Your rights and getting help in Finland
Everyone in Finland has the right to safety and to be treated fairly. This section explains your rights and shows exactly who to contact if you are treated badly, whatever your background or residence status.
In immediate danger?
Call 112 for police or an ambulance. It is free and works even without a SIM card or credit. The 112 Suomi app shares your location.
Help is available to everyone
These rights and services apply to everyone in Finland, regardless of citizenship or residence status. Many services are free and can be used anonymously. You do not need to face anything alone.
Find the right help
Emergency and urgent help
What to do right now: 112, the Nollalinja helpline, and safe shelters.
The shelter (turvakoti) system
Free, round-the-clock safe housing for anyone facing violence at home.
Domestic and intimate-partner violence
Recognising abuse and the helplines that support you, including in your own language.
Sexual violence
Free medical care and crisis support after sexual violence.
Discrimination and harassment
Your right to equal treatment and who to turn to if it is denied.
Problems at work and exploitation
Underpayment, mistreatment, labour exploitation and human trafficking.
Your rights in Finland
An overview of the protections that apply to everyone living in Finland.
Good to know
- These rights and services apply to everyone in Finland, regardless of citizenship or residence status.
- Using a shelter or a helpline does not by itself affect your immigration status.
- Services are confidential, and many of them allow you to stay anonymous.
- Psychological, financial and digital abuse count as violence too. You do not need visible injuries to get help.
- In Finland all violence in close relationships is a crime, including within marriage.