Perekonnasisest

Perekonnasisest is an Estonian adjective meaning intrafamily or within the family. It describes phenomena, relations, or actions that occur inside a family or between family members, as opposed to those involving outsiders. The term is commonly used in legal, policy, and academic language to designate issues or dynamics that concern kin relations.

In practice, perekonnasisene vägivald is the standard term for domestic violence; perekonnasisene seksuaalne väärkohtlemine refers to intrafamilial sexual abuse; and perekonnasisene kuritegevus can denote crimes committed by family members against each other. The adjective forms to fit the case and number of the noun it modifies (for example perekonnasisene and the inflected form perekonnasisest in appropriate constructions), but the core meaning remains intrafamily.

The concept is central to discussions of the protection of children and vulnerable adults, as well as to social services and criminal justice in Estonia. It distinguishes activities that harm relatives from those occurring in public or non-family settings. Estonian laws and policy approaches to domestic violence and elder abuse frequently frame interventions and preventive measures as responses to intrafamilial harm. In scholarly literature, perekonnasisest is used to analyze power dynamics, coercion, and abuse within households, as well as to study resilience and support networks within kinship groups.

See also: domestic violence, intrafamilial abuse, Estonian law on family protection.