Photos from RealStars‘ annual meetings. The photos from RealStars Sweden’s annual meeting were taken by photographer Patricia Mellin
Our annual meetings at RealStars always take place at the end of May. Preparing the required reports takes time, but during the evening, we remained attentive and this year, we had the opportunity to hear from a guest speaker, expanding our knowledge and shaping RealStars’ future direction. It was a successful gathering where members and board members came together.
At the RealStars Sweden annual meeting, we heard from Elly Arrow, a German abolitionist activist active on social media. She spoke about the challenging situation in Germany, where a widespread and state-sanctioned prostitution industry fuels human trafficking. However, not everything is bleak – an abolitionist movement is gaining momentum, and RealStars continues to closely monitor developments in the country. Malin Roux Johansson, Secretary General of RealStars Sweden, also pointed out that the EU is approaching a critical moment, with two important directives set to be negotiated this spring and summer. The Anti-Trafficking Directive, introduced in 2011, has largely been ineffective and needs to be strengthened in several areas. If passing an EU-wide law to ban the purchase of sex proves too difficult, the minimum standard should be strict accountability for those who buy sex from a victim of human trafficking. Additionally, the criminalization of profiting from others’ prostitution – in other words, pimping – is necessary if the EU is serious about ending human trafficking, which is driven by financial gain.
At the Stockholm annual meeting, we had the pleasure of hearing from Hanna Sjöstedt from KAST Stockholm, who discussed her work as a counselor. She emphasized the importance of holding sex buyers accountable for their actions, as many tend to claim that it is something that “just happens.” We also heard from former board member Delphine Cartier, who spoke about RealStars’ efforts to introduce courses for convicted sex buyers in Sweden to reduce repeat offenses, similar to the approach in France. Additionally, RealStars Stockholm’s project leader, Malin Säflund, presented the ongoing project “Why ‘Sex’ Cannot Be Bought,” which is being carried out throughout 2023 with support from HM Queen Silvia’s foundation, Care About the Children.
RealStars would like to express sincere gratitude to the board members who are stepping down from their formal roles at RealStars Sweden and RealStars Stockholm, and we warmly welcome the new board members. The boards are now set to begin the year by spreading knowledge, building engagement, and encouraging more people to join the fight against prostitution and human trafficking. The current board members are as follows:
REALSTARS SWEDEN
Torbjörn Johansson, Teacher at Angered High School (Chair), Simone Hellrand, Political Scientist with studies in Global Politics, Tobias Rasberg, Lawyer at Audent Juristbyrå, Tomas Bergqvist, Technology and Telecom, Sharifa Sahar, Lawyer.
REALSTARS STOCKHOLM
Malin Roux Johansson (Chair and Secretary General of RealStars), Nicholas Barklund, Front-end Developer, Julia Mo Eriksson, Associate Lawyer, Jenny Österberg, Coordinator with a master’s in human Rights, Dominique Prewitt, Head of Culture and Brand with expertise in communication and leadership, Sandra Erlandsson, Social Media Expert with knowledge in communication and marketing.