There is growing concern over the young women’s mental health and experience of violence in both academic discussion and public debate. The threshold for seeking help or discussing their experiences may be relatively high for young women, especially if the violence is close to home. One possible low-threshold method of seeking support for mental health and violence is anonymous chat services, which operate around the clock and can easily be accessed discreetly. In my research, I explored which types of domestic violence were described by young women aged 18–24 in anonymous, low-threshold conversations on Finland’s largest online chat service for young people. I examined young women’s experience of violence and psychological difficulties through their own narratives and stories.
Research data and network
Sanni Heinonen’s Master’s thesis was carried out as part of a network of researchers operating under the Crisis Help and Assistance for Youth during Challenging Times (CH@T-YOUTH) project co-funded by the European Union, and the Out of Despair – Solutions for Reducing Drug Deaths, Suicides, and Serious Violence Among Young People (Vieraile ulkoisella sivustolla. Linkki avautuu uuteen välilehteen.) project funded by the Strategic Research Council in Finland. The content supervisor for the study was Tuuli Pitkänen, Research Manager at the Finnish Youth Research Society, who is responsible for the database.
The research protocol has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Youth and Childhood Studies. The data include only chat conversations that were approved for research use by both the young service user and the counsellors. The Master’s thesis (Vieraile ulkoisella sivustolla. Linkki avautuu uuteen välilehteen.) was written in Finnish and accepted in June 2025 for the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki, Finland.
The young women’s descriptions of domestic violence were serious and multidimensional. Their experiences of violence, both as victims and perpetrators, were described as leading to the development or worsening of various psychological difficulties, such as fear, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.
Young women dare to talk about violence online
Domestic violence appeared in almost one-tenth of the conversations analysed. Out of a total of 700 conversations, 57 addressed issues of domestic violence. In the chat service, young people wrote honestly about their experiences both as victims and perpetrators of violence.
The results of the analysis reveal that chat services can offer an easily accessible and confidential space to share their experiences of violence without fear of judgment. Chat services can serve as safe environments where young people feel comfortable disclosing these experiences, even for the very first time.
Parents are the primary perpetrators of violence
The most common form of violence described by the young women was emotional abuse, and the perpetrators were most often their parents. The violence experienced took many forms and was sometimes very subtle, such as belittling their feelings or preventing them from seeking help.
The young women described physical violence from their parents as assault, hitting, and hair-pulling. The results raised concerns about the persistence of attitudes that continue to legitimise the physical punishment of children and young people.
In the chat conversations, the young women also described violence used by parents related to cultural norms and notions of honour. These included, for example, isolating young people from their friends, threatening abandonment, religious violence, exercising sexual control, and exerting pressure to marry. It is noteworthy that violence related to culture or honour was difficult to identify, and neither the counsellors nor the young people referred to it as violence in their discussions.
Dating violence was found to be common and serious
Violent behaviour by a partner was also a common reason for seeking support through the chat. Dating violence included psychological abuse, controlling behaviour, intense jealousy, and silent treatment. Young people reported serious sexual violence within their relationships, including being pressured into sexual activity and rape.
Recognising dating violence was challenging, because some young people were still developing the interpersonal skills needed for healthy and safe relationships. It can be difficult for young people to recognise or label their experiences as violence, and controlling behaviour may be seen as a sign of caring or love. For this reason and many others, young people need low-threshold services, such as chat services, where they can anonymously discuss their experiences with an adult. Additionally, young people need help to recognise violence and guidance to specialised services that can offer support.
It can be difficult for young people to recognise or label their experiences as violence, and controlling behaviour may be seen as a sign of caring or love. For this reason and many others, young people need low-threshold services, such as chat services, where they can anonymously discuss their experiences with an adult.
Concern about one’s own violent behaviour
Violence perpetrated by young women was less common in the data than the violence they experienced as young women. Surprisingly, the most common form of violence was physical violence against their partner, such as hitting and kicking them. However, this does not necessarily mean that physical violence is the most common form of violence used by women. Instead, it might be easier to recognise, and it may raise the need to seek help. In addition, young people described emotional and digital violence, such as name-calling, blaming, threatening, and jealousy, which manifested itself, for example, in the unauthorised checking of phones or monitoring of partners.
Further research on violence in chat-based services is needed
Chat counsellors can provide important and timely support to young people who encounter or experience domestic violence. Chat services play a crucial role in identifying violence, as young people may feel more comfortable writing about violence anonymously than talking about it in face-to-face services. However, according to my research findings, violence is often described in vague terms, and the word ”violence” is rarely used. This can make it more difficult for chat counsellors to assist young people with issues related to violence and direct them to the right services. The risk is that young people may be left out of the right services if neither they nor the professionals supporting them recognise their experiences as violence.
According to my research findings, violence is often described in vague terms, and the word ”violence” is rarely used. This can make it more difficult for chat counsellors to assist young people with issues related to violence and direct them to the right services. The risk is that young people may be left out of the right services if neither they nor the professionals supporting them recognise their experiences as violence.
Analysing chat conversations can offer a unique opportunity to gain insights into the phenomenon of domestic violence. Since young people often dare to talk about violence on anonymous chat services, more information is needed about chat-based support in these cases. Future research should explore chat counsellors’ experiences with violence-related conversations to better understand the potential and limitations of chat services. With research findings, counsellors can receive additional training, enabling young people to access help with their experiences as quickly and effectively as possible.
Writer
Sanni Heinonen worked as an intern at the Finnish Youth Research Society in the fall of 2025. She currently works as an expert in preventive violence work at Maria Akatemia (Vieraile ulkoisella sivustolla. Linkki avautuu uuteen välilehteen.) and is studying for a Master’s degree at the University of Helsinki.
Illustrative image: Unsplash.