Women suffer major risk of violence in Finland

Finland is second only to Latvia and Denmark in the EU in the likelihood that a woman may encounter violence from close relations or close contacts, a survey published on Thursday revealed.

Commissioned by the Interior Ministry, the survey was assigned to ascertain whether Finland is "the most secure country" to everyone.

The results indicated that 22 percent of Finnish women living in a relationship had been subject to violence from their present or former partner.

Only in ten percent of the violence against a woman, the victim did not know the person inflicting the violence.

The investigation showed that the information about the security situation of various population groups is insufficient. Based on information in 2010-2011, the risk of immigrants meeting violence was two and a half times higher than that of ethnic Finns.

Women with disabilities and immigrant women encounter violence three times more than mainstream population women.

The survey took particularly up the risk of immigrant girls of being sent to their country of origin for circumcision. This happens often during the Finnish school holidays.

Minister for Justice Antti Häkkänen said on Thursday that female circumcision is punished in Finland as aggravated violence. The sentence can be ten years. "There is no doubt that the procedure is criminalized in Finland", he said.

Häkkänen does not endorse the idea of a special law on female circumcision. A civic initiative is under way to enact one. It has attracted 15,000 signatures so far, out of the 50,000 required for parliamentary process.

National broadcaster Yle reported on Thursday that during this year the police has received somewhat fewer complaints about partner violence.

Yle quoted experts as saying the reason could be a change in the housing assistance legislation. The income of the co-habiting unmarried partners will now be considered jointly instead of being treated separately, and thus can exceed the limits of being eligible to housing assistance. This has discouraged living together and reduced the risk of domestic violence.