Protection from violence for women with refugee experience

Living in refugee accommodations can be extremely stressful: cramped living conditions, a lack of privacy, or the feeling of being controlled by others due to asylum regulations can encourage violence. The threat of racist attacks is also a reality that refugees face in many parts of Germany.

Women and LGBTI people are also subject to gender discrimination in refugee accommodations. Discrimination and violence. Here, they may be exposed to violence from other residents, staff, or outsiders. To counteract this, binding minimum standards for violence protection are urgently needed. These include, among others:

• lockable living and sanitary rooms
• Training on violence protection for staff, police and officials in offices
• functioning, provider-independent complaint structures

Politicians, authorities, private and public organizations, and civil society have recognized the urgent need for action to improve violence protection in refugee accommodations. They are developing concepts for violence protection and staff training, some of which are already being implemented in practice.

Measures of women's shelter coordination

Women's shelter coordination collects practical experience on the protection of refugee women from violence, identifies gaps and develops approaches to improve protection against violence for refugee women.

Women’s shelter coordination is part of the federal initiative “Protection of refugees in refugee accommodation” and was involved in the development of the “Minimum standards for the protection of refugees in refugee accommodation“ involved.

In cooperation with the Federal Association of Women's Counseling Centers and Women's Emergency Hotlines (bff), FHK offered four training courses annually for staff at women's shelters and specialized counseling centers from 2016 to 2018. The focus of the events was legal information at the interface of violence protection and asylum and residence law.

Until May 2019, women’s shelter coordination also implemented Project on violence protection and complaint management around.

Read here more about intimate partner violence against women with refugee experience.