Amendments to the Law "On Advertising"

On January 8, 2022, amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" came into force. The main thing you should know is that discriminatory advertising is now subject to fines. Read on to find out what kind of advertising is considered discriminatory and what amount of fine is provided for.
The Law on Advertising was updated in accordance with the UN Convention against Sex Discrimination. Ukraine has also signed an agreement with the European Union to harmonize the Council of Europe's Gender Equality Strategy for 2018-2023.
Specialists of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection participated in amending the Law. The main goal is to get rid of gender stereotypes. Now they cannot be shown in advertising:

• the superiority of one gender over the other,
• stereotypical roles of men and women,
• gender-based violence,
• sexualize the human body.

The Law on Advertising introduced new concepts: discriminatory advertising and discriminatory advertising based on gender.

• Discriminatory advertising is advertising that contains or uses statements and/or images that discriminate against a person by race, skin color, gender, age, physical abilities, disability, language, ethnic or social origin, political or religious beliefs, citizenship or place of residence, marital or financial status, or other grounds. Advertising that discredits the goods of others is also considered discriminatory.
• Discriminatory sex-based advertising is advertising that contains or uses statements and/or images regarding the superiority of one sex over the other, whether intellectual, physical or social data of a person; advertising that depicts stereotypical gender roles of men and women, which promote humiliating and disrespectful attitudes towards a person, or which degrades the honor and dignity of a person or shows violence against a person on the basis of sex. Gender-based discriminatory advertising also includes images of a person's body or individual body parts that are used as a sexual object to attract consumers' attention or hint at sexual relations, if such advertising is not related to the advertised product.

In other words, if an advertisement depicts a man or woman as a sexual object or decoration, or if such an advertisement hints at sexual relations, while the depicted persons have no connection with the advertised product or service, such an advertisement will be considered discriminatory. The advertiser is responsible for such advertising. Advertising also includes job advertisements. In job descriptions, it is prohibited to offer jobs only to men or only to women and to make requirements that favor persons of a certain gender.
For violation of the Law on Advertising in terms of discrimination, the advertiser will have to pay a fine of ten times the minimum wage established at the time of the violation.
The consumer of advertising has the right to complain to the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection if he or she believes that the advertisement contains information or images that violate moral, ethical, humanistic norms, rules of decency or contains signs of discrimination.