Rising intimate partner violence puts Finnish municipalities under pressure

Intimate partner violence in Finland increased by 20 per cent last year, prompting calls for municipalities to take a stronger role in prevention, Yle reports.

Police recorded 15,500 victims of partner and intimate partner violence across Finland last year. In August, four men were arrested in Pirkanmaa within a single 24-hour period on suspicion of intimate partner violence, according to Aamulehti. Around ten reports of intimate partner violence were recorded in the same period in the area covered by the Central Finland Police Department.

Police said the incidents did not represent an exceptional spike, but were typical of a summer weekend. The Eastern Uusimaa Police Department also reported a significant increase in reported intimate partner violence during the first part of the year.

Despite years of efforts to prevent intimate partner violence, the phenomenon appears to be growing. Municipalities are now being urged to join the work more actively.

Tampere loses violence prevention specialist

A motion submitted to Tampere City Council proposes assigning a city employee responsibility for preventing intimate partner violence. The city says it will take the issue into account, although financial constraints could limit its actions.

According to the city’s response, the issue will be considered when preventive services are planned this year and next year, within the limits set by the city’s finances.

Preventing violence and intimate partner violence is part of municipal work to promote health and wellbeing, as well as safety planning. Tampere’s risk management, safety and preparedness team previously included a senior specialist whose duties also covered violence prevention, particularly among children and young people.

The fixed-term position ended in July. Jouni Perttula, director of risk management and safety, said the city’s financial situation prevented the position from being extended.

Perttula said the departure had created a significant gap in work against violence. In his view, the responsibility should not rest with one person, but someone needs to coordinate the overall effort.

Tampere is carrying out extensive savings measures. The city council has set a target of balancing the city’s finances by 2029, while the framework for next year’s budget shows a deficit of 46.5 million euros.

Violence often emerges through municipal services

The Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities says assigning responsibility for violence prevention to a specific employee has become more common in municipalities, although it is not yet standard practice. The task is usually included in the duties of a coordinator for preventive substance abuse work or a wellbeing coordinator.

Municipalities have a key role in preventing violence, said Jenni Krogell, a development manager at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. Municipalities still have a statutory duty to promote health and wellbeing.

Important measures include emotional skills and safety education in early childhood education and schools, as well as human rights and sexual education. Suspicions of violence within a family also often first emerge through municipal services such as day-care centres, schools or youth services.

Krogell said municipal professionals need training in intimate partner violence so they can recognise it and intervene.

“The violence that comes to light is only the tip of the iceberg that we see in the statistics. By no means does most of it end up there,” she said.

Pirkanmaa to introduce new training model

Pirkanmaa Wellbeing Services County will introduce the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s key personnel model next year, said Noora Kannisto, head of preventive work planning at the county. The model has been requested for a long time.

Under the model, people from different units are selected and trained to identify violence and provide support. These key personnel then pass their knowledge on to colleagues in their own units.

Kannisto said the model could also be used to train municipal employees in violence prevention. She said it was important for municipalities to have expertise specialising in violence prevention.