The summer was coming to an end and a lot of adolescents were making the most of their last few days of summer break at the festival We Are Sthlm. Realstars was present to spread the word about Fair Sex Online.
Internet is a tool for information exchange and communication between people. Sadly it has also developed into an arena where people are sold and bought in sextrade, and a lot of adolescents are today witnessing the existence of sexual indignity and violence on the internet.
In conversations with adolescents we acknowledge the lack of knowledge for what is okay on the internet, and what is actually illegal. We believe that with more knowledge we can prevent indignity, but also give support to those who are subjects to such harrassements. Spreading pictures with sexual innuendos of people under the age of 18 is documented child assault (legally it is child pornography). Meaning that this is a crime with consequences. During We Are Sthlm we spoke about these demarcations, but also gray zones. A lot of the adolescents pointed out that access to porn today is blurring the lines further. During RealStars workshop about trafficking, the purchasing of sex and assault on the internet we got a lot of proposals on how we can create more Fair Sex both on the internet and outside.
A lot of teenagers wanted school to bring up the question more and doing so through better sexual education but also that we need to be more attentive and speak up when we witness indignity. RealStars fair sex-agent Kim is present on social media to keep an eye out and being there for support. Adolescents can rapport to Kim if they suspect that they have experienced indignity, they themselves have exposed someone else to it or seen someone experiencing indignity. Kim can give advice and support, and in cases that require it she can bring it to the police. Kim is on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Thank you We Are Sthlm for a lovely festival – hope to see you next year! And a special thank you to RealStars volunteer Embla for your engagement.