The Lie About "Legalizing Debauchery": How Propaganda Turns Child Protection Into a Weapon

The Essence of the Propaganda Claim

The claim that "the West and Ukraine legalize pedophilia, incest, and forced child removal" has no documentary support. It plays on fear: child, family, morality. This tool shuts down critical thinking and creates an image of an 'enemy' supposedly threatening children.

For Russians, this narrative is particularly persuasive. Habits of corruption, the monopoly of power by the Kremlin, and the sense that 'everything is bought and controlled everywhere' easily transfer to the global arena: if one force controls everything at home and corruption is pervasive, the same must be true abroad.

How the Image of a "Corrupted West" Is Created

Propaganda takes real child protection institutions — social services, family courts, international conventions — and turns them into a 'child removal machine.' Analyses by EUvsDisinfo, StopFake, and Bellingcat show that this narrative intensifies during periods of political tension and spreads through federal media, Telegram channels, and talk shows.

Juvenile Justice — Protection, Not 'Removal'

Juvenile justice is an international and national standard for child protection. It includes juvenile commissions, guardianship, social services, and family courts with clear procedures. The core principle is the best interests of the child. This principle is enshrined in:

• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
• Council of Europe Lanzarote Convention on the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
• UNICEF Guidance and Reports on Child Protection

Nowhere in Europe or Ukraine is juvenile justice associated with 'legalizing incest or pedophilia' — rather, it is intended to prevent violence and protect the family.

Where the Myths Come From

1. False attribution: individual opinions are presented as state initiatives.
2. Research distortion: scientific work on preventing child abuse is presented as 'whitewashing criminals.'
3. News fabrication: invented 'bills' about lowering the age of consent or 'child removal' (investigations by Bellingcat, Delfi, BBC Monitoring).

No EU or Ukrainian parliament has considered such initiatives — verified through open legislative databases, for example EUR-Lex and Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The Psychology of Impact

Propaganda on 'legalizing pedophilia' targets the strongest emotional reactions — the instinct to protect children. The impact mechanism is multi-layered:

• Panic → emotional shock: headlines and messages about 'pedophile laws' trigger immediate anxiety and fear for children.
• Repetition effect → lie perceived as fact: repeated claims across media create a sense of credibility (Lewandowsky et al., 2020, study).
• Learned helplessness → people do not verify facts: audiences get used to trusting single sources (state media) and ignoring alternative perspectives.
• Polarization 'we are the last defenders of children' → social pressure and critic isolation: dissenters are automatically seen as 'enemies of morality,' reducing critique of propaganda narratives.

Social psychologists call this artificially created 'moral panic', used to manipulate public perception (Lewandowsky, Warwick University).

Propaganda Goals for the Authorities

Russian propaganda uses the myth of 'legalizing debauchery' to achieve several political objectives:

1. Demonization of the external world: the West and Ukraine are portrayed as 'absolute evil,' justifying aggressive actions by Russia and mobilizing the population.
2. Internal control: fear for children distracts citizens from corruption, repression, and issues in state structures. This is confirmed by Freedom House and UN reports on public opinion manipulation (Freedom House, UN).
3. Closing the information space: dissenters are automatically accused of 'protecting pedophiles,' suppressing criticism and strengthening media control.

The Real Picture

In reality, European and Ukrainian laws are aimed at protecting children from abuse, not 'legalizing pedophilia.' Examples:

• Ukraine strengthened accountability for sexual abuse of children in 2022–2024, aligning national legislation with the Council of Europe Lanzarote Convention standards.
• International organizations, including UNICEF, HRW, Amnesty International, and GRETA, confirm the need to protect children and support measures to prevent violence.
• No document, bill, or report in Ukraine or the EU supports Russian propaganda claims about 'debauchery' or 'child removal.'

Thus, the propagandist myth serves exclusively to demonize the external world and manipulate the domestic audience, concealing actual human rights violations committed by Russia in conflict zones (attacks on schools, children's facilities, deportations — ICRC reports, ICRC Ukraine).

Conclusion

The claim of 'legalizing pedophilia and incest' is a propaganda tool. It relies on fear, substitution, and fabrication. Its purpose is to mobilize support for authorities, demonize external enemies, and suppress critical thinking. Fact-checking through international documents and reports shows the narrative is completely false.

Every mention of 'juvenile justice as child removal' can be refuted with references to:

• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
• Council of Europe Lanzarote Convention
• UNICEF reports and guidance
• Human Rights Watch — Child Rights Protection
• Amnesty International — Child Rights

Main Sources and Materials

• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) — key international document establishing children's rights and the principle of best interests of the child as a priority
• Council of Europe Lanzarote Convention — obliges states to criminally prosecute sexual abuse against children
• UNICEF — programs and reports on child protection, including recommendations for implementing international standards
• Amnesty International — child rights and protection reports
• Council of Europe — information on child rights protection, including committees and reports
• EUR‑Lex — EU legislative database — shows that child protection bills are publicly published and officially discussed
• Official legislative database of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine — open texts of bills, including social protection and child rights
• Bellingcat — investigations of disinformation, including verification of fakes related to 'child removal'
• EUvsDisinfo — monitoring of disinformation about social institutions — refutations of common fakes
• StopFake — fact-checking fakes about child rights and juvenile justice
• European Parliament — resolution on child rights in the EU, emphasizing adherence to international standards
• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) — reports on the humanitarian situation of children in Ukraine

About the Authors

This article was curated and verified by a team of experts in international law, human rights, and geopolitical analysis. Contributors have 15+ years of experience in research, legal documentation, and educational content development.

Methodology

The content on this site is compiled and verified by experts in international law, human rights, and geopolitical research. Sources include official legal documents, national and international legislation, resolutions of the UN, reports from international organizations, and verified open-source evidence. Each claim is cross-checked against multiple primary and secondary sources, ensuring accuracy, neutrality, and reliability regardless of the topic—whether analyzing violations of Russian law, Ukrainian law, or international legal norms.

Expert Statement

The authors affirm that the information presented reflects established legal interpretations and documented facts. Analyses are grounded in international law principles and widely recognized geopolitical assessments. References to official documents and reports are provided to ensure transparency and trustworthiness.

Last modified date: 25/11/2025