Guidelines for interpreting in women's shelters and specialist counseling centers

Domestic violence knows no language barriers – but counseling for affected women and their children does. Clients of women's shelters and specialized counseling centers speak a variety of languages, and the need for professional, culturally and trauma-sensitive interpreting is great.

In order to improve cooperation with interpreters in this context, the Women's Shelter Coordination Office, together with the Berlin Initiative for Good Interpreting, has developed guidelines for interpreting in women's shelters and specialist counseling centers.

Three target groups – three guidelines

Thanks to a generous donation from The Body Shop, three clear and practical handouts were created to support collaboration with both professional and lay interpreters, while involving all parties involved:

• Guideline 1 is aimed at employees in women’s shelters and specialist advice centres,
• Guide 2 is intended to support interpreters in their work in this context and
• Guide 3 includes brief, multilingual information for clients.

FHK hopes to make consultations and dealings with authorities easier for both professionals and those affected, and to further promote good cooperation between all parties involved.

All institutions organized in FHK member associations, as well as individual members, have already received an exclusive mailing containing the printed version of the guidelines. The digital version is now available for download here.