Stronger structures are needed to prevent domestic violence

The aim of the 2022–2025 action plan for the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, or the Istanbul Convention, is to ensure the establishment and maintenance of multidisciplinary structures for preventing violence at the national level and across wellbeing services counties and municipalities.

The structures include cross-administrative coordination, guidelines, service chains and the dissemination of effective practices. The structures are aimed at ensuring that victims and perpetrators have access to the services and that access to the services is equal across the country.

The national network of coordinators against domestic violence coordinated by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) supports regional cooperation, peer development and the dissemination of effective practices. The network produces up-to-date information on the situation in wellbeing services counties in preventing and combating violence. It helps increase understanding of the national situation. At the moment, there is significant variation in the structures, coordination and services for preventing domestic violence in the wellbeing services counties.

Binding legislation to strengthen the structures?

According to the Government Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, the prevention and identification of domestic and intimate partner violence will be strengthened, especially in the government bodies, municipalities and wellbeing services counties. The Government will assess if legislation obliging municipalities and wellbeing services counties is needed to strengthen the structures for work that aims to combat violence. The evaluation is being prepared by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in cooperation with THL.

The network of coordinators against domestic violence has strong support for binding legislation, as it can be used to strengthen the structures for preventing violence and to improve equality between different regions. Several national guidelines and recommendations issued in the 21st century have not been sufficient to achieve these objectives. The implementation of the recommendations has been examined in several reports, and it has been found to be insufficient.

Regions are not equal at the moment

There are great regional differences in the work against violence. Some of the coordinators of work against violence in the wellbeing services counties work in a project-based manner. Some have been appointed as responsible persons, but little to no time has been allocated for the task. Due to the variation in coordination structures and other problems, the regions do not have equal opportunities to implement measures against domestic violence.

Work against violence is fragmented, and the roles are not clearly defined. Identifying and addressing domestic violence systematically and carrying out risk assessments require special professional skills. The binding nature of legislation and international conventions is also not widely known. Employers are responsible for continuous professional development and ensuring the competence of professionals, but the situation varies significantly from region to region.

There are also regional variations in the service offering. The challenge in establishing service chains is that only a few wellbeing services counties have their own special services for those who have experienced violence and those who have used it. Organisations do valuable work to help the victims and perpetrators, and the continuity of their operations must be protected.

Goal: life without violence

The network of coordinators against domestic violence sees that legal provisions would provide a clear framework for combating violence, obliging the creation of coordination structures and the establishment of specific roles. The management and position of work against violence in the organisation would be clarified, and work against violence would be seen as part of everyone’s responsibilities. The law would also clarify the responsibilities of municipalities and wellbeing services counties in the new service system.

In addition to human suffering, domestic violence causes significant costs to society. Therefore, ensuring that there are enough resources for preventing violence is also economically sensible. By strengthening the structures for preventing violence, the human rights and the right to life without violence of both victims and perpetrators will be better realised.

This blog post was written together with the wellbeing services counties’ network of coordinators against domestic violence. The post is part of a series of blog posts of the Committee for Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (NAPE) exploring the impacts and national implementation of the Istanbul Convention, or the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.