Domestic violence victims on rise in Finland

The number of clients in shelters for victims of domestic violence continued to increase in Finland last year, said the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) in a press release on Wednesday.

The number of shelter clients has increased annually after the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2025, there were about 6,000 clients, which is four per cent more than the previous year.

The number of both female and male clients increased.

“Domestic violence is a common phenomenon in Finland and affects a large share of the population. The increase in the number of clients may indicate that domestic violence is now being discussed more openly and that people are better able to seek help. Professionals are also better able to refer clients to services. These are positive signals,” said Suvi Nipuli, development manager of shelter services.

“However, the statistics show that the adequacy of shelter places needs to be assessed across the country so that help can be provided in a timely manner to all those who need it,” Nipuli added.

In 2025, a total of about 113,000 shelter days were recorded, which is eight per cent more than in 2024.

Domestic violence shelters are increasingly full, and clients must more often be referred from the nearest shelter to another location.

About 2,400 clients were referred from a primary shelter to another shelter in 2025 and the number was significantly higher compared to the number in the previous year.

The number was approximately 1,300 in the previous year, according to the THL´s domestic violence shelter statistics.

The occupancy rate of shelters was 73 per cent last year.

Most clients were referred to another shelter in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Pirkanmaa and Southwest Finland.

“In the Helsinki metropolitan area and Pirkanmaa there are several domestic violence shelters, so if a client has not been able to enter the first shelter, it has often been possible to refer them to another shelter within the same area. However, this has not always been possible for everyone, as shelters have also been full at the same time,” said Suvi Nipuli, development manager of shelter services.

In areas where there is only one shelter, the situation is particularly difficult. In Southwest Finland, for example, the only shelter was full for 179 days last year, meaning that the distance to the nearest available shelter may be long.

In the Helsinki metropolitan area, just over 1,100 people were referred to another shelter. The number increased significantly from the previous year, when the corresponding figure was about 580.

Among individual shelters, the highest number of referrals elsewhere were made from the shelter located in Espoo (376 people).

“The high figure is due to the fact that the only shelter in Espoo was full for a large part of the year. This shows that the current number of places is not sufficient for the needs of the area,” said Nipuli.

The shelter in Espoo was full for 249 days. Shelters in Helsinki were also simultaneously full at times on 48 days, and in Pirkanmaa both shelters were full at the same time on 147 days.