Opening address by the President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen at the seminar “Violence against Women in Finland”, 8 April 2008

Human rights apply to us all, men and women alike, but in practice the application of these rights is not fair and equal. We know that all over the world women are at a disadvantage compared to men. This is due to a number of factors, such as a weaker financial position and traditional and cultural factors which make it difficult for women and girls to enjoy the rights due to them.

Women are also very often subjected to violence that is mental as well as physical. This aspect has contributed to violence against women being belittled. But violence against women is a human rights violation which occurs in all countries — in Finland too — despite the fact that Finland is in many respects regarded as a model society for gender equality.

The existence and extent of violence against women is scarcely news to us any more. We are readier now to acknowledge this problem than we were some years or decades ago, when intimate partner violence was considered a private matter. We have made some progress in tearing down the walls of silence and shame. This is a step forward, but it is not enough. We must aim to remove violence as a means of solving disputes between individuals and to find better means to replace it.

Finland is a violent country. The incidence of violent death is high; the murder rate per capita in Finland is about double the EU average. This holds true both for murders of men and of women. However, violence against men and women is sharply gender-differentiated in that men most often encounter violence in the street, while women encounter it in intimate relationships.

Surveys show that the incidence of violence against women has remained practically unchanged over the past decade. What is notable is that today women encounter violence or the threat of violence not only in the home but in the workplace too, mostly from customers or patients. There is also another trend that we may note in the violence statistics, one which has attained considerable publicity: women themselves have begun to resort to physical violence.

Men are now increasingly victims of intimate partner violence — or perhaps they are now reporting it more frequently. However, the statistics still show that women are far more likely to fall victim to intimate partner violence than men. In some 90 per cent of the cases of domestic violence that come to the attention of the police, the victim is a woman, and some 80 per cent of those who die as a result of such violence are women.

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Violence is never a private matter, not even between intimate partners and not even in the privacy of one’s own home. There are also no easy explanations for violence: intimate partner violence against women occurs in all social groups, and young women are particularly susceptible to it. No age group is automatically safe from violence.

The signals, however weak, of changes in the behaviour of women are worrying. This leads me to conclude that biological gender is not in itself a predetermining factor for violence, not even for men. Instead, adopted gender models may favour or prevent the use of violence. Naturally, we need to take this into account in aiming to eradicate violent behaviour. Getting angry is instinctive, but how we deal with it is something we learn. Violence is always a crime, and we must make a clear stand against resorting to violence.

Violence always injures, but particularly so when the perpetrator is someone close to the victim, a spouse or other loved one. In a family with children, any violent incident automatically has several victims; the children suffer even if the violence is not directly aimed at them. However, violence against children has been shown to be increasing too. The danger here is that the model of using violence as a means for resolving conflicts can be passed on from parents to children.

Intimate partner violence is not a series of isolated events but a process involving repeated blows, threats or other actions that maintain an atmosphere of fear. If the couple shares a home and children, these make it more difficult to retreat from a violent relationship. A woman may keep quiet to protect her violent partner and the reputation of her family. The social environment may offer little encouragement for her to bring the problem out into the open. The victim may also feel ashamed and guilty, which prevents her from seeking help.

Violence is a significant health problem. Its financial and human costs are huge. In Finland, studies suggest that the costs are in the region of EUR 91 million per year. The costs are higher the more serious the violence is. For this reason, helping the victim and preventing the recurrence of violence will save a lot of money, suffering and tears.

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The Council of Europe has undertaken a campaign to combat violence against women. Finland was instrumental in launching this campaign in 2005, and we have been involved ever since. The aim of the campaign is to make governments, parliaments and regional decision-makers take action to prevent violence against women. It is important to acknowledge the existence of gender-related violence and to find efficient ways for eradicating and preventing it. Encouraging and assisting victims, bringing the perpetrators to justice and, in general, shifting public attitudes away from accepting violence as a means of conflict resolution are key factors in this work.

The campaign of the Council of Europe will end next June, but this does not mean that the efforts will stop. The Council of Europe is considering legislative means for preventing violence against women. The Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner and Task Force to Combat Violence Against Women have issued statements concerning a binding treaty to combat violence against women. According to the statement issued by the Task Force last week, this treaty should be a legally binding human rights treaty on violence against women in general, not just domestic violence.

And what about Finland? We have every reason to continue to be involved. Finland has committed to reducing violence against women by signing the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). International treaties propose a national action plan as one means for pursuing this. Such an action plan should also be drawn up in Finland to bring together the existing concrete but disparate actions to combat violence.

Finland enacted legislative changes in the late 1990s to address the issue of violence against women. Some member countries of the Council of Europe have enacted sanctions to protect women subject to repeated violence and intimidation. Legislative reform to this effect has been contemplated in Finland too. As I understand it, there will be talks on this subject in more depth later at this seminar.

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The Finnish Family Federation has just launched a campaign called ‘Peace in the home’, which aims to encourage people to see intervention in and prevention of intimate partner violence as everyone’s business. It is difficult for the victim of a circle of violence, and the perpetrator too, to see the situation clearly and to seek help. We should aim at creating an atmosphere where victims will dare to speak out without feeling guilt or shame for their situation.

People who resort to violence must face the consequences of their actions, but they must also be supported and guided towards non-violent behaviour. I hope that during this seminar you will have the opportunity to learn about and exchange information on various means for preventing intimate partner violence.

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Combating intimate partner violence against women is a matter for all of us. I wish this seminar and the ongoing campaigns every success.