Kati Arumäe, a senior official of the Police and Border Guard Board on intimate partner violence said overall reporting of intimate partner violence in the first eight months of this year has remained at the same level as in previous years. It is growing, but gradually. 

Mari Tikerpuu, the head of the Victim Support Service of the Social Insurance Board, agreed but added that during the emergency situation caused by coronavirus they were under-informed about intimate partner violence.

"Here we can throw different hypotheses into the air. It was not possible for people because they were at home, the time to be away from the perpetrator was so short or they did not have the channels to go anywhere," Tikerpuu said.

Now, the situation has recovered and victims of intimate partner violence are once again contacting Victim Support. However, only a third of victims of intimate partner violence turn to victim support and the police.

"We know these statistics, if there have been about 10,000 referrals this year, then we can statistically say that, in fact, there are 30,000 or more," said Tikerpuu.

The victim support helpline is 116 006. 

Yesterday ERR News reported that more men are contacting victim support than before and they are increasingly the victims of serious intimate partner violence crimes.

"When we looked at the first half of the year, it was noticeable that there are more men among the dead. Whether it's an adult son or a couple. If we looked at the first half of the year, there are six dead and only one of them is a woman," Arumäe said.

Intimate partner violence can take place between a couple in a relationship or between family members.

--

Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!