Due to the realities of the issue of prostitution in Ukraine, particularly during the war, it appears unlikely that it could be perceived as a “market” and that women could be involved in it voluntarily, which is reflected in the language used in the material. However, the Commission on Journalistic Ethics is aware that there are alternative approaches to this phenomenon.
Background
On December 18, 2023, the Commission on Journalistic Ethics received a complaint by Vira Zaporozhets against the material by Dumskaya online media outlet written by Heorhii Ak-Murza and Viktor Bosniak “Prices in Dollars, Discounts for the Military, and the Police Whore Truck after Curfew: How the Great War Affected Odesa Prostitution” of December 18, 2023, available at https://dumskaya.net/news/tseny-v-dollarah-skidki-voennym-i-politceyskiy-s-180972.
The Dumskaya journalists describe the market of prostitution and categories of prostituted women who work in Odesa. In the article, mostly anonymous or preudonymous market participants and anonymous representatives of law enforcement describe changes in the field of prostitution during the full-scale invasion. The authors of the material describe the change in the economic and security aspects, the impact of the curfew and the problem of “protectionism” and interaction with law enforcement. The material contains a comment by sociologist Viktor Nikiforov on the economic component of this market.
The complainant claims that the article contains discriminatory language, romanticizes the work of prostituted women, and normalizes their suffering. In her opinion, the journalists failed to turn to civil society organizations or experts who work with this subject to receive a comment on the issues raised, which led to negative consequences, namely stigmatization of Odesa as a destination for “sex tourism” and an insufficiently profound coverage of the problem of prostituted women. Thus, the authors violated the ethics standards reflected in the Ethics Code of the Ukrainian Journalist.
On January 22, 2024, the Commission requested the online to provide comments regarding violating the requirements of paragraphs 6, 10, and 15 of the Ethics Code of the Ukrainian Journalist in their story and the arguments specified in the complaint. No response was provided.
The Commission also turned to Olena Zaitseva, a lawyer, the national gender expert of the Canadian Embassy in Ukraine to request her opinion on the material. Based on her opinion, the newsroom publicly declares its support of a human rights violation, since under international law, prostitution is a form of slavery, which is inconsistent with human dignity and basic human rights. The language of the article also does not meet international and Ukrainian standards. According to her, the language of the UN, NATO and the EU is “prostitution” and “persons in prostitution,” which recognizes this phenomenon as sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Phrases like sex workers, an industry of special services, work, craft are euphemisms used to cover up a crime. Language like “whore truck,” “hoes,” “hookers” etc. is derogatory and used mostly about women, i.e. it is discriminates based on gender by its very nature.
Relevant ethical standards
Clause 6 of the Ethics Code of the Ukrainian Journalist: “Respecting the right of the public to full and objective information about facts and events is the primary duty of a journalist. Journalists and editors must take steps to verify the authenticity of all messages, video and audio materials received from members of the public, freelancers, press services and other sources.”
Clause 10 of the Ethics Code of the Ukrainian Journalist: “Views of the opponents, including ones who are objects of journalistic criticism, must be presented in a balanced manner. Assessments of independent experts must be provided the same way.”
According to paragraph 15 of the Ethics Code of the Ukrainian Journalist, “No one shall be discriminated against on the grounds of sex, language, race, religion, national, regional or social origin or political opinion. Relevant features of a person (group of people) should be indicated only in cases where this information is an essential part of the material. It is necessary to refrain from hints or comments concerning physical defects or diseases of the person, to avoid use of offensive expressions, profanity.”
Regarding violations of the requirements of the Code, cl. 6 and 10
The requirements for completeness and balanced presentation of information are key for the media if they are trying to do their job well. To provide them, journalists must comprehensively research the chosen subject. While the choice of the topic reflects the editorial freedom of the media and journalists, as well as the choice of the angle and perspective of the analysis, they should make every effort within the framework of the chosen direction of creativity to ensure that the material avoids one-sidedness and is multi-vector. In topics such as prostitution and sexual exploitation, which can cause ambiguous reactions from the information consumers, it is important to invite independent specialists and experts to provide commentary, as they could help to expand the issues to the journalists who write the materials.
Indeed, Heorhii Ak-Murza and Viktor Bosniak interviewed prostituted women and representatives of the National Police in an anonymous form regarding problems that occur in this sector. They did cover issues of “protectionism,” personal security of persons in prostitution, both physiological and mental, the legal responsibility for sexual exploitation, as well as economic aspects of this activity.
However, the material lacks commentary from experts who have higher awareness of the of the human trafficking aspect, which is only mentioned in passing, as well as with issues of rights and security of persons in prostitution, who are one of the most vulnerable social groups. The only specialist who was invited to make a comment, sociologist Viktor Nikiforov, only says that the market of prostitution is criminal, and that the full-scale invasion had little impact on it. The journalists do not explain their choice of this particular expert and do not clarify his expertise in the subject of sexual exploitation or human trafficking, particularly through public or academic spheres. In the opinion of the Commission, this indicates that the Dumskaya journalists violated cl. 6 and 10 of the Ethics Code of the Ukrainian Journalist.
Regarding violations of the requirements of the Code, cl. 15
The requirements of the Code go beyond the prohibition of hate speech and limit discrimination and negative stereotyping of certain categories of persons in a broader sense: in order to establish a violation of paragraph 15 of the Code, it is not necessary to prove the presence of calls for violence or cruelty in the material. Adherence to these provisions requires journalists and the media to avoid using offensive expressions that may demean the work of certain categories of people. Covering the issue of prostitution often entails misogyny and sexism against women who become victims of human rights violations through involvement in this sector and suffer additional damage due to this vocabulary.
The material published by Dumskaya tries to cover some of the problematic aspects of prostitution, and at the beginning of the materials, the authors indicate they are in favor of legalizing prostitution, which encourages them to use certain vocabulary such as “sex services.” However, Heorhii Ak-Murza and Viktor Bosniak use not only “sex worker,” but also “easy girl,” “VIP hooker,” “low-level hookers” etc.; in the context of transportation of representatives of this industry during martial law, they use the phrase “whore truck.”
The use of these phrases is discriminatory and additionally humiliates persons in prostitution who are already victims of human rights violations. It also indicates the perception of people in prostitution in society as its “covert” part, which contributes to their shaming without regard for the reasons that forced them into this activity. As a result, by using these terms, journalists of Dumskaya violated clause 15 of the Ethics Code of the Ukrainian Journalist.
Conclusion and recommendations
In view of the above, the Commission on Journalistic Ethics believes that the material by Dumskaya online media outlet written by Heorhii Ak-Murza and Viktor Bosniak “Prices in Dollars, Discounts for the Military, and the Police Whore Truck after Curfew: How the Great War Affected Odesa Prostitution” of December 18, 2023, violates the requirements of clauses 6, 10, and 15 of the Ethics Code of the Ukrainian Journalist and thus publicly denounces the journalists and the media outlet.
The Commission urges the media to be careful when covering topics related to human rights violations due to sexual exploitation and human trafficking. When preparing materials on this subject, the media should:
- avoid the use of derogatory language, which stigmatizes persons in prostitution and contributes to their discrimination, particularly based on sex, gender identity, or social status;
- adhere to the complete coverage of the context of the life of persons in prostitution, revealing the difficulties of their security situation, threats to physical and psychological health, potential rights violations;
- engage independent experts who work with this topic in international organizations to comment on the situation in the sphere of sexual exploitation and human trafficking;
- duly protect the privacy of persons in prostitution in view of the risks of their prosecution in Ukraine.