The National Organisation for Women’s Shelters and Young Women’s Shelters in Sweden
The National Organisation for Women’s Shelters and Young Women’s Shelters in Sweden (Riksorganisationen för kvinno- och tjejjourer i Sverige – ROKS) has created Rokstjejjourer.se as well as an app. Read more about the history of ROKS and the young women’s support centre movement here.
Talk to a female volunteer.
About ROKS
ROKS (The National Organisation for Women’s Shelters and Young Women’s Shelters in Sweden) wants violence by men and boys against women, girls and children to stop. ROKS members consist of both women’s and young women’s support centres. All women’s and young women’s support centres in ROKS are non-profit associations and decide on their own activities. ROKS’ task is to arrange meetings and training sessions for young women’s and women’s support centres and to support them in their day-to-day work. ROKS’ task is also to convey the views and demands of the entire movement to decision-makers such as the Riksdag and the Government. All ROKS members want men and boys to stop making girls and women feel unsafe. So everyone is working to end the violence.
The women’s support centres often support older women and their children, whereas the young women’s centres often support girls and young women. But it’s no problem if you contact the wrong person or want support from an on-call female volunteer even though you are an older woman. The women’s and young women’s support centres support all women and young women who seek support, regardless of which of the centres you contact.
ROKS also has its own magazine named Kvinnotryck. It is published four times a year and consists of lively feminism and activism. Would you like to take out a subscription to Kvinnotryck? Read more here
“Together in sisterhood for a world free from violence and oppression by men” – ROKS’ vision
The history of ROKS
ROKS has been in existence for over 36 years. It began in the late 1970s, when proposals by a study on sexual crimes included not only reduced sentences for rape but also that the woman’s dress and behaviour prior to the assault be taken into account during the trial. Many women were extremely angry and expressed their anger to one another. The women sat in their kitchens together and talked to one another about what they had been subjected to. They felt that many women had been through the same thing and no longer needed to feel ashamed of the violence they had been subjected to. The women who were talking to one another began to think that perhaps there were more women who had been through the same thing. Women’s support centres then started in Gothenburg and Stockholm, followed soon after by more and more women’s support centres all over Sweden. A working group was set up in 1983 to study whether there was a need for an organisation to coordinate all the women’s support centres. This led to the creation of ROKS in 1984.
The history of the young women’s support centre movement
The first young women’s support centre started in Stockholm in 1996. After the first young women’s support centre opened, more and more people started to open young women’s support centres. The young women’s support centres started because more and more young women wanted to organise against violence by men and boys against young women and girls.
The young women’s support centre movement grew out of the women’s support centre movement. The young women’s and women’s support centres share ROKS. The only difference is that the young women’s support centres have a younger target group.
In 2000, ROKS also included the term “tjejjouren” [young women’s shelters] in its name and is therefore now known as the National Organisation for Women’s and Young Women’s Shelters in Sweden.
About ROKS’ young women’s support centres
There are approximately 35 young women’s support centres in ROKS and they worked together to create Rokstjejjourer.se in 2020.
The young women’s support centres in ROKS are specialists in dealing with young women or girls. Some centres, such as Stockholm’s young women’s support centre, have been supporting and helping young women for over 25 years. That means that we have extensive experience of helping and supporting young women and girls.
The young women’s support centres in ROKS work on a daily basis to provide you with the support and help you need. All support is on your own terms and you yourself decide how much or how little support and help you need. The young women’s support centres are there for you no matter what the problem is. The young women’s support centres can be reached by phone, email and chat. Some young women’s support centres can also be visited in person. All support you receive from a young women’s support centre in ROKS is free of charge and there’s no age limit for how old or how young you must be to seek support. At a young women’s support centre, you can talk about things and no-one else will find out. The young women’s support centres maintain a vow of silence , which means that they will not tell anyone what you have told them.
The young women’s support centres also organise physical meetings. Some centres organise summer camps, young women’s groups, book clubs or karaoke evenings just for young women. Sometimes you may also encounter young women’s support centres in your school or you can read their debate articles in the newspaper.
Do you want to contact a young women’s support centre in ROKS? This is what you do
Maybe you want to start or get involved in a young women’s support centre? Read more here
It’s an honour to be a female volunteer’‘
Question Box – Feminism & Sisterhood
The question box contains questions that you or someone else has asked Rokstjejjourer.se. You can also read the answers that you or someone else received. Below, you can read about matters relating to feminism and sisterhood. Do you want to read more questions and answers or perhaps ask a question of your own? Click on the question box.