Summer Sex Tourism in Kiev

[Leslie]

Summer's on its way to Kyiv, which means mini-skirts and stiletto heels for women and the sex tourism season for too many men. Hordes of Turkish, German, American, French, English, Italian, Swedish and other men will, as they have for years, descend on the country over the next few months in hopes of finding "the right girl" - for marriage, supposedly, but in many cases for a week or a night.

This year however, what with Ukraine's temporary no-visa regime for European Union citizens, and given Ukraine's new attractiveness in the wake of the Orange Revolution, there could be more of them than ever. Ukrainian girls are going to get as much as they can handle from foreign guys who can't meet women in their own countries, or who are just plain looking for what they perceive as easy pickings. That's a shame, because Ukraine's status as a hub for woman-crazy foreign men cheapens the social scene here - and cheapens Ukrainian women.

Midweek recently at a Kyiv nightclub, the hordes of foreigners were in full force, grinding on the dance floor with Ukrainian gals clad in their summery best, each guy clumsily trying to lock lips with any girl in the place that would have him. Dance floor conversations floor consisted of monosyllabic grunts and insinuations from the men, and a lot of nonchalant fend-offs from the women. You could hear the men say things like this: "I have only one day left in Ukraine. Let's go back to my hotel room." Charming, I'm sure.

A friend in the hotel industry here tells me that 80 percent of the business at her hotel consists of men coming to Ukraine from any number of countries, all looking for sex. That's anecdotal, but even if the number is a fraction of that, it's high. And marriage agencies say their business is in decline? That may well be true of the reputable ones, the ones that rigorously screen their clients to make sure they're not here to exploit Ukrainian women. But others have adapted, and now are running discreet operations with "social" hours so that foreign men can meet Ukrainian women to sleep with. Kyiv has started to sell people on sex tours the way Paris sells people on the Eiffel Tower.

In my opinion, Ukraine is becoming the new Thailand, only it's cheaper to get to from the West. Consider this: The United Nations Development Program for HIV/AIDS reports that Ukraine has more than 500,000 reported cases of HIV, and the numbers are on the rise each year. Like Thailand, where HIV/AIDS infections have been ravaging younger generations, Ukraine faces an epidemic of this terrible disease. And with education about HIV/AIDS and safe sex in general lacking, especially in comparison to Western countries - and even Thailand - many of the encounters between "sex-pats" and Ukrainian women may result in the proliferation of this dreaded disease.

Trafficking in women is also a notorious problem here, but bad treatment of women goes beyond rounding up rural Ukrainian girls and sending them to brothels in southern Europe or the Middle East. Women are all too often treated like commodities, considered vehicles exclusively for sex, dish-washing, cooking and baby-making. What's more, Ukrainian women earn less, on average, than their male counterparts, and are often passed over for promotion to high management positions at Ukrainian companies because of sexism. The situation, in other words, is often bad enough without foreign men coming and contributing to it.

The combination of long-standing native social attitudes and the sex tourism industry is doing a number on the mentality of local women. How many times have I heard foreign men who have dated Ukrainian women complain that women here are unknowable? That they're all greedy and out for money? That they can't be trusted? Is it possible that these women have simply learned to respond to a world that too often expects little more of them than to smile all the way to the bedroom? If they seem inscrutable, and like they're out to get something from the men they interact with, that's likely because they know that guys have an agenda in regard to them, too.

Just the existence of short-term sex tours for men to Ukraine is bad news for women here - an insult to them. Would German men or French men enjoy foreigners coming to their country en masse looking for sex with their sisters, daughters, friends and co-workers? Probably not. They'd be insulted. And yet they, and others, subject Ukrainian women - and Ukraine - to insults that they would never want to put up with themselves.

I write this on a chilly spring day, when the women walking along the street outside my office are all bundled up. Back into the closet, for the moment, with the heels and mini-skirts. Summer, the high sex-tourism season, seems far away, and that feels good.

Paul Miazga is the Post's senior editor

http://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/oped/22660/

 

[BC]

As the Euro spreads to new EU countries and prices in general rise to western european levels the situation described will likely worsen.

[525i]

My girlfriend was aware of the term "sex tour". I did not ask about it. During our meeting she told me that some men come to Ukraine to have sex. They meet many women during their stay.

This was the major consern for her to place her ad and start to find a man from abroad.

I think that I wrote, said and behaved like a man, who was not doing this for sex.

I was unlucky with my timing. I applied for visa from April 2nd. After that I realised that starting from May 1st, no visa is required for EU citizens.

[Albert]

I think the mind set of the original writer is pretty stupid and demeaning to women.

He or she seems to think that females actually do not enjoy sex simply for the sake of sex itself.

True, there are cases of exploitation wherein women are offered 'modeling or acting jobs, etc.' and are shipped off to foreign places for prostitution.

But, in the vast majority of cases, there are interactions between males and females, both parties whom are completely free to engage in any and all sexual and non-sexual acts that they wish to.

As a wild guess, I would extimate that well over half of the over 40 FSU women that I have had sex with initiated the sex.  None of these women were desperate to get married, leave their countries, etc.  In many cases they were actually not interested in marriage at all.

When are men and most women going to accept the fact that there are many women who actually enjoy sex and seek it just as much as men.

[BC]

Albert,

It's all economics...

In Amsterdam 1 hour will cost you about 150 to 350 bucks. In Ukraine 100 and maybe less for the whole night will do.

Cheap sex draws more flies than a pile of s#!t

The author may seem demeaning and stupid but it's probably close to reality.

Your statement: "In many cases they were actually not interested in marriage at all." says a lot. I don't think they would have turned down a nice tip or gift.

[Bruno]

In Amsterdam 1 hour will cost you about 150 to 350 bucks. In Ukraine 100 and maybe less for the whole night will do.

In Antwerpen ( Belgium ), you can find FSU woman for only 50 euro... So, for sex tourism, why pay thousand of $$$ for trip and stay...

Yep, maybe these sex tourism fear that some relative or friend reconize him in these special street... make a far trip allow them to keep anonima... at home, they can be the good husband, father,... Do you think that all the business trip in FSU are really for business :P...

 

[BC]

Bruno,

50 EUR for 15 or 20 minutes in Antwerp.. that's why most of the guys keep their socks on.

[Bruno]

Really, for FSU woman, it is more cheap... they break the business... no register of commerce... not a special place... they find client in street ( what is prohibith by the law ) and make the "business" at home... black money, no tax... usually, several are illegal here, without document...

Several come here for one or two year... same if they are taking by police, the provedure for expulsion are enough long... they spare some money and when they are back in FSU, they have enough for start a little business and new life...

Previously, we have know this with Polland woman... a trip with bus from Poland to Belgium... a stay of maximum 3 month ( tourist visa ) with black work or prostitution and after back home...

FSU man don't pay for hooker, they have enough usual woman to choice... actually, almost all hooker from russia are located in city where you find western tourist... but the pool of potential client is too much low for all the "ladies"... some fish directly in western country...

[andrewfi]

Bruno ~ There are plenty of local prostitutes serving local men in all countries of the FSU. It may just be that you would not have come across them, or did not recognise them when you did.

For example, if you take a banya, then there will be, almost certainly, girls to help you enjoy your time there. There is a reason why the relaxation rooms are so large and with such large soft sofas and as you might have seen somtimes small bedrooms.

If you go to a club, you will find many girls who are available 'for hire', but unless you knew what was going on, you would not know.

Most local newspapers will have advertisements from prostitutes, these will be in the local language and so you would not know of their existance, but they are there and, of course, they service local men.

There are webites offering girls in many cities, again for local guys andof course many of the large dating sites have girls available for commercial sex, if one can nderstand the language, as well as, of course the sites dedicated to providing a national service for 'compensated dating', many of those girls are also on the ordinary dating sites and MOB sites, but again, without language skills, you would never see any of this.

In the areas where there are many foreigners, there is often a dual layer market. The cheaper girls for local guys, advertised and promoted in local language, in places that locals see and a more expensive market for local rich guys and freigners, these are the girls that you will have seen advertised.

Just because you did not see it does not mean it does not exist.

Prostitution, for all markets, is a huge business throughout the FSU.

[Bruno]

Bruno ~ There are plenty of local prostitutes serving local men in all countries of the FSU. It may just be that you would not have come across them, or did not recognise them when you did.

I have see some of them when i was in Lipetsk... and i was surprised but my ex-wife have explain that they was more reserved for new russian ( the rich one )... usual man have enough difficult financialy to spend money in hooker... and they have plenty of young woman who afford herself for free in the hope to find a husband...

In several little cafe and in disco, during my stay in Nikolaev, it was the woman who hunt man... not the reverse...

About local newspaper and site in Russian language, i know it... usualy, they post a sexy black and white photo followeed by phone number

[andrewfi]

If you know this, then why did you write otherwise?

[Bruno]

First, the prostitution in Russia is not driven by poverty, drugs or unemployment like in USA or Thailand. In spite what newspapers say, these social problems are not widely spread in Russia (yet!). So, the girls go into this business just because they prefer this particular way of making money to other ways. Russian girls have the same motivation as expensive high-class prostitutes in the West, but charge much less. One girl told me that before joining a brothel she was a supermarket assistant earning 60$ a week (not so bad in this country) but it was more easy to make these sum by fucking twice a week.

Second, the prostitution is not regarded as a social evil in Russia. Until recently, prostitutes mostly serviced rich (according to Russian standards) foreign tourists in luxury hotels, and therefore, themselves were wealthy and distant from ordinary people working for miserable salaries in closed Communist society. Life in this half-western world earned them some respect and popularity, which they enjoy even now.

http://www.worldsexguide.org/moscow.txt.html

What you call hooker for local men are more called whore by myself... they don't ask money, they make it in the hope to find a patner to marry... they afford her body freely in the hope to find someone... few russian men go pay for sex... they pay in a other way, after, when they are married :cool:

[Bruno]

Interesting quote :

As the most current case in point, over the past decade, 10,000s of our women and children have been trafficked abroad for prostitution. Around Moscow, we have over 100,000 women and girls in prostitution. We estimate that 70% have been trafficked from other cities and towns in Russia and former Soviet republics. In Moscow and all over Russia, we have not been able to combat this problem because we don't have a law against the trafficking of women and our laws against pimping and procuring for prostitution are very weak.

Now, the legislature has drafted an excellent anti-trafficking law and proposed revisions to the criminal code that will make pimping a major crime. Passing these new laws will give us weapons to fight the trafficking and pimps that cause so much harm to our women and children and undermine the morals and values of our society.

But now we find ourselves under pressure from United States government funded "harm reduction" projects that distribute condoms and sex education materials that aim to reduce HIV/AIDS among drug addicted prostitutes, while lobbying in favor of the legalized prostitution. They print materials for prostitutes that are distributed throughout Moscow schools, institutes and orphanages with the effect of encouraging young women to choose prostitution as a career. We find this morally unconscionable.

Is this American foreign policy? Isn't it hypocritical for your president to speak out against human trafficking and prostitution while funding organizations around the world that promote the exact opposite; organizations lobbying within the Russian government to undermine strong anti-trafficking legislation and those who oppose legalized prostitution?

 

http://www.religionandpolicy.org/show.php?p=1.1.840

[andrewfi]

Bruno ~ It must be nice to be you!

There are prostitutes for all pockets. From the woman that willl have sex for a hit of vint up to the girls who will only go for thousands of Euro. I still do not understand why, if you know of these outlets why you claim they did not exist.

It is not just the relatively well off who pay. I am sure that you know that really...

[Bruno]

Bruno ~ It must be nice to be you!

There are prostitutes for all pockets. From the woman that willl have sex for a hit of vint up to the girls who will only go for thousands of Euro. I still do not understand why, if you know of these outlets why you claim they did not exist.

It is not just the relatively well off who pay. I am sure that you know that really...

if you read my post, i wrote ALMOST... i have never clain that they don't exist...

 

[ConnerVT]

There are plenty of local prostitutes serving local men in all countries of the FSU. It may just be that you would not have come across them, or did not recognise them when you did.

All one has to do is drive down any main road leading out of Moscow.  My wife pointed several out to me as we were driving home from the airport.  To me, they looke like women waiting for a bus, or at the end of a road waiting for their ride (I guess they were, in a way  ).  They certainly weren't waiting for a Western man to stop and pick them up.  In fact, I saw one getting into a garbage truck with two men.  I wonder what that was all about...

[andrewfi]

Conner ~ those are usually tochka girls. The girls you saw would likely have been the 'beacon' girl. If you stopped for her, she would have directed you around a corner to a line up of up to a couple of dozen girls, each falling into a particular price level, $50, $100, $150 per night, or daytime, according to her attractiveness and popularity. Of course some girls stand out on their own, but most are part of a tochka lineup.

The free market rules.

[Jack]

coool Andrew, I swear I learn a lot from many of your post's!

[ConnerVT]

coool Andrew, I swear I learn a lot from many of your post's!

Yeah, but you didn't ask how he conducts his market research...

[Jack]

and I wasn't going to ask either