Ukraine Bans Porn Unless It's "Medical"
Mosnews is reporting that all pornography has been outlawed in the Ukraine. President Viktor Yushchenko signed the law today over the objections of human rights activists and artists who had asked him to veto it. Now pornography can be kept only “for medical purposes,” according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice. Penalties for possession of porn range from a fine to up to three years in prison. The Ukraine has long had a reputation as a source for child pornography, and the passage of the law is seen by some as move to protect children's rights. However, as is often the case with such laws, it fails to define pornography or include any child-specific language. While polls show that most Ukrainians support tighter regulation of child pornography, it's unclear if the public understands how broad this new law is.
We do wonder, as CarnalNation Contributor Charlie Glickman asks on the Good Vibrations blog, just how does one get a prescription for porn?
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The Road to Hell
This seems another example of the disconnect between good intentions and poor implementation.
In Ukraine (and other countries with weak institutions and few traditions of governance), it is unfortunately common for legislature essentially to let law enforcement (or the tax authorities or whomever) interpret and enforce vague laws as they feel appropriate.
As a consequence, this anti-pornography legislation undoubtedly will be applied arbitrarily, with different consequences depending on who is involved, and how generous they can be in resolving any charges brought against them. Hopefully the Rada will take this up and resolve the bill’s shortcomings, but given that they seem unable to do much of anything other than call for new elections, no one should hold much hope in anything constructive anytime soon.
See the Kyiv Post for more: Yushchenko signs porn law despite widespread opposition at www.kyivpost.com/nation/44433.
The law itself is a shortcoming
I don't see how the shortcomings of the bill could be fixed except by total repeal.
Written for selective enforcement
I think its a deliberately vaguely worded law which is simply going to be used as another tool against groups that are out of favor with the Ukrainian state, probably sexual minorities. Another landmark in the sad degeneration of the Orange Revolution.
BTW, in case your not sure that this law is entirely cynical, you only need to look at laws concerning porn production in Ukraine. They made that completely illegal a few years ago already, yet Ukraine rivals Russia as "barely legal" porn capital of the world.