Survey: The experience of intimate partner violence reduces trust in the police, courts and prosecutor’s office

Kaupo Koppel, an expert at the Foresight Centre, noted that people trust the justice system and the police considerably less in cases of intimate partner violence than they do in general.

“A survey commissioned by us in February showed that Estonian people value the victim-centred, empathetic and serious approach of women’s support centres and Victim Support very much, and trust in these institutions remains high,” said Koppel. “At the same time, it revealed that trust in the justice system and the police drops significantly concerning intimate partner violence, especially by those who have directly or recently been exposed to violence.” He added that this could explain why in recent years, the number of incidents registered by the police has been falling, deceptively creating the impression that the situation is improving.

According to the survey, generally, 91% of Estonians trust healthcare institutions, 85% trust the police and 70% trust the courts and prosecutor’s office. However, for people with recent or continuing exposure to intimate partner violence, the corresponding figures are 57%, 46% and 30% respectively. Up to 90% of respondents trust women’s support centres and Victim Support, and trust in them remains high regardless of whether the experience of violence is ongoing or recent, it occurred in the more distant past, or they have no experience.

Trust in healthcare and law enforcement institutions as well as the police is lowest primarily in cases of psychological violence, followed by economic, sexual, and digital violence. The decrease in trust is smallest when it comes to physical violence. “This suggests that the police, the justice system, and healthcare are seen as less capable primarily when violence is less visible and harder to prove,” said Koppel.

Support centres and Victim Support stand out as more victim-centred and trustworthy places to receive help. For example, over 90% of respondents agreed that concerns are taken seriously there and that the staff behave impartially, humanely and with empathy, while providing emotional support. In the case of healthcare institutions, 70–75% of respondents agree with the above statements. At the other end of the scale, however, are the courts and prosecutor’s office. Only 36% of all respondents and 30% of respondents who have experienced intimate partner violence believe that these institutions provide emotional support. For the police, the corresponding figures are 52% and 45% respectively.

Women consider intimate partner violence situations to be more serious and seeking help more dangerous. Women who have experienced violence have less trust in institutions than men. The largest gender gap in trust is evident in the incidents of digital violence.

The short report “Trust in institutions in intimate partner violence situations” (in Estonian) is part of the Foresight Centre’s research stream “Prevalence and Trends in Intimate Partner Violence in Estonia”, which aims to identify changing patterns in intimate partner violence and help-seeking trends in Estonia to assess its long-term impact and support the shaping of more effective interventions. The data used in the short report comes from a survey commissioned by the Foresight Centre and carried out by Turu-uuringud AS, to which 2009 adults responded.