On war and sex work with Viktoria Sakhnenko, Mykolaiv, 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.

Victoria Sakhnenko (Вікторією Сахненко) is the leader of the sex workers’ community of CO LEGALIFE-UKRAINE in Mykolaiv city, Ukraine

Natalia Dorofeeva, CO “Legalife-Ukraine” (ND): Hello, Victoria! We haven’t spoken for over a year. To sum up this period: what are the main changes that have taken place in your personal life and what achievements are you proud of this year?

Viktoria Sakhnenko: A year has passed, and despite the difficult times for all of us, the suffering and losses, it was filled with interesting meetings and acquaintances, participation in trainings and educational programmes.

For example, at the Public Health Centre, a state institution, I took online courses throughout the year and received certificates in providing prevention services, testing, first aid in case of overdose and PrEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV).

I consider the skills and knowledge I gained from the organisational capacity development training, which was supported by the Danish government, to be very useful.

The training in case management in cases of gender-based violence, which took place in Mykolaiv with the support of international donors, was also important.

Overall, it is my work that inspires and sustains me, preventing me from despairing over what is happening. I see gratitude, and that gives me strength. In terms of my emotional state, I can say that I have become more balanced, calm and moderate, despite all the difficulties.

ND: Indeed, war forces everyone to adapt very quickly. How have the years of war affected the internal climate in your initiative group? Have you formed any new partnerships during this period?

Victoria: The initiative group has certainly undergone changes over these four years, but the core — the people who have been with me for many years, whom I can rely on for anything — has not changed. These are five or six girls who are always active in the life of the community, participate in events, attract new members, and simply help me. Some of them have attended events organised by partner organisations with me. It is very noticeable how their worldview and perception of events in their lives have changed. I see how they are changing, how their attitude to life and to themselves is transforming.

During this time, we have also gained new partners. We began to interact with the FREE ZONE charitable foundation because we were approached by women who had been released from prison and returned to the city. I invited them to join our group and was able to get them interested in our activities. We work very closely with the charity organisation Positive Women of Mykolaiv. It is impossible not to mention the Mykolaiv Local Charitable Foundation “UNITUS”, which provides girls with access to preventive services, including testing.

Victoria received a certificate after completing training in case management in cases of gender-based violence.

ND: Speaking in a broader context, do you notice any changes in how Ukrainian society now perceives sex workers and other vulnerable groups? Is this reflected in the Ukrainian media and social networks?

Victoria: Society’s attitude towards sex workers is indifferent, as they say, ‘it’s their business, it doesn’t concern us, after all, everyone earns as they can.’ As for other vulnerable groups, in particular drug addicts, there is far from tolerance here, the attitude is suspicious and there is a feeling of hostility. But here, too, it all depends on the people; if they don’t bother each other, there are no problems. My personal opinion is that nobody cares whether you work or use drugs — those are your problems. Society has become somewhat inert and indifferent.

As for the media, no topics related to sex work, workers’ rights, changes in legislation, etc. are raised in our city. Maybe there were one or two small notes that revealed a place of debauchery in a sauna and drew up a protocol. As always, they blamed the bath attendant, saying that she called them and took money. That’s all.

ND: Looking back over these four years, how has the sex work landscape changed in your city, both in terms of locations and the composition of the girls, particularly among IDPs or new people in the industry?

Victoria: In the early years, it was on the verge of a foul. There were soldiers in the city. Both the girls and the clients were on adrenaline, in constant stress and fear. In the first year of the war, many girls left, and those who remained were forced to develop new skills for communicating with military clients. One of the girls told me that she started reading and researching online how to behave with the soldiers who had returned.

Now there are almost no soldiers in the city, and to tell the truth, there are not many men in the city either. The girls started traveling to cities closer to the front line, working there for two or three weeks, then returning home.

Almost everyone has left the streets, with perhaps two or three places left where girls still go. However, most of them work online. Only two or three saunas are open, and even those are irregular.

This year, there were surprisingly few new girls.The first year, there were girls from villages and small towns. Now, in the fourth year of the war, sometimes a girl who has not previously provided sex services will appear, work for a while, and then move on. As for IDPs, there were indeed girls in the first year, but over time most of them left for abroad.

ND: If we compare the ‘portrait’ of a typical client then, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and now — how has it changed? And how does this affect the income and safety of sex workers?

Victoria: The portrait of the client has changed. During first year, they were people with weapons — aggressive and dangerous in every way. However, their attitude towards the girls was normal: despite the general aggression, the clients paid well, no one worried about money — that was the drive and adrenaline. The girls say that they often heard the phrase: ‘It’s war, and you don’t know if you’ll be alive tomorrow, so let there be love now!’

As for income: in the first year, the girls earned well, but now there is not much work in the city. The clients who remained are not very solvent, and there are few military personnel here now. Therefore, as I said earlier, many girls travel to other cities to earn money.

ND: When there are people with weapons around, it increases the level of danger. How has the level of violence against sex workers changed over the years? Has it become ‘quieter’ now that the armed people are gone, or, on the contrary, are new forms of aggression emerging?

Victoria: As for the level of violence in Mykolaiv, I cannot say that girls are reporting any horrific or serious cases en masse. This year, I was approached as a paralegal because a client, as the woman herself says, ‘slapped her a couple of times’ or took her money. However, these were not military personnel, but regular clients.

I believe that the absence of serious cases of violence is not just luck, but the result of women themselves becoming much more careful about their safety. Approaches to self-defence have changed, and mutual assistance within the community has increased. Girls have started to work in pairs more often (in particular, renting flats together) and sharing information about clients with each other. Many have given up the practice of travelling to the client’s location — now they work more often in their own territory.

In general, the community’s needs in terms of safety and security have increased significantly due to a sense of constant risk, changes in working conditions, the presence of armed people in the city, and, most importantly, the unpredictable behaviour of clients. This sense of danger has become one of the main sources of stress for the girls.

It is clear that, as the leader of the initiative group, I try to support each of them. I provide individual consultations and hold group meetings during which we talk about methods of checking clients, avoiding risky situations and conflicts with aggressive clients, learn how to respond correctly to any dangers at work, and consider various threats and circumstances. During these meetings, the girls share their own experiences, think about how best to behave in different situations, learn and teach each other how to protect themselves.

Mutual aid group for sex workers in Mykolaiv, 2025

ND: It is obvious that constant stress significantly worsens the mental health of sex workers. How do your activists feel and do you have to act as a psychologist for the girls? What tools of psycho-emotional support are currently most popular in the community?

Viktoria: Four years of war is a long time. What can I say about the psychological state of the community? I believe that it has more or less stabilised. There are girls who experience constant stress, anxiety and danger, but there are also girls who have adapted and found the strength to cope with economic difficulties, anxiety and stress. And I believe that my work, our meetings, support groups, and individual consultations have contributed to this.

The topics that we systematically raise and discuss are directly related to psychological health and self-help tools for overcoming stress. We learn to take care of and respect ourselves, our bodies, and their needs.

Let me give you an example. According to one of our girls, after just two individual consultations and then attending our support groups, she felt that she was not alone, found the strength to continue living and taking care of herself, and became calmer.

I see that my initiative group and the girls who come to us are grateful for the support and knowledge. They appreciate the opportunity to receive specific advice that can really help reduce risks at work and in life.

ND: Viktoria, please tell us how the community’s needs for our services have changed over the past four years. What requests from the SWs are relevant now and what services do you provide in response?

Victoria: Four years ago, when life changed dramatically and we had to adapt somehow, there was a shortage of everything. Many people lost their livelihoods, and some lost their homes and belongings. That is why we needed humanitarian aid packages with food, hygiene products, clothing, household items, etc. The girls who found themselves abroad, in a new and unfamiliar environment, constantly called to ask for advice.

Now most of them have adapted in some way: they have started earning money, and those who moved have found housing.

Material assistance still remains one of the main forms of support, in particular, the demand for things and devices that can help during power outages, heat, water supply, etc. has increased.

We must not forget to mention the humanitarian aid provided to the girls by CO «Legalife-Ukraine». Every month, women receive food and hygiene kits. You have to see their faces and hear the sincere words of gratitude they express. At such moments, you truly feel the spirit of unity and belonging to a great and good cause.

Humanitarian aid to sex workers from CO “Legalife-Ukraine” Mykolaiv, 2025

I also help the girls to receive support and services from organisations that are friendly to us. For example, in August, we received dignity kits from the DRC (Danish Refugee Council) representative office. I also managed to involve our girls in the project of the charitable organisation Positive Women of Mykolaiv. Thanks to this, almost all of them were able to receive professional advice from a gynaecologist and undergo the necessary examinations.

And at the MLCF ‘Unitus’ community centre, our girls regularly receive humanitarian aid: clothing, children’s items and dishes. We also support each other — we agree to bring our unwanted items and share them with those in need. All this gives the girls an extremely important sense of care, unity and peace in their current difficult circumstances.

Individual and group counselling on health issues and access to medical services, safety and protection of rights, access to social protection – all this remain relevant.

Over the past four years, there has been a significant increase in number of requests related to the issuance or renewal of documents. Firstly, people lose or damage their documents when they are forced to leave their homes quickly. Secondly, great difficulties arise when it is necessary to renew or reissue documents if a person does not have Ukrainian citizenship. Therefore, many girls seek help in restoring their documents, and there are also many requests regarding various legal issues.

ND: Apart from restoring documents, what other legal barriers do girls have to overcome? How do you help girls to defend their rights in such situations?

Viktoria: In the fourth year of this war, sex workers continue to face violations in healthcare, in the public sphere, at the family and neighbour level, in the workplace, etc. I would like to note that there has been a decrease in such violations on the part of the police and other law enforcement agencies, administrative service centres and social protection institutions.

With regard to violations in the medical sphere, the most common is a failure to maintain confidentiality, which leads to leaks of information about patients’ health. There are cases where our clients have been forced to pay for medical services, medicines, and tests, or doctors have referred them to private clinics where they had to pay, when these services could have been obtained free of charge at a state hospital.

We cannot ignore the appeals of girls regarding conflicts in their families. In particular, when men return from the front with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). This often leads to cases of domestic violence. Conflicts also arise in relations with neighbours, which, in my opinion, often occur against the backdrop of general stress in society.

Providing group counselling to sex workers on rights and safety, Mykolaiv

ND: Could you recall a specific case from your practice — perhaps a particularly difficult one, or, conversely, one that ended in a small victory — that best illustrates the work of a paralegal today?

Victoria: There is an interesting and difficult case that is still in progress. The client had a residence permit in Ukraine, but she is not a Ukrainian citizen. She lost all her documents, so she turned to me for help. After receiving my advice on what to do next, she filed a report with the police about the loss of her documents. And we waited for a response.

Time passed, but no decisions were made, and the client was not given any documents. We called and asked when we could get the certificate, but we were told that the document was not ready. After the client and I went to the police department, we were given a certificate confirming that the application had been accepted. Thanks to this, we were able to contact the migration service in our region.

The inspector accepted the application, started counting the days, and it turned out that the deadline for submitting this application had passed. They started demanding a fine from the client, but we emphasised that it was not the client’s fault, so she should not have to pay anything. The inspector replied that he could not decide anything on our issue and referred us to the head of the migration service.

I introduced myself as a paralegal at Legalife-Ukraine and immediately explained the situation. The client was questioned very thoroughly. However, I would like to note that the conversation was constructive, the attitude towards us was friendly, and the advice we received was truly effective. The client avoided the fine because we proved that she was not at fault for missing the deadline.

Following the recommendations we received, we worked with the client to prepare requests to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the State Border Service of Ukraine. Ultimately, a solution was found, but due to certain circumstances in the client’s life, it is currently unfeasible for her. We are currently deciding how she should proceed.

For me, as a paralegal, this case was significant because we managed to reach an understanding with the state services, despite the initial stalling of the case with the police. It was interesting to talk to the head and inspectors of the migration service, who treated our case with tolerance and consideration. This is a good example of communication with state institutions.

Providing individual paralegal advice to a sex worker in Mykolaiv, 2025

ND: Understanding is possible, but are there more examples like this? Do you feel that state institutions have become more open to dialogue with vulnerable groups?

Victoria: Interaction with the state is an important part of community life. In general, I have not noticed any significant changes in relations with state institutions. Additional difficulties have arisen due to frequent power cuts and air raid sirens, when citizens are not received. As a result, everyone is forced to spend more time resolving their issues.

Looking back at previous years, communication with state bodies was more tense and not always friendly towards our community and other vulnerable groups. Over time, in my opinion, things are getting a little better. People are starting to see us, react more calmly to our activities, and communication is becoming more productive and friendly. But we must not forget about the human factor, which is still there, in the form of personal prejudice or personal problems of officials that influence their behaviour towards our girls.

ND: It is good that, in addition to government agencies, we have support from colleagues in the public sector. Which organisations are your main partners in the city today? Which of them really influence the situation and help the girls the most?

Victoria: I have been working in the public sector for almost 20 years. There is probably no organisation in the city with which I have not cooperated or encountered one way or another during all this time. My main circle consists of the MLCF ‘Unitus’, the Charitable Organisation ‘Positive Women of Mykolaiv’ and NGO ‘Time of Life’. Without exaggeration, these are the most experienced and time-tested organisations in our sector in Mykolaiv. They have been operating for many years and have a significant impact on the lives of vulnerable groups, including the sex worker community.

Joint partnership campaign for the 1 December — World AIDS Day, Mykolaiv, 2025

ND: Victoria, I want to thank you for your candid conversation. Finally, do you have any advice for novice activists who are just planning to get involved in helping vulnerable communities?

Victoria: I would advise our activists, those who are starting to work in our field, not to be afraid of the work, to support each other, and to remember that if you are emotionally and physically healthy, your help to people will be more effective. And perhaps the most important thing in our work is to believe in yourself and in the team that supports and protects you.

Interview by Natalia Dorofeeva, CO “Legalife-Ukraine”