A Joint Nordic Project gathered information for reducing violence in the Nordic countries
The project "Violence and Reducing Violence in the Nordic Region" started at an initiative by Finland and was carried out by the Nordic Crime Prevention Councils and the Scandinavian Research Council for Criminology (NSfK). This was the biggest joint project ever for the Crime Prevention Councils. The Project was divided into four sub projects and funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers and NSfK. Every country had to stand for a theme.
The task for the National Council for Crime Prevention in Finland was to compare the violence crime statistics. According to the result the most reliable violence statistics are the homicide and cause of death statistics. However, the police records are less reliable, as the definitions and registration manners differ from country to country. Moreover, only a part of violent deeds are reported. Information on violence cases should be gathered systematically from different sources, i.e. from hospitals, health centres and social authorities. More measuring methods are also in development.
The biggest problem with the restraining orders in the Nordic countries is the generality and the scope of variable interpretation in the restraining Acts. In practice there is seldom any punishment in connection with breaches to a restraining order; thus, the protected person might feel that the restraining order is no good and reporting to the police useless. In order to reduce the vagueness of interpretation, some general rules for the authorities that issue the order are suggested.
Immigrant women exposed to violence need diversified help while and the perpetrator and the family members are to be taken in consideration, too. Additionally, more information should be available on shelters and their services. Language teaching and interpreting services should be enhanced and the authorities should use clearer language. Experiences of reconciliation practices are promising, but one should always see that safety is not compromised.
During the project new networks emerged between experts and work against violence can continue.
Personal contacts:
Project Leader, Planning Officer Regina Järg-Tärno
phone (09) 1606 9801
Executive Secretary for the National Council for Crime Prevention in Finland Jukka-Pekka Takala, phone. (09) 1606 8211
e-mail: [email protected]
The working group reports (in English, Swedish and Norwegian; summaries in Finnish) on the web site for the Council of Nordic Ministers:
The restraining orders
Violence on immigrant women
Working group for children and adolescents
Statistics
The Summary Report