The EllenCenter
The Ellen Center offers support to young people who have experience from being exposed to prostitution, human trafficking and other sexual exploitation. They have a chat to which young people can turn and two psychologists who can offer support and trauma treatment. In addition to working for strengthened support and protection, the Ellen Center also works for preventive work through stricter legislation and target group-adapted initiatives from the public sector.
The EllenCenter exists so that no young person alone will have to bear the guilt, shame or sexual trauma from their experience. The organisation is run by 1000Möjligheter, which since 2010, has fought for children’s and young people’s rights and worked to ensure that young people do not expose others or themselves to violence. They are an idea-driven organisation that specializes in the field and with great experience from meeting young people in different situations and with different backgrounds and experiences. Nothing is too awful, unusual or insignificant to talk to them about. They listen without judging or pushing, with the goal of creating a safe place where the young person is seen and understood. EllenCentret offer help and support mainly through chat calls and calls at their clinic, where their psychologists can offer support and trauma-focused treatment if needed. They can also offer legal assistance, support contacts and group talks. In addition to offering support, EllenCentret also work preventively by training other professionals who meet young people and offer advice to those who meet young people in the target group. They have also produced material aimed at both young people and professionals, such as the report “Everything you need to know about prostitution, human trafficking and other sexual exploitation”, which was published together with the county administrative boards in Sweden. EllenCentret have also published two reports on support for people exposed to commercial sexual exploitation together with Child10 and #Intedinhora (Notyourwhore). EllenCentret have named their organisation after Ellen Bergman: a Swedish, feminist who fought against sexism and for women’s liberation and sexual rights as early as in the 19th century – a time when women did not even have the right to vote.