Intervening in domestic violence and training of professionals in social services and health care and the police Evaluation of the EPRAS project
Domestic violence is a major societal and social problem in Finland, higher than in some other Western countries.Violence significantly affects the daily lives and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities. Domestic violence causes physical and mental suffering as well as financial and social problems to the subjects, but also to those who witness violence, such as children and adolescents who observe violence against their parents. Moreover, domestic violence causes significant costs and resource needs especially in the health and social care sectors, in the police and the legal system, and in the field of education. Research shows that instead of properly intervening in violence, it is often ignored and therefore it also continues. To some extent, this explains the high figures in international comparisons and statistics, as well as prolonged spirals of violence. In the 2000s, new practices and action models have been developed for intervening in domestic violence, and research on the topic has increased both nationally and internationally. However, the work against violence has been challenging because, for example, it has been difficult to integrate the developed models into the structures and institutional practices of organisations. Furthermore, the work and research on violence are mainly project based, an approach which only allows a short term perspective. Additional challenges for the work include insecure funding, insufficient training on domestic violence provided for the professionals of different fields, and the attitudes towards domestic violence as well as dissenting views on the significance of the problem and on the means to address it. The Enhancing Professional Skills and Raising Awareness on Domestic Violence, Violence against Women and Shelter Services (EPRAS) project funded for the years 2017 2019 under the EU's Rights, Equality Citizenship programme focused on encounters with and interventions on domestic violence particularly from the perspectives of the social and health care sectors and the police. The project was coordinated by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and implemented by the University of Jyvaskyla (in charge of assessment and research) in cooperation with the Police University College. The project developed an online training programme (Luo luottamusta Puutu vakivaltaan Create trust Stop the violence) which is Finland's first free, publicly accessible training package on domestic vio