Sextrafficking is a growing crime where women and girls are particularly vulnerable to being exploited in prostitution. Men’s demand for sex is the fundamental problem as it drives human trafficking. In connection with International Women’s Day, Realstars educates hotels and starts an auction against trafficking.
Prostitution and human trafficking occur daily in Sweden and Europe, where women and girls are exploited and abused in hotels, massage parlors, sex clubs, red-light districts, and not least through digital brothels that connect perpetrators with victims. The problem must be tackled from several directions and the EU’s new strategy against human trafficking emphasizes prevention and working against the demand.
– Introducing the Sex Purchase Act was a brave act to protect women and children from paid abuse. But the law has not been implemented and reality has changed. Sweden must now tighten the law and offer exit programs to protect the exploited and deter men who buy “sex”, says Malin Roux Johansson, Realstars’ general secretary.
According to a Sifo survey conducted by Realstars and the organization Child10, one in seven men has a positive attitude towards people buying sex. Today, there are few resources that civil society can seek to work preventively and change attitudes that normalize the purchase of “sex”, which is a requirement for social change. Realstars is therefore starting an anti-trafficking auction between March 8-13 on Tradera and we are once again grateful that role models, such as make-up icons, lecturers in rhetoric and sustainability, hotels, spa facilities, and restaurants, donate. To name a few, Linda Hallberg Cosmetics, Nadim Ghazale, Hagabadet and celebrity hairdresser Bobby Oduncu. The money goes directly towards Realstars’ work to combat human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.
– LH Cosmetics is proud to be able to join and support the important work that Realstars does against sexual exploitation and trafficking. We hope our products will bring joy to the winners and at the same time make a difference for exposed girls, says Linda Hallberg, CEO at Linda Hallberg Cosmetics.
Women and children are the primary victims of trafficking and are tricked into the sex industry and human trafficking, which thrives in Sweden and destinations where Swedes travel for work and vacation. A smaller percentage is identified as victims of trafficking, while the vast majority continue to be exploited through every purchase of “sex”. The number of unrecorded cases is high.
To get to the auction, click here.