There was a serious school shooting incident in Finland on 7 November when nine people were killed; the victims included five male teenage  high school students, three female adults, including the school principal, the school nurse and an adult student, and the perpetrator himself who committed suicide after the shootings. The perpetrator had previous connections to net communities idealising violence and social Darwinism. He also published his ideals and plans, as well as a complete media package beforehand on net services, for example YouTube. Targeted towards youth and school surroundings the violent incident was exceptional and hit the Finnish society hard. The whole nation, especially the youth, was shocked and experienced deep sorrow and fear. Among adults - and the media - concerns about internet environment were raised immediately.

Save the Children Finland was able to react quickly and organised a support chat in co-operation with volunteer support personnel and internet services popular among young people (Irc-Galleria and Suomi24). The chats were organised in five evenings from the very same evening (7 November) until the 11th. The need for support was overwhelming and the number of those trying to get into the services exceeded the number that actually could be connected. Support provided in the chat services was experienced, easy to approach, and it was also provided in a way that was familiar to a large number of young people. The chats offered each participant an equal possibility to express their feelings and thoughts related to the tragic incident. For most of the participants a general discussion seemed to be sufficient, but they were also urged to discuss further with their near ones, and also to contact the helplines or professionals if they needed to.

Author: Mari Laiho
Project Manager

Save the Children Finland – Internet Safety
www.nettivihje.net