The conditions created by the project to restore the sense of security, stability, and dignity of sex workers in Ukraine help to restore motivation for learning and joint actions to protect against violence, discrimination and violations of rights.

Our organization has gained extensive experience in organizing the process of humanitarian assistance to the community, taking into account the specific needs of women in a particular region. During this time, we have managed to gather a wealth of information about the issues and situations faced by sex workers in the context of war and criminalisation. This information will be used in the future to advocate for legislative changes in Ukraine and the complete decriminalisation of sex work in our country.

We are grateful to our partners at Aidsfonds for many years of support for sex workers in Ukraine.

Team of the CO “Legalife-Ukraine”