Pro Sentret 40 Years - Anniversary Publication
This anniversary publication is as diverse as Pro Sentret itself, with contributions from academia, social and healthcare professionals, activists, and, most importantly, from Pro Sentret's users. The publication is in norwegian.
Part I covers the history and work of Pro Sentret and the field of prostitution. Bjørg Norli provides a thorough historical introduction to the foundation of Pro Sentret: Social work with individuals engaged in sex work. Kim and Annette, both social workers at Pro Sentret, describe their and their colleagues work today.
May-Len Skilbrei, a professor at the Institute of Criminology and Sociology of Law (UiO) and Ellen Kristvik, a researcher at Akershus University Hospital, describe the development of health-related work with individuals engaged in sex work from a historical perspective. Following this, Embla and Rebecca, nurses at Pro Sentret, describe the current challenges of providing healthcare services to a highly diverse patient group.
In addition to being Oslo municipality's service provider for individuals with prostitution experience, Pro Sentret is a national competence center in the field of prostitution. Bjørg Norli looks back at its establishment and its current role as a competence center.
In the last part of Part I, Astrid Renland provides a historical account of the emergence of Norway's first interest organization for individuals engaged in sex work and Pro Sentret's role in it. Astrid is a criminologist and took over as the administrative head of PION in 2007.
Part II is dedicated to our service user's voices. The format of these texts varies significantly: The first two are life stories of users with migration experience, told to Pro Sentret's fieldworker Jose. Both of these texts are translated from Spanish. The third user voice is a conversation with Heidi Hansen, an experiential consultant at the Prindsen Reception Center, about substance use, sex work, and sobriety. Madelen's story provides insight into the 1990s brothel environment in Oslo. Last but not least, the pseudonym "Hannah" writes about the stigma surrounding sex work in "Aunt Hannah Is a Whore."