Controversial Reform: Ukrainian Lawmakers Back Legalisation of Porn in Initial Vote

Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine have passed in the first reading a bill on the legalization of the creation and distribution of pornographic materials on the territory of Ukraine.

The document was supported by 231 deputies, with 8 voting against and three abstaining.

At the same time, the bill significantly toughens criminal liability for the sale and distribution of pornography involving minors.

The document now awaits amendments and a second reading.

The initiative to decriminalise pornography was first registered in the Rada in the summer of 2023. It proposes revising two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Article 301, which concerns the import, production and distribution of pornography, and Article 302, which deals with the organisation of “places of debauchery.”