Security Spray and Pepper Spray Used on Residents at Kainuu Disability Housing Unit as Employment Terminations Continue, Criminal Suspicions Expand, LVV Issues Formal Recommendation, and Legal Framework Clarified

Healthcare staff in Kainuu have used both a security spray and pepper spray on residents with intellectual disabilities at a 24-hour housing unit, a practice experts describe as highly exceptional and potentially unlawful. The security spray, which contains menthol and causes involuntary eyelid spasms when applied to the eye area, was employed at the Rajamiehentie unit in Kajaani, operated by the Kainuu wellbeing services county. MTV Uutiset reports that pepper spray has also been used against residents at the same unit (MTV Uutiset). The Finnish Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (FAIDD) has stated that the use of pepper spray is not permitted in disability care, and its use in Kajaani has shocked experts (Yle).