33% calls to Nollalinja sparked by domestic violence

An evaluation study carried out by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) examined the underlying factors and content of around 10,300 calls to the helpline Nollalinja and found that one-third of them were related to domestic violence, said a THL press release.

The study found that for one in three callers, Nollalinja was the first service from which they had sought help for the domestic violence.

The majority of those callers had experienced the violence themselves. In addition, both public authorities and those close to people experiencing violence sought advice and support from Nollalinja.

The study examined calls made during the helpline’s first two and a half years of operation, between 1 January 2017 and 30 June 2019.

The core material for the study was anonymous information about the calls recorded on service monitoring forms by the Nollalinja professionals as part of their work.

During Nollalinja’s first year of operation, about two out of five persons in need of help called within 24 hours of the incident. Last year, around three out of five callers made contact within the same timeframe.

“The study shows that people are increasingly turning to Nollalinja soon after violent incidents take place. However, if there is still a threat of violence or violence has just occurred, it is best to call the emergency number,’ said THL Senior Researcher Johanna Hietamäki.

Calls are made to Nollalinja regarding a wide range of violent situations. Of the calls covered by the study, around 76% concerned violence within couple relationship. The majority of these, 89%, were related to violence experienced by women, while 11% were related to violence experienced by men.

In addition to intimate partner violence, calls are also made to Nollalinja concerning violence involving other family members, such as parental violence against children (6%) and violence of children against parents (2%).

Furthermore, some of the calls received by Nollalinja (12%) concern violence committed by acquaintances and friends as well as violence encountered in the workplace and committed by strangers.