Poland

Poland operates an abolitionist (neo-1949-UN-Convention) model codified in the 1997 Kodeks Karny. Article 204 criminalises three layers of third-party involvement: §1 inducing another to prostitution or facilitating it for material gain (up to 3 years); §2 profiting from another's prostitution ("sutenerstwo," up to 3 years); §3 inducing a minor (1–10 years). Brothel-keeping is prosecuted under the related "maintaining premises for prostitution" provision (up to 2 years). Article 203 criminalises coercion (1–10 years), and Article 189a covers trafficking (3–20 years). October 2023 amendments increased penalties under Arts 189a and 203. The tax exemption rests on administrative case law from the Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny: because prostitution is not a "socially desirable" activity, contracts for it are not legally enforceable, and only enforceable contractual activity is taxable under the 1991 PIT Act. No prostitution-specific reforms have been enacted under the Tusk coalition; the agenda is paralysed by President Nawrocki's vetoes.

Activity clusters in Warsaw (Centrum, Praga), Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, and the Tri-City (Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot), with indoor flat work the dominant format because brothels are illegal but private apartments are not. The western-border belt — especially Słubice opposite Frankfurt (Oder) — has historically served German clients arriving by car; that flow has been disrupted since October 2023 when Germany imposed temporary border controls at the bridge, repeatedly extended into 2026. Sex Work Polska estimates roughly 60% of workers are migrants, predominantly Ukrainian women who arrived or stayed after the 2022 Russian invasion. A high-profile 2025 Warsaw raid produced ten convictions on aggravated prostitution charges, signalling that Art. 204 is actively enforced against organised operators while individual workers are technically untouched.

Polish data protection runs under RODO (GDPR), enforced by UODO. Operators of escort ad sites face additional Art. 204 exposure if courts find they "knowingly facilitate" prostitution — this is part of why Roksa.pl, long the dominant Polish portal, was shut down and traffic fragmented across successors.

Independent work from a rented flat is the lowest-risk format; bringing in any third party (driver, receptionist, agency booker) exposes that party to Art. 204 prosecution. Avoid anything that reads as a "premises maintained for prostitution" — co-renting with another worker, advertising a specific address, or repeat-booking the same hotel can all attract scrutiny. Ukrainian and other non-EU workers should keep regularisation paperwork current.

escort.pl, eskortki.com, Escort.club (post-Roksa Polish-language successors). International: Tryst.link, Eurogirlsescort, Ivy Société for upper-tier. Avoid posts that explicitly price sexual acts — platforms moderate to "companionship" framing.

• Sex Work Polska — sex-worker-led collective + crisis hotline (may now be Kolektyw Kamelia)
• TADA — sex worker support, SWAN member (four Polish cities)
• La Strada Foundation — anti-trafficking (distinct from SWP)