Jussi-työ — Finland's National Peer-Support Network for Men Who Use Violence

Jussi-työ ('Jussi work') began in 1994 as a Ray-funded pilot in Helsinki, Turku, Lahti and Vantaa, offering men who had used violence, threats or controlling behaviour toward a partner or child a low-threshold route into peer-supported counselling — individual sessions followed by group work, with later meetings sometimes including the partner or family. It is coordinated nationally by Ensi- ja turvakotien liitto (the Federation of Mother and Child Homes and Shelters), which now runs the model through member shelters in roughly ten Finnish cities.
An external interview-based evaluation of 131 participants found that about one-third reported their violent behaviour had decreased significantly or stopped entirely, alongside improved self-control and calmer family situations. Around 600 men a year now pass through the programme nationally. The evidence is observational and self-reported rather than from a controlled trial, and the coordinating body was involved in some of the reporting, so the effect sizes should be read as indicative rather than definitive.
In 2013 the Finnish National Council for Crime Prevention selected Jussi-työ as the winner of the country's first national crime-prevention competition and as its nominee for the European Crime Prevention Award, citing its clear operating model and replicability across cities. Three decades of continuous operation and expansion from four to about ten cities point to durable, transferable design, even though rigorous outcome evaluation remains limited.

Read the full analysis: https://rikoksentorjunta.fi/-/jussi-tyo-voitti-kansallisen-rikoksentorjuntakilpailun-2013