FHK statement on the Federal Government's sixth poverty report

In April 2021, the Federal Government adopted its sixth report on poverty and wealth. The Women's Shelter Coordination (FHK) awaited and read the report with great interest. Unfortunately, the structural link between poverty and women's exposure to violence is not mentioned at all in the report. Domestic violence is not an issue that only affects women from certain social classes, but domestic violence often drives women into poverty. At the same time, poverty or dependence on a violent partner, as well as a lack of financial prospects, are often the reason women cannot find a way out of violence.

Connection between poverty and violence

The resident statistics for 2019 published by FHK show that the majority of women seeking refuge in women's shelters already face an increased risk of poverty before moving in: only one-fifth of the residents were employed before their stay in the shelter, and of these, only one-third were employed full-time. A quarter of those who were employed were in marginal employment. Thus, the income situation of residents in women's shelters can, for the most part, be described as precarious. This situation is often further exacerbated by their stay in the shelter.^¹

The poverty report only records violence and violence against women in the context of homelessness, thereby massively reducing the connection between experiences of violence and poverty. Domestic violence, as a key factor leading to poverty or exacerbated by poverty, must be included in any analysis. Only in this way can both poverty and gender-based violence be adequately combated and prevented.

_{1 FHK, Statistics on Women's Shelters and their Residents - Resident Statistics 2019 Germany, pp. 17-18 (https://www.frauenhauskoordinierung.de/fileadmin/redakteure/Publikationen/Statistik/FHK-Bewohner_innenstatistik_2019_WEB.pdf, last accessed: 20.04.2021 April XNUMX).}