Seek help if you feel the need to hit or hurt someone

Seek help if you feel the need to hit or hurt someone

Violence against women is a serious problem in Finland, writes Pekka Heikkinen on his blog.

Violence, and in particular domestic violence against women, is a serious problem in Finland. Violence is by nature also often mental violence. Both the victim and the perpetrator need help.

Violence is not just physical as is often considered in Finnish society. It is increasingly of a mental nature. Statistics indicate that 49% of women and 42% of men have experienced mental violence in a partner relationship.

"According to many experts, mental violence is at least as harmful to the victim. However, police investigations have rarely investigated mental violence. A new classification, mental violence, will be added to the police crime reporting system in 2025," says Chief Superintendent Pekka Heikkinen at the National Police Board.

Read Chief Superintendent Pekka Heikkinen's blog: Are you a victim or perpetrator of violence or both?

Organisations providing help

Around 35,000 incidents of violence come to the attention of the police each year. The police urge both victims and perpetrators alike to seek help for the problem of violence and to file a police report.

The police website contains information about organisations providing help.

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