This week, the police are reminding the public about the importance of identifying and preventing violence in close relationships via social media updates. Violence in close relationships can be physical, but also mental in nature. When committed against children or the elderly, violence can take the form for, for example, neglect and various types of abuse. Forms of violence are often combined so that the same person is forced to suffer through different actions.
‒In preventing violence in close relationships, it is essential that the crime victim understands his or her situation and is directed to receive help. The perpetrator of the violence must also be made aware of the harmfulness of his or her actions and get help. Violent approaches are often passed down from one’s own childhood and the cycle needs to be broken, says Chief Superintendent Pekka Heikkinen from the National Police Board.
Violence in close relationships is a hidden crime that usually only becomes known to the police after it has been going on for some time. There were 9,900 victims in cases of intimate partner violence and violence in close relationships reported to the authorities in 2018.
According to Heikkinen, it is often typical of violence in close relationships that the victim, because of the shame or fear involved, does not tell the whole story, downplays his or her injuries, or otherwise seeks to protect the perpetrator.
‒It is the duty of the police to file a crime report, ensure that the victim is adequately informed about support services, and carry out a risk assessment of the violence and evaluate whether to impose a possible temporary restraining order. It is essential for the future that both the victim and the perpetrator are directed to the necessary assistance organisations. Children and other loved ones may also need support services, and should be actively referred to those, Heikkinen says.
Violence in close relationships damages the entire immediate circle
Heikkinen points out that violence in close relationships touches and causes suffering not only to the actual victim, but also to other people in the immediate circle.
‒Both the victim and the perpetrator of violence in close relationships often become numb to the situation and start to consider their state of affairs normal and how things are supposed to be, even though that is never the case with violence. Fear and traumatisation of the victim can make it difficult to leave a violent relationship. Even if the victim manages to get away, the perpetrator’s behaviour is likely to continue in subsequent relationships. That is why identifying violence in close relationships and addressing it are important factors in exposing violence and remedying the situation, Chief Superintendent Heikkinen says.
According to Heikkinen, it is important to refer every victim to services and to ensure that the immediate circle, such as children and grandparents, are also okay. This allows future crimes to be prevented as harmful behaviours and approaches are not passed down from one generation to the next.
Heikkinen says that if you suspect violence in close relationships in your own social circle, you should speak up about it and support seeking help from the authorities or assistance services.
‒Help should be sought as early as possible, as the first hit is rarely the last one. Violence in close relationships is known to typically worsen and escalate the longer it is allowed to continue, Heikkinen says.
Victims increasingly referred to support services
The police direct the victim of violence in close relationships to assistance services. The Victims’ Directive requires the provision of universal support services, and all victims of crime are entitled to support services. The Istanbul Convention specifically addresses victims of violence in close relationships and requires the provision of support services for those who have experienced violence in close relationships. The services are offered in different languages while also taking into account multicultural aspects, among other things.
At Victim Support Finland, for example, the number of customers has more than tripled in five years.
‒The reasons behind the increase in customer numbers include the development of legislation and increased awareness of services. The police are increasingly referring customers to assistance services. At Victim Support Finland, the number of customers referred by the police increased by about 60% from the previous year in 2019. Other parties are also directing people to services more and more. At Victim Support Finland, those who have experienced violence in close relationships are still the single largest customer group by type of crime, and the number of customers has increased, says Leena-Kaisa Åberg , Executive Director of Victim Support Finland.
According to Åberg, it is important that people who have experienced violence in close relationships and those living in fear of violence are informed about existing assistance services.
‒We who provide help encourage people to contact us with a low threshold. It is great that there are now more assistance organisations in Finland than before, Åberg says.
If you are a victim of violence in close relationships, call 112 in case of emergency or contact your local police if the matter is not urgent.
Organisations providing assistance to victims of violence include:
Victim Support Finland
Federation of Mother and Child Homes and Shelters
Nollalinja
MONIKA – Multicultural Women’s Association, Finland
Organisations providing assistance to perpetrators of violence include:
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