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On Monday, May 22nd 2023, we were able to celebrate the successful start of the new Selma Department in Mainz together with almost 40 invited guests. Representatives of the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry for Family, Women, Culture and Integration, the city of Mainz, the Mainz-Bingen health department, various social institutions from the state capital and many others came together at Heringsbrunnengasse 6, to get to know Selma and to congratulate her on the work.
We are very pleased about this broad support for our new advice center for women in prostitution, especially since the topic is currently being passionately discussed due to the pending evaluation of the Prostitute Protection Act. Our chairman Dr. Maria Decker, in her welcome address, pointed out that many women are still not registered and have no health insurance. Despite the law, they are exposed to a variety of burdens and there is therefore a great need for appropriate support services as long as it is still possible to buy sex.
In her greeting, Heike Jung, head of the women’s department in the ministry, expressed her great joy at the new counseling center. With Selma, the state of Rhineland-Palatinate is financing a centrally located and easily accessible point of contact for women in Mainz. In addition in Trier, Luna Lu in Ludwigshafen and Roxanne in Koblenz, a large consulting gap in the state can now be closed thanks to SOLWODI.
guests of the celebration.
Eva Weickart also pointed out the importance of such offers and, as head of the municipal women’s office, brought greetings and thanks from the Mainz city council. With a view to the stigmatization of women, she emphasized the advantage of non-governmental support options that can be used without official registration. Therefore, Selma represents a great enrichment for the city of Mainz.
Miriam Toursel, head of the new specialist advice center, explained the advice and support offered to those present in more detail and emphasized that women seeking advice can contact the three social workers during the open consultation hours on the Selma premises, without obligation and easily, or simply take a protected break. The professional advice concerns all questions of life – it is free, anonymous and individual. As part of the outreach work, the employees regularly draw attention to Selma and are available for contact and discussions. The open form of the offers is intended to break down inhibitions and also promote social connections.
This is very limited for many women in prostitution, Sabine Klein also reported from her work in health advice at the Mainz-Bingen health department. There she repeatedly meets single mothers who had to leave their children with their grandparents in their country of origin and are now trying to finance their families in Germany through prostitution. Few have any social contacts in the Mainz area. In addition to the separation from children and family, this isolation represents an additional psychological burden. There is therefore great potential in the opportunity to get to know other women at Selma and to exchange ideas with one another. In addition, Ms. Klein announced that she would continue to support Selma in expanding the range of services through special counseling hours.
start of Selma.
Afterwards, over finger food, there was an opportunity for good conversations, in which Miriam Toursel and her employees answered a wide variety of questions about Selma. The celebration could also be used to consolidate and expand the network in Mainz, which is so important for the work. This is how the goal hidden in the name Selma can be reached for SOLWODI and the women: self-empowered living in Mainz.”
Afterwards, over finger food, there was an opportunity for good conversations, in which Miriam Toursel and her employees answered a wide variety of questions about Selma. The celebration could also be used to consolidate and expand the network in Mainz, which is so important for the work. This is how the goal hidden in the name Selma can be reached for SOLWODI and the women: self-empowered living in Mainz.”
If you want to support the work of SOLWODI financially, you can do so here:
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