The National Board of Health and Welfare (Ivo) has decided to close two of Talita's protected women's shelters due to their alcohol bans. Talita, a non-profit helping women leave prostitution and human trafficking, has appealed the decision. Founder Anna Sander emphasizes the ban's importance for the women's safety.
Talita is a non-profit organization working to help women and girls leave prostitution, pornography, and human trafficking for sexual purposes. Two of the organization's protected shelters, Villa Talita and Lilla Talita, have now been halted by Ivo. The reason is that the shelters have an alcohol ban, which Ivo deems incompatible with the Social Services Act's requirements for respect of individuals' self-determination and integrity.
Many of the women arriving at the shelters have a negative association with alcohol, often due to prior abuse or coercion by pimps and sex buyers. 'This ban is important to us on many levels. First and foremost, we must consider what is safest for the women, both physically and in terms of providing a sense of security', says Anna Sander, founder of Talita.
Last year, a law change was introduced requiring permission from Ivo to operate protected shelters. Talita's shelters, which have existed for several years, applied for permission but were denied due to the ban. The organization has appealed the decision and hopes for understanding of why alcohol cannot be allowed. 'We hope we will win, that there will be understanding for why it is impossible for us to allow alcohol', says Sander.
The women themselves are outraged by Ivo's decision. 'The women we've told, including those living in our shelter now, have become very upset about this. They think it's insane if we didn't have an alcohol ban and many of them wouldn't be able to live here if drinking were allowed', Sander explains. She hopes the decision is reversed not just for Talita but generally for other shelters needing similar restrictions.