Number of calls to domestic violence helpline decreases

The number of phone calls to Nollalinja, which offers help to victims of domestic violence, decreased in the last year for the first time.

Nollalinja received 17,427 calls in 2021 and the number is about ten percent fewer calls than in 2020, said the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in a press release on Tuesday.

There was less monthly fluctuation in the number of telephone calls in 2021 than in previous years. The Nollalinja helpline received 1,450 telephone calls a month on average.

Nollalinja was able to answer about two out of three calls. This means that when the lines are busy, some callers have not waited in the queue for an ongoing call to end and their attempt to call was not successful.

Last summer Nollalinja opened an online chat service alongside the telephone helpline.

A total of 700 discussions took place in 2021 after the chat service was opened. The chat service makes it easier to seek help even if there are other people within earshot. A parent can interact with a Nollalinja worker while their child is taking a nap, for example.

According to Päivi Sinkkonen, the head of the Setlementti Tampere's Nollalinja unit, discussions on the chat service differ from help given over the telephone.

“Based on first experiences, discussions on the chat service can take from a few minutes up to a couple of hours. Some people first get in touch through the chat service and later build up the courage to phone Nollalinja. Others find it easier to express themselves about difficult issues in writing”, Sinkkonen said.

Although the telephone service is Nollalinja's primary form of assistance, the chat service lowers the threshold to seek help. The Nollalinja helpline provides assistance 24 hours a day. The chat service is available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays.

“People needing help have found the Nollalinja chat service even though it has not been actively marketed. Using chat first began as a trial, but we will definitely continue the service in 2022,” said Elisa Niklander, Senior Specialist at the THL responsible for matters related to Nollalinja.

Meanwhile, in 2021, the shelters for victims of domestic violence served 4,842 clients. The combined number of days spent at the shelters was 81,951. The number of clients served by the shelters had also gone down slightly in the previous year.

“The coronavirus situation affects the number of customers at the shelters. The number of customers declined by eight percent last year. In the previous year the decline was two percent”, said Joonas Peltonen, Development Manager at THL who is responsible for domestic violence shelter services.

Before the coronavirus pandemic the number of customers had been growing steadily since 2015, when the Act on Shelters for Victims of Domestic Violence shifted responsibility for shelter services to THL.