The number of criminal cases related to pornographic content is increasing in Ukraine: infographic
According to the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine (GPU), in the first seven months of 2024, more than 2,300 criminal cases related to pornography were registered in Ukraine. According to Opendatabot, the number of cases related to child pornography exceeds the number of cases related to adult content for the third year in a row.
During this period, 1,145 criminal proceedings were opened under Article 301 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (CCU) “Import, manufacture, sale and distribution of pornographic objects” and 1,198 proceedings under Article 301-1 concerning child pornography. It is important to note that these two articles have been separated in GPU reports only since 2022.
The total number of cases related to pornographic content is increasing every year. In 2024, the number of open cases for adult content (Article 301 of the Criminal Code) will already be 27% higher than in 2023. It is interesting that for the first time in three years the number of proceedings for articles on adult pornography and child pornography (301-1) equaled, while in previous years the advantage was on the side of child pornography.
In 2024, 68% of cases related to adult porn content were brought to court, which is slightly lower than the previous year’s figure of 72.5%. As for child pornography, only 57% of cases reached the court, which is a decrease compared to 69% in the corresponding period last year. Since the beginning of the year, 21 adult porn cases and 25 child pornography cases have been closed.
It should also be noted that the state does not currently have a clear definition of what constitutes “distribution” of pornography, and the article does not distinguish between private messages, such as private nudes, and commercial sexual content.
According to BRDO estimates, in 2021, law enforcement officers spent approximately 85,500 working hours investigating cases under Article 301 of the Criminal Code on the distribution of pornography.
