Want to know why sex in Latvia has become so popular?
The number of tourists to Latvia has risen by over 50% over the last five years with many looking to take advantage of legal prostitution. In response, cities like the capital, Riga, have blossomed. Numbers of hostess bars, massage parlours and ‘welcoming’ hostels are all on the rise and an estimated one in two Latvian women have had sex for money.
In this guide, we take a look at the sex scene in Latvia including the current laws, trends and the situation on LGBTQ rights as well as offer some ways you can hook up in the country using the personals sections.
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Sex in Latvia
The northern European, Baltic country of Latvia is bordered by Russia, Lithuania, Estonia and Belarus; it also shares a maritime border with Sweden. Home to around 2 million inhabitants, the population almost doubles with the number of visiting tourists, many of whom are looking to explore the Latvian sex scene.
One of the prime factors that has boosted the popularity of this country is the combination of its regulated sex industry coupled with relatively cheap prices for sex, flights and nightlife; as a result, Latvia has shot to prominence as a prime hot spot for sex tourists in Europe.
Latvia is mostly a conservative and traditional country with a reputation for its beautiful architecture, rural life and multicultural heritage. The Old Town in Riga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was the European Capital Culture in 2014. Much of the country’s sex industry is centred on the capital which makes sense when you realise that one in three Latvians call Riga home.
Latvians enjoy an active sex life and have, on average, 2.1 sessions in the bedroom per week (compared to 1.7 in the UK). 71% of Latvian women have a regular sex partner with 3% opting for different partners to fulfil their quota. However, 11% of Latvian women have only had one sex partner whilst 8% admit to having ten or more.
Sex education in Latvia is traditional and the curriculum is mainly centred around social sciences including the role of the family, relationships and child-development. Though some focus is on pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, the proof of the pudding is in the statistics and the teen pregnancy rate for Latvia is high for Europe (13 in 1000 women aged 15-19). STI rates are also high with gonorrhoea, herpes and AIDS all being prevalent.
Adult Industry in Latvia
The adult industry in Latvia is virtually non-existent with most adult porn stars opting to work in the much larger Russian markets or moving East to work for the German markets.
However, the country has produced quite a few big names for the wider porn industry including Tania Rusof, star of The Pyramid and The Gigolo as well as being a Penthouse Pet.
Latvia has also produced porn stars working in mainstream films including Adria Noir, Viola O and Beata Undine.
Other names of note include:
- Playmates, Inga Drozdova, Zane Ezerina and Oksana Koha
- Topless model, Victoria Wild
- Page 3 girl, Sabine Jemeljanova
- Latvian glamour model and former Playmate, Elina Furmane
- Lana Grazovskaya
Prostitution Laws in Latvia
Latvia is one of just eight European countries where prostitution is not only fully legalised but is also a regulated industry.
As part of the regulations, prostitutes must register with their local authority in order to obtain the required license. In addition, they must undergo a monthly health check to keep their certification valid.
The license, in the form of a health card, should be presented to any client upon request.
Any form of third party activities relating to prostitution, including running a brothels and pimping are illegal. In addition, prostitutes may only use premises that are owned or rented by them where neighbours do not object and are more than 100m away from any school or church.
Latvian prostitutes are popular with tourists and locals owing to the country’s reputation for producing beautiful women; only Iceland, Estonia, Lithuania and Denmark produce more female models per capita than Latvia.
Though official sources cite considerably less, it is estimated that there are around 35,000 prostitutes working in Latvia with almost 10,000-15,000 of these providing services in the country’ capital, Riga.
Whilst prostitutes can be found working the streets in Riga, most professional hookers use online directories and classifieds to advertise their services as escorts or erotic masseurs.
Latvia: Porn Viewing Trends
Pornography is legal in Latvia as long as the content does not contravene the law. Though widely enjoyed and well-distributed, you won’t find pornographic material on general sale as you would in some European nations.
Of the top fifty more visited sites in Latvia, there are two popular adult sites; the ever-popular tube site, Porn Hub and sex cam mega site, Bonga Cams.
- Bonga Cams (9th most visited site in Latvia)
- PornHub (39th most visited site in Latvia)
PornHub often reports on the national porn viewing trends but has not covered Latvia specifically in any of its insights. However, due to the proximity to Russia and the large number of Russians living in Latvia (one in four Latvians are of Russian descent), the taste for professionally produced porn has a Russian bent.
Top Latvian Porn
Latvia doesn’t produce any professional porn of its own but its amateur scene is popular on tube sites, including PornHub, XVideos and XHamster.
However, top Latvian porn stars Viola O and Helena Black regularly produce content with studios like Brazzers, Euro Teen Erotica and FemJoy.
You can find some of the biggest names in Latvian Porn using links from Free Ones.
Latvians are also fond of French porn and often use the French tube sites, Tukif and LoboPorno, to find their adult movies.
LGBTQ in Latvia
Though Latvia has standardised its legislation in line with much of Europe with regard to LGBTQ rights, the nation as a whole is not largely tolerant of same-sex relationships and diversity in gender and sexuality; only 12% of the population support a change in the law.
Same-sex relationships have been legal since 1992 but there is no legal recognition for same-sex couples with marriage between non-heterosexual partners being constitutionally banned.
The age of consent in Latvia is 16, regardless of gender or sexuality.
Transgendered individuals have the right to legally change their gender though the law on this is grey with no specifics being identified as to what level of surgery (if any) is required to do this.
Though not officially banned from military service, homosexuals can serve in the armed forces but high levels of discrimination can make this hard.
Though there are members of the LGBTQ living throughout Latvia, the only ‘out’ scene can be found in the capital of Riga where an annual Pride festival is held.
A conservative nation, most Latvians have some degree of homophobia which can be linked to the widespread beliefs that homosexuality is linked to paedophilia. Attacks on the gay and lesbian community aren’t common but they do happen.
Overall, the Latvian LGBTQ community does enjoy some freedoms but the country has far to go to reach the tolerance and liberties that are seen as basic human rights in other European nations.
Top Classified/Personals Sites in Latvia
Zip
Zip is a classifieds site much like Craigslist that also has a personals section. The site is in Latvian so you will need to use an on-site translation tool.
There aren’t a huge number of ads here but they make for interesting reading and there are new profiles added all the time.
The site is free to use.
Lava Place
Lava Place is an international dating site with a small coverage for Latvia but it is free to join.
Women are predominantly over the age of 40 so the site makes an interesting place for anyone who is interested in mature Latvian ladies or milfs.
A lot of the profiles are looking for serious dating opportunities but you can find casual encounters if you read between the lines.
F Dating
Another Europe-wide dating site, F Dating is 100% free to use and offers the profiles of 350+ women in Latvia.
You can use the search facilities to filter by age, location and various physical characteristics.
Profiles are pretty thin but often include quite a few photographs,.
Contact is made using the F Dating mail service so you do need to register a profile before you can hook up.
SS.com
A Latvian classifieds site with a dating category SS.com is similar to Craigslist in terms of demographic audience. There is not the same ‘casual encounters’ section as you would find in CL but there are quite a few ads with ‘hook-up’ written all through them, The ratio of men to women is high and the primary language is Latvian so you will need to speak the language.
Love Awake
There are about 250 profiles for women in Latvia on the Love Awake website.
The site is very basic and the details for each ad are quite brief but many include photos. Contact can be made via email, SMS or live instant chat.
Many are seeking casual relationships.
Featured image via Pixabay.
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