Violence Against Women in Finland: Results From Two National Victimisation Surveys (From Victimisation Surveys in Comparative Perspective: Papers From the Stockholm Criminology Symposium 2007, P 136-159, 2008, Kauko Aromaa and Markku Heiskanen, eds. - See NCJ-228606)

• NCJ Number: 228616
• Author(s): Markku Heiskanen; Minna Piispa
• Date Published: 2008
• Length: 24 pages
• Sale Source: Criminal Justice Press/Willow Tree Press
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Survey; Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: Finland

Annotation

This paper examines whether the prevalence and structure of violence against women have changed in Finland over 8 years, based on two national victimization surveys (1997 and 2005).

Abstract

According to the 2005 survey on violence against women, 43.5 percent of the women had at least once experienced physical or sexual violence by a man, or the threat of such violence, after having reached 15 years of age. In the 1997 survey, 40 percent of the women surveyed had experienced these forms of violence, indicating a slight increase in Finnish women's experience of male violence over the 8 years. Over these 8 years, women's exposure to threats, sexual violence, and sexually threatening behavior outside of an existing partner relationships had increased; whereas threats, physical violence, and sexual violence in a partner relationship had slightly decreased since the 1997 survey; however, the decrease exceeded the confidence interval only in sexual violence. Nearly one-half of the women who had ended a partner relationship had experienced various forms of violence or threats by the ex-partner. Almost all cases of ex-partner violence had included physical violence. According to the 2005 survey, 21 percent of the women's most serious lifetime victimization outside a partner relationship was committed by a current or previous boyfriend. Over the 8 years, there had not been a statistically significant change in women's exposure to violence during the 12 months preceding the survey in the various crime categories mentioned in the survey. This paper focuses on violence in partner relationships, because the most distinguishing feature between general victimization surveys and dedicated violence against women surveys is violence in close relationships. New risks for violence against women in Finland are related to the increased use of alcohol, marginalization in various forms, and merging cultural diversity in Finland. 5 tables, 1 figure, and 30 references