Victims of domestic violence on wane in 2020

There were 10,800 victims of domestic violence offences recorded by the police in 2020, which is 1.2 per cent down on the previous year, according to Statistics Finland.

Among these victims, 78.4 per cent were adults. Children made up 21.3 per cent of the victims. Of the victims, 0.3 per cent had no information on age. Of adult victims, 75.2 per cent were women. Of all suspects, 78.1 per cent were men.

The statistics include only cases reported to the authorities, by no means all cases of domestic violence and intimate partner violence are reported to the authorities.

A total of 39.5 per cent of domestic violence and intimate partner violence recorded in 2020 was violence between married or cohabiting couples, which is 2.9 percentage points higher than in 2019.

Of domestic violence and intimate partner violence directed at adults, around 75 per cent were assaults. Around 20 per cent were menaces. For men, the share of assaults was slightly higher and the share of menaces slightly lower than for women. The share of sexual offences in domestic violence and intimate partner violence was close on two per cent.

In 2,300 recorded cases of domestic violence and intimate partner violence in 2019 the victim was aged under 18. The share of underage victims has increased from around 18 per cent in 2009 to close on 25 per cent in 2019. However, the share fell to 21.3 per cent in 2020.

Of domestic violence and intimate partner violence cases directed at minors, around 95 per cent were committed by adults. Sixty-seven per cent of violence by adults against minors were committed by men in 2020. The share of men as suspects has decreased from nearly 75 per cent in 2009.

In 2020, altogether 10,800 cases of domestic violence and intimate partner violence were recorded, and they had 8,100 different victims. Around 20 per cent of the victims or 1,700 persons had been the victim of domestic violence and intimate partner violence more than once in 2020. There were 1,400 adult victims of repeated violence of whom over 80 per cent were women.

In 2009 to 2020, there were 11,100 persons among the 73,500 victims of domestic and intimate partner violence that, according to the police, have been victims of domestic and intimate partner violence in at least two different years and 2,900 in at least three different years. Among adults, around 9,500 had been victims in at least two different years, 83 per cent of whom were women. Among adults who had been victims in at least three different years, 89 per cent were women. There were slightly under 1,400 underage persons who had been victims in several years.