The National Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking in 2021
Offices and staff
NAS activities cover the whole of Finland, including the Åland Islands. NAS offices are located in Lappeenranta, Helsinki, Tampere, and Oulu.
Lappeenranta Office
The Lappeenranta Office, based at the Joutseno Reception Centre, includes two social counsellors, a senior advisers who acts as the team leader, an adviser and a public health nurse. The NAS management team includes Antti Jäppinen, Director of the Joutseno Reception Centre, and Katri Lyijynen, Deputy Director.
Helsinki Office
The Helsinki Office operates from the premises of the Finnish Immigration Service. It has two senior advisers and one social worker who acts as the team leader. A new social counsellor was appointed to the Helsinki Office in 2021.
Other employees working in Helsinki include the project manager of the IKUT project and a project worker who started at the beginning of 2021.
Tampere Office
In 2021, the Tampere Office was joined by a new senior adviser; the office currently employs two senior advisers.
Oulu Office
The Oulu Office, based at the Heikinharju Reception Centre, Oulu, has one social counsellor whose main area of operations is Northern Finland.
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During summer 2021, the NAS employed two student trainees, one in Helsinki and one in Lappeenranta.
The NAS team also regularly travels throughout Finland to meet clients and stakeholders.
NAS tasks and activities
The purpose of the NAS is to assist assumed and identified victims of human trafficking. For clients with a municipality of residence in Finland, the assistance services are provided by their local authorities. In these cases, the NAS collaborates closely with the local authorities in matters related to the provision of assistance.
In addition to client work, the NAS serves as a centre of excellence for identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking and provides training and consultation in Finland and abroad. All NAS employees participate in these tasks.
The NAS’s role as a training and consultancy provider were further emphasised in 2021. In accordance with the 2021 Action Plan against Trafficking in Human Beings, the NAS has planned and produced training modules related to human trafficking for different authorities and actors in collaboration with each organisation.
Overall, the NAS is a significant contributor to the implementation of measures laid down in the Action Plan. Our experts are part of the working group appointed to reform the legislation governing the assistance to victims of human trafficking as well as the Advisory council for the terms of employment and permit control of immigrant employees and entrepreneurs appointed in late 2021.
The NAS engaged in international cooperation during 2021, particularly with the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS). The main focus of this cooperation is to increase the media and public awareness of human trafficking and to prevent the exploitation of labour (links to the website in English). The NAS is represented in the CBBS’s anti-trafficking task force.
IKUT project, coordinated by the NAS, provided career coaching to victims ot human trafficking and worked to establish anti-trafficking work as part of corporate social responsibility. The project continues in 2022.
The 15th anniversary of the NAS
NAS operations were first launched in 2006. The NAS celebrated its 15th anniversaryin 2021 by organising a Nordic seminar on assistance for victims of human trafficking in the Nordic Countries in November 2021. The seminar formed part of Finland’s Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers 2021 programme.
