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Dubai is known for its glamour, luxury shopping and impressive skyline, but behind this mesmerising façade is something far more disturbing.
Young women are being lured to the United Arab Emirates with promises of free trips, designer bags, lavish parties and thousands of dollars in cash – only to find themselves stuck overseas in dangerous situations.
Rich men disguise themselves as online recruiters for fake social media agencies, modelling programs or influencer platforms then contact attractive young women from around the world and offer to ‘fly them over’.
For some, it’s an offer too tempting to refuse.
The practice of luring women to the UAE under false pretences has been going on behind closed doors – on yachts, private villas and away from tourist hotspots – for years.
Earlier this year, 20-year-old Maria Kovalchuk, from Ukraine, was found dumped on the side of a road in Dubai with a broken spine and limbs after ‘falling from a height’.
Earlier this year, Ukrainian model Maria Kovalchuk, 20, was found dumped on the side of a road in Dubai with a broken spine and limbs
The young woman, prominent on OnlyFans, had been due at a party but mysteriously vanished, and is so far unable to say what – if anything – she remembers.
Friends expressed fears she had been kidnapped into ‘sexual slavery’ before being dumped, battered and bloodied, by her attackers.
She was missing for eight days after telling friends she had been invited to a party at a hotel on March 9, the Daily Mail reported at the time.
She was set to attend the event ‘with two men who introduced themselves as representatives of the modelling business,’ according to Ukrainian media.
Daily Mail Australia contacted multiple women who live in Dubai who weren’t willing to speak publicly on the topic out of fear of being ‘arrested’.
But Lucy Banks, a former OnlyFans creator from Perth who now owns the Million Billion Media agency, knows all too well the dangers.
She warns girls that if the message in your DMs seems ‘too good to be true’, it probably is.
‘Nine times out of ten these messages are dodgy,’ she says.
Lucy Banks knows of the dangers of Dubai. The Perth businesswoman told Daily Mail Australia if a message in your inbox seems ‘too good to be true, it probably is’
‘The recruiters are clever men who know what they’re doing and what they can get away with. And they aren’t just targeting influencers – they’re targeting anyone who’s attractive on social media.’
The women targeted are promised an ‘all-expenses-paid trip’ and opportunities to ‘grow their careers’ – yet it’s all untrue.
Sometimes the men buy Instagram profiles that allow them to masquerade as young women living in Dubai, which makes targets more likely to take the bait.
Messages from these fake accounts will often say, ‘I know someone who will pay for us to go to Dubai,’ then direct the woman to the recruiter.
‘It’s like an illusion of sisterhood or a promise that doesn’t exist. You’re promised everything, offered an extravagant amount of money, then all of a sudden you’re there and no one is coming to save you,’ adds Lucy.
The women targeted for their Dubai operations tend to be ‘naïve’ girls between the ages of 18 and 25.
‘OnlyFans creators get these DMs all the time which is why they prefer to only take requests through the website,’ adds Lucy.
‘But an everyday young woman might fall for the trap. It’s a recipe for disaster.’
Her advice to women is simple – and something your parents probably taught you. ‘Listen to your gut. If alarm bells start ringing in your head, don’t ignore it,’ she says.
Kayla Jade, an Australian OnlyFans model and sex worker, has previously spoken of the ‘influencer parties’ that happen behind closed doors.
Men in Dubai have ‘dumb money’ and ‘get bored’ when they can get whatever they want, so they turn to rough, degrading sex as a thrill and a ‘power play’, she said.
Sometimes the ‘recruiters’ buy Instagram profiles that allow them to masquerade as young women living in Dubai, which makes targets more likely to take the bait, says Lucy
‘When you’ve seen everything and you have endless amounts of money, you start to get bored,’ she explained in a video.
‘So they’ll find an influencer who has five million followers on Instagram, pay her an obscene amount of money – we’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars – to basically come over [to Dubai] and humiliate her.’
Human rights advocate Radha Stirling also shed light on the underbelly of Dubai.
Ms Stirling is the founder and CEO of London-based company Detained in Dubai which assists foreigners who have been unjustly detained or prosecuted in the UAE and Gulf States.
The company has assisted more than 20,000 victims of injustice over the past two decades.
What kind of harm have you heard about at parties in Dubai where influencers are invited to participate?
Ms Stirling tells Daily Mail Australia women ‘lured’ to the wild parties, usually held on yachts or in private villas, are often ‘pressured into sexual acts, filmed without consent, drugged or blackmailed’.
‘We have received numerous reports from women who were invited to exclusive parties in Dubai under the pretext of modelling, social media promotion or networking,’ she explains.
‘These women often found themselves in coercive and high-risk environments. In several cases, passports were confiscated and women were threatened when they tried to leave.’
As these parties are held in private in isolated environments, it’s difficult for the women to leave, access help or report the abuse.
Dubai is known for its glamour, luxury shopping and impressive skyline, but behind this mesmerising façade is something far more disturbing
Ms Stirling is the founder and CEO of London-based company Detained in Dubai which assists foreigners who have been unjustly detained or prosecuted in the UAE and Gulf States
Who organises these parties and for what purpose? What recruitment tactics are used?
Ms Stirling says these events are typically run by ‘well-connected’ individuals or high-flyers in business, hospitality or nightlife.
‘The real purpose is frequently exploitative – to use women for entertainment or sexual access, sometimes under coercive circumstances. The organisers are usually well-connected and often shielded from accountability,’ she says.
The recruitment process follows ‘global patterns’ of targeting women through Instagram, influencer programs and modelling agencies.
‘Victims come from various countries and backgrounds. Many are unaware of the UAE’s legal environment and the risks involved,’ Ms Stirling says.
‘Models, singers, musicians, entertainers and even professionals like lawyers have found themselves in exploitative situations.
‘Where there is no accountability and victims are criminalised for reporting, these environments remain unsafe for women visiting the UAE.’
When did you first hear about the so-called ‘porta potty parties’?
In the last year, there has been a surge in reports regarding the disturbing rumours of ‘porta potty’ parties in Dubai where women are paid to perform horrific sex acts.
But Ms Stirling says they are nothing new.
‘We’ve been hearing about the abuse of women in elite Dubai party circles since around 2000, long before the viral “porta potty” terminology emerged,’ she says.
‘Early reports involved trafficking and exploitation by people connected to elites. The term gained public traction around 2018-2019 due to social media exposure, but the conduct itself has been ongoing for decades.
‘The increased visibility now is partly due to more Western victims speaking out and a growing awareness of the risks.’
Another Aussie who has travelled to 76 countries vowed never to return to Dubai after an extended stopover was tainted by ‘creepy’ men at tourist hotspots.
Emma Lovell, from the Gold Coast, spent two nights in the popular destination yet constantly felt unsafe.
‘I was on my way to Barang in India and decided to extend my layover in Dubai to catch up with some friends. I wish I never did,’ she says.
‘I have no idea why anyone would want to stay in Dubai for more than five days. The city lacks substance and real culture. Everything is fake and man-made.
‘Yes, it’s impressive but it’s overly manufactured – even the souk, which is a type of marketplace, is made to appear old with no historic significance.
‘I didn’t feel the culture, it’s not somewhere I feel I ever need to see again.’
Ms Stirling’s goal is simple: to bring justice and help to save the lives of those detained in the UAE.
‘The most important advice I can give is not to assume Dubai is safe simply because it markets itself as such. Beneath the luxury image is a legal system that often fails to protect women and may even punish them for reporting abuse,’ she warns.
Travellers are urged to familiarise themselves with UAE laws, specifically around the strict dress code, how to behave in public and the consumption of alcohol.
It’s recommended to download the Detained in Dubai emergency app and contact the company immediately if detained.
If detained, you have the right to remain silent, request legal representation, and contact your embassy or consulate.
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