The National Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking
(The NAS)

The Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking (the NAS) is an authority responsible for helping victims of human trafficking, their underage children and the persons assisting with a criminal investigation into human trafficking. Both Finnish citizens and nationals of other countries who are in Finland can receive help.

A victim of human trafficking has a  special set of rights based on international, European and Finnish legislations. Victims of human trafficking are entitled to special assistance. In Finland, this special assistance is given to a client of the National Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking (the NAS), whose activities are based on law.  

The NAS gives victim-centred help; in other words, a trafficking victim is always the priority – not the criminal investigations. 

The NAS operates everywhere in Finland and has been helping trafficking victims since 2006.

The NAS provides help, advice and training

The NAS is also Finland’s national centre of knowledge for anti-trafficking and assistance to trafficking victims. It provides authorities and other people combating human trafficking with training on what trafficking means, and how to identify and help potential victims.

The NAS maintains a 24/7 information hotline +358 29 54 63 177 for potential trafficking victims, authorities, third-sector organisations, the media and citizens. You can call the hotline to receive information and guidance, or simply to talk to someone.

In urgent situations, a potential trafficking victim may even be referred to the NAS based on one phone call. However, you can also call anonymously. Making the call will not bind you to anything else. All calls are handled in strict confidence.

Hundreds of victims have already received help

By the end of 2024, the NAS has had 2381 clients since 2006. In addition, the NAS has provided services to clients’ underage children.

The number of clients of the NAS has been increasing annually. One of the reasons for the increase is the fact that the ability of Finns to identify and refer victims to the NAS has improved with education and raised awareness.

At the end of 2024, 1610 people were within the NAS’ services, including children in the care of clients. Of all the clients, 77 had entered the NAS as minors.

Helping all nationalities

The NAS works under the Ministry of the Interior in Joutseno Reception Centre. Since the beginning of 2017, the NAS has been an independent part of the Finnish Immigration Service. This may seem confusing, since the NAS helps both Finnish and foreign victims.

There is a historical reason for locating the NAS at a reception centre and later moving it to the Finnish Immigration Service. When the Finnish legislation for helping trafficking victims was drafted in early 2000s, it was generally thought that human trafficking was a crime that only concerned foreign nationals. A decision was therefore made to have two reception centres for asylum seekers to assist trafficking victims.

However, the first Finnish citizens were admitted to the system already during its early days. It has become clear that human trafficking is not focused on, or limited to, foreign nationals. It can be a completely Finnish problem, since both the victim and the offender may be, and often are, Finnish.

The NAS does not make decisions on residence permits or asylum applications. Its operations are separate from the Finnish Immigration Service’s other activities.

The assistance system has offices 

The head office of the NAS is based in Joutseno Reception Centre. The NAS also has offices in Tampere and Helsinki. These offices provide services anywhere in Finland. Clients do not usually have to visit the office. The services are brought to the clients.

The NAS can provide services independently or outsource them from a public or private organisation. If the trafficking victim has a municipality of residence in Finland, the services will be provided by the municipality of residence (welfare services counties). In that case, the NAS will work in cooperation with the municipality.

Clients live across Finland in different types of housing

The NAS’ clients live across Finland in many types of housing. Many live in their own homes, some need housing arranged for them, some must live in sheltered housing. The main thing is that the client has a safe place to live.

Only clients who are also asylum seekers mainly live in the reception centres and receive their basic services from there. For example Finnish citizens and clients with a residence permit or a registered home municipality would not be housed in reception centres.