Let's stop the violence together!

No one has to put up with violence. Help is available both for victims and perpetrators of violence.

Help is available both for victims and perpetrators of violence.

On this page

What services and help are available?

For children and young people

If you have experienced violence and would like to talk to someone, please contact

You can find information on violence in close relationships collected on the Youth Helsinki website .

For families with children

Service needs assessment and support for families with children

The assessment of service needs and support for families with children is intended for children and families whose life situation is strained or who are in need of support. The need for services is assessed in order to provide suitable assistance for the child or family.

Service needs assessment and support for families with children

Child Welfare

You can always contact child welfare, also anonymously, if you are concerned about your child’s welfare or that of any other child living nearby.

How and when to contact Child Welfare

Maternity and child health clinic

Child health clinics aim to secure the child’s health and support the parents so that the child can have good conditions for healthy growth, development and well-being.

Maternity and child health clinics

Family Counselling Office

The Family Counselling Office will provide help in matters regarding the development and upbringing of children and young people, troubling family issues or in a crisis a child or family might be facing.

Family Counselling Office

For adults

Social services

You can get help with all kinds of challenging life situations.

Social services counselling

You can get professional help also without an appointment. Social counselling is available on weekdays from 9:00 to 16:00 at 09 310 44400 .

Immigrants

The social services for immigrants helpline is available on weekdays tel. 09 310 37577 . The City of Helsinki Immigration Unit is located in Kalasatama, at Työpajankatu 14 A.

Health care services

Your primary treatment place in health care matters is your local health station.

Health stations

For the elderly

Senior Info

Counselling and service guidance on weekdays 09:00–15:00, tel. 09 310 44556 . You can always ask about violence. Senior Info serves Helsinki residents over the age of 65 years old and their relatives.

Service Centres

Service centres are low-threshold meeting places for the elderly and unemployed Helsinki residents. If necessary, you can talk about violence with a professional.
Read more about service centres

Help 24/7

Emergency social services

Emergency social services in acute situations outside office hours (contact with other services during office hours). You will also receive support, guidance and advice, tel. 02 069 6006 (24 h).

Crisis emergency support

Acute crisis work for people of all ages exposed to traumatic situations (e.g. a sudden death or accident of a family member). tel. 09 310 44222  (24 h).

Emergency services

When a health centre is closed, call emergency services for sudden health care problems, tel. 116 117.

Emergency

Call 112.

Health guidance 24/7

Care instructions and information on services 24/7. tel. 09 310 10023 .

Help for those experiencing violence in close relationships or the threat of it

Mannerheim League for Child Welfare’s (MLL) Child and Youth Helpline and chat/Youthnet (in Finnish)

Helpline for children and young people (free of charge). On-call service in Finnish Mon–Fri from 14:00–20:00 and Sat–Sun from 17:00–20:00, tel. 116 117 .

On-call service in Swedish Mon–Wed 14:00–17:00 and Thu 17:00–20:00, tel. 0800 96 116 . 

Chat  is available Mon–Sun from 17:00–20:00. You can also book a chat appointment with a professional and continue the discussion as long as needed.

You can write a confidential letter to the online letter service for children and young people at any time of the day. The service is available in Finnish and Swedish. The on-call worker will write a reply to your message within two weeks at the latest, usually within about three days. All contacts are handled anonymous and confidential.

Online Shelter

Intended for children, young people and adults regardless of sex or gender. Online Shelter helps victims of domestic and intimate partner violence 24/7. The service provides information, peer support and discussion help for your problems. Quickly find contact information for shelters in different cities.

Nollalinja - Zero tolerance

Nollalinja is a 24/7 telephone service against intimate partner violence and violence against women. You can call the service anonymously: you do not need to give your own name and the person answering the phone does not see the caller's number. The call also doesn't appear in an itemised phone bill. The service is available in Finnish, Swedish and English. The Nollalinja phone number is 080 005 005 .

Women's Line

Women's Line provides support for women and girls of all ages who have experienced violence or are concerned about violence. With confidentiality and also anonymously, by phone, online and in peer groups.

MONIKA – Multicultural Women’s Association Finland
MONIKA offers special services for women and children with migrant backgrounds who have experienced violence.

Väkivaltaa Kokeneet Miehet – Men who have experienced violence

The Väkivaltaa kokeneet miehet project provides assistance to men who have experienced mental or physical violence at home or on the street. Discussion help is available by telephone, email, individual meetings and guided peer group meetings.

Rape Crisis Center Tukinainen

Rape Crisis Center Tukinainen provides support, assistance and counselling to victims of sexual offences, their loved ones and those working with the victims.

Victim Support Finland

Victim Support Finland can provide support and counselling for victims of crime, their loved ones and witnesses in criminal cases. Also free of charge support staff. You can also contact us anonymously.

Seri Suppert Center  (HUS)

Seri Support Center is a support centre for people over the age of 16, regardless of gender, who have experienced sexual violence. The support centre is a low-threshold unit that you can seek out yourself, with relatives or under the guidance of a public authority within one month of an incident.

Shelters for victims of domestic violence

Shelter services are intended for individuals, couples and families of all ages who have experienced or been threatened by intimate partner violence. The service is free of charge, and you can decide for yourself which shelter to seek.

Shelters in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area

SafetyNet Helsinki

SafetyNet Helsinki is a low-threshold service operating in the Helsinki metropolitan area for adults and/or children who have experienced domestic violence or an intimate threat of such. SafetyNet Helsinki provides professional support and information towards coping with experiences of violence. The service is free of charge for the customer and the guiding municipality. Those in need of help can contact SafetyNet Helsinki.

Domestic Violence Counselling Unit

The Domestic Violence Counselling Unit provides conversational support for all family members, victims and offenders – whether they be men, women or nonbinary, children or adolescents – when a family is experiencing or has experienced domestic violence or the threat of it. The services are provided free of charge.

Help for people who have resorted to violence in their relationships or fear they might do so

Maria Akatemia

Support for women who have used violence or are afraid they might do so and for professionals who face different forms of violence and related phenomena in their work or workplace community. Maria Akatemia’s Keijun varjo  (A Shadow of a Fairy) activities are intended for young women aged 15–28 who need support with emotions, self-restraint and violence issues.

Online Shelter

Intended for children, young people and adults, regardless of sex or gender, who have experienced relationship violence. Online Shelter can also help you if you are worried about your own anger or violence. The service provides information, peer support and discussion help.

Lyömätön Linja – Zero hitting

Miessakit Association’s Lyömätön Linja service provides help for men with intimate violence issues. It is intended for men who have used psychological or physical violence towards their partner, spouse, child or other people close to them and for men who fear they might resort to violence or want to assess their own and their family’s need for help.

Miehen Linja – Men's Line

We serve immigrant men who have used or are afraid of using violence in their families. Miehen Linja specialises in culturally sensitive work with men. The services are available in Finnish, English, French and Greek or in your native language via an interpreter.

Mannerheim League for Child Welfare’s (MLL) Child and Youth Helpline and chat/Youthnet (in Finnish)

Helpline for children and young people (free of charge). On-call service in Finnish Mon–Fri from 14:00–20:00 and Sat–Sun from 17:00–20:00, tel. 116 117 .

On-call service in Swedish Mon–Wed 14:00–17:00 and Thu 17:00–20:00, tel. 0800 96 116 . 

Chat  is available Mon–Sun from 17:00–20:00. You can also book a chat appointment with a professional and continue the discussion as long as needed.

You can write a confidential letter to the online letter service for children and young people at any time of the day. The service is available in Finnish and Swedish. The on-call worker will write a reply to your message within two weeks at the latest, usually within about three days. All contacts are handled anonymous and confidential.

Other services for victims and perpetrators of violence in close relationships

Youth Shelter (Red Cross)

We offer help for young people and their loved ones locally and online by appointment. Youth Shelters  are located in five cities. Youth Shelters help locally around the clock, every day of the year. We can offer a young person a safe place to spend the night, if necessary, and help by means of discussion. The family members of a young person can also receive help in matters related to parenting, for example. Our help is free of charge.

Poikien Talo  (City of Helsinki)

Boys' House is a safe, non-discriminatory and bullying-free, open community for boys, men and those thinking about their identity as a boy between the ages of 10 and 28. The purpose of Boys' House is to support you in a way that you feel is best for you in order to live your life as yourself towards your own dreams.

Tyttöjen Talo  (Loisto Settlementti)

Tyttöjen Talo (designated centre for girls) intended for anyone between the ages of 10 and 29 years old identifying as a girl or woman or those thinking about their identity as a girl. Tyttöjen Talo offers facilities for recreation and hobbies, as well as help and support if something is troubling you or you are going through something difficult.

Poikien Puhelin – Helpline for boys (Väestöliitto)

Poikien Puhelin is a helpline telephone and web service for boys and young men.

Mieli Mental Health Finland’s Crisis Helpline 24/7

Mieli Mental Health Finland’s’ Crisis Helpline is on call at tel. 09 2525 0111  in the Finnish language 24/7. You can call the crisis hotline anonymously and confidentially.

Suvanto ry

For a safe old age - Suvanto ry is a nationwide non-governmental and expert organisation. The aim is to prevent and raise awareness of elderly abuse, exploitation and violence. Suvanto ry offers personal discussion assistance to various parties to the violence, as well as peer support groups for victims of violence in Helsinki and Vantaa.

Romano Missio

Romano Missio’s Arvokas elämä (Dignified Life) project (2021–2024) aims to break the cycle of violence and increase the safety and well-being of the Roma community through preventive and early intervention.

VÄLITÄ! Seksuaaliväkivaltatyö

Välitä! provides crisis assistance to those who have experienced sexual violence, those who have done so and their loved ones. Help is provided by phone, at meetings and in open group chats at the online crisis centre Tukinet. You can participate in the support groups organised by Välitä! all other Finland. The services are confidential and free of charge.

Online Shelter

Online Shelter will help you find help with domestic violence and intimate partner violence 24/7. The service provides information, peer support and chat assistance for your problems. In your time of need, you can quickly find contact information for shelters in different cities.

MLL Nuortennetti

In Nuortennetti, young people can talk to their peers and, if necessary, get help from adults on questions of concern. The Mistä apua? (Where can I get help?) section presents a wide range of professional helpers with whom young people are directed to communicate.

 

More information and guides

Domestic violence
The police provide advice and instructions for those who have experienced violence or fear of being a victim of violence.
Preventing domestic and intimate partner violence (Ministry of Social Affairs and Health)
Physical, mental, sexual, property or financial violence or threats of violence may occur in a close relationship and in a family. Neglect and ill-treatment are also forms of violence.
Prevention of violence (Finnish institute for health and welfare, in Finnish)
Information about what violence is and how to prevent it, as well as tools and forms for practical work.
Guide for those facing domestic violence against disabled people (pdf, in Finnish)
Help, advice and information for anyone who has encountered domestic abuse.