Violence Against Women in Finland

• NCJ Number: 221515
• Author(s): Minna Piispa; Markku Heiskanen; Juha Kaariainen; Reino Siren
• Date Published: 2006
• Length: 8 pages
• Corporate Author: United Nations European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI); National Research Institute of Legal Policy
• Sale Source: United Nations European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control (HEUNI); National Research Institute of Legal Policy
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Finland
• Note: National Research Institute of Legal Policy, Publication No. 225 and HEUNI Publication Series No. 51.

Annotation

This report provides information about the prevalence, patterns, and trends of violence committed by men against women in Finland.

Abstract

Results indicated that when comparing the 1997 survey to the 2005 survey there was a slight increase (3.5 percent) in women who had experienced a man’s physical or sexual violence or the threat of violence at least one time after reaching the age of 15. Violence in the questionnaire was defined by listing different forms of violent behavior the different types of perpetrators might resort to. Perpetrators were defined as present spouse or partner, the ex-spouse, or a man outside a partner relationship such as a stranger and acquaintance, a dating partner, or a colleague, whereas violence was defined as anything involving the threat of violence, physical violence, or sexual violence and intimidation. Partner violence resulted in physical injuries in about half of the most severe instances of physical violence. Among the most severe cases of partner violence, there were psychological consequences in two cases out of three, the most frequent effects being hate, fear, depression, loss of self-esteem, and shame. Less than one-third of women continued to experience violence or disturbing behavior in the form of harassment by telephone, text messages, e-mails or letters. In a comparison between the results of the 1997 and 2005 surveys physical violence outside the partner relationship covered physical assaults, such as hitting, kicking, or using a weapon. The form of violence that women experienced outside of a partner relationship were: occasional violence (unknown perpetrator), work-related violence (client, patient, or colleague), and violence in a close relationship (family member, dating partner, or male acquaintance). Compared to 1997, work-related violence increased, while the other two forms of violence decreased. This sample included 7,213 randomly chosen Finnish and Swedish speaking women aged 18 to 74 who responded to a postal survey; the response rate was 62 percent. Tables, figure