With a manual on complaint management, the Women's Shelter Coordination Association (FHK) aims to better protect people in refugee shelters from violence in the future. Together with residents and professionals, FHK developed a complaint procedure and tested it at four model locations across Germany. The project was supported with funding from the German Television Lottery.
For many people with refugee experience, Discrimination and violence continue even after arrival in Germany. Living conditions in collective accommodation facilities—for example, rooms and sanitary facilities that cannot be locked—in particular encourage violence against residents. However, channels for reporting violations of rights are often lacking.
This is where complaint management comes in: If rights are violated, they can be asserted through a complaints procedure, and grievances can be addressed. "We were deeply shocked when we first learned about the residents' essential restrictions through the complaints management system, for example, that women and children were afraid to use the toilets located in the hallways at night," reports a housing manager from the model project.
The practical recommendations are intended to help shelters and authorities implement low-threshold complaint management and thus protect against violence more effectively. "Only when a complaint about a broken lamp is taken seriously do residents feel comfortable raising more serious issues, such as incidents of violence. It's about conveying that we welcome complaints and take them seriously," says Gloria Goldner, head of the FHK project.
Manual and working aids are here now available free of charge.
Press release on Download.
Quality recommendations
Current women's shelter statistics
