My name is Angela, and I’m studying at the Travel Education Center to become a project leader focusing on meetings and events. I’ll be doing my eleven-week internship at Realstars, and I’d like to tell you a little bit about it and what you can do as an intern here.
Angela, intern at Realstars, spring 2021
It all started when my class was shown a film made by Realstars in collaboration with the police about trafficking in hotels. I really had no idea the situation was that bad, especially here in Sweden. Approximately 80% of the men who purchase “sex” do so outside the country. However, due to the travel restrictions during the pandemic, Realstars and other organizations in this field have seen an increase in the Swedish sex trade, particularly in apartment hotels. Therefore, Realstars has initiated Hotels Against Trafficking, which more and more hotels are joining. The fight against sexual exploitation in hotels is not just a matter of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The Swedish law regarding offenses related to human trafficking, states that hotels have a responsibility to act when detecting sexual exploitation on their premises.
For the past two weeks, I’ve been working on the Hotels Against Trafficking campaign by contacting hotel managers to discuss this growing problem, which has sparked interest in education on the topic. I’ve also been working on a project where we collect items donated by contributing celebrities, which their fans can purchase by bidding in an auction. The proceeds from the auction go directly to Realstars’ preventive anti-trafficking work. My tasks for this project include contacting agents, reaching out to artists, and, once we know which artists are participating, marketing the auction.
At the auction Realstars held in 2015, thousands of people bid on personal items donated by artists like Håkan Hellström, Filip and Fredrik, and Babben Larsson. Given the current social climate and people’s desire to help and make a difference, we’re now planning to make the next auction even more impactful. Realstars is the only organization that, since its founding in 2010, has focused on preventive work against the demand for sexual exploitation, having launched our first Fair sex campaigns such as Fair Fucking Sex, in which Zara Larsson participated. See which other celebrities have taken part.
I applied for this internship because I consider myself to be very empathetic. I’d like to engage in voluntary work in the future, and I think this is a great start. I want to take part in making a difference and learn more, as I believe that knowledge is power, especially when it comes to helping people.