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The Lotta Svärd Foundation has continued to support Protect Children's You are Enough™ peer support groups, enabling them to continue in the Autumn of 2024. You are Enough™ peer support groups offer concrete support and practical advice to parents and guardians whose child has fallen victim to sexual violence. The Lotta Svärd Foundation is very satisfied with the groups and wants to continue supporting families in Finland who have faced this crisis.
"It is unfortunate that, despite several attempts, Protect Children has not received financial support from the state, and, as a foundation, we wanted to take action. It is paramount to offer support to parents and guardians when families face such a shocking crime," emphasizes Lotta Svärd Foundation Executive Director Anne Nurminen.
"We appreciate Protect Children’s comprehensive, research-based, holistic work to prevent all crimes of sexual violence against children, especially those committed online. The organisation has received several international awards for their work, and we want to support this,” continues Nurminen.
Lotta Svärd Foundation's donation to Protect Children will be used to organise Autumn 2024 You are Enough™ peer support groups.
"We are extremely grateful for the continuation of the funding because it enables the You are Enough™ peer support groups to continue. We must support parents/guardians and families in what is often the most difficult moment of their lives. The experience of peer support and not being alone in this challenging situation is already a relief,” says Executive Director of Protect Children Nina Vaaranen-Valkonen.
"Some parents and guardians still have to wait a very long time to get into a peer support group. By supporting parents and guardians, we provide support to the whole family and, above all, facilitate the recovery of a child who has fallen victim to sexual violence," continues Vaaranen-Valkonen.
Having one's child become the target of a sexual crime is both shocking news and a crisis for a parent. When a parent or a guardian receives information and support about the trauma of sexual violence, as well as practical guidance and peer support, it helps to cope with criminal proceedings that can unfortunately last even years. Supporting the parent/guardian in managing a crisis is directly related to the child's better recovery from sexual violence. You are Enough™ peer support groups have been organised since 2021 and the need for them remains great.
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The Lotta Svärd Foundation is the direct heir to the social aid and relief work of the Lotta Svärd organisation that operated from 1921–44. In the autumn of 1944, Finnish Women’s Aid Foundation was founded to continue the relief and aid work of the Lotta Organisation. In 2004, the Finnish Women’s Aid Foundation was renamed the Lotta Svärd Foundation.
The Lotta Svärd Foundation carries out its mission within the framework of the rules drawn up by the women who served in Lotta Svärd (the Lottas) in social aid and relief work. It assists in training women to act in crisis situations, and, through professional museum work, increases the visibility of impact of the Lottas in building Finnish society. The foundation's office is in Helsinki and the Lotta Museum is in Tuusula.