Brandenburg fights against domestic violence: more women's shelters in sight!

Brandenburg fights against domestic violence: more women's shelters in sight!

In an urgent appeal, the Minister of Women and Equal Opportunities Britta Müller (non-party) asked for more support for women's shelters at the conference of the Equal Opportunities Minister in Essen. Brandenburg would like to receive additional investments for the construction of new women's shelters and the modernization of existing institutions from the federal government. These measures are necessary to meet the increasing demands on protection and advice centers. According to a report by maz-online.de also plants from 2032 to provide funds in the amount of 2.6 billion euros to support the implementation of the violent assistance law, which is to be implemented in the individual federal states by 2027.

There are currently 17 women's shelters with a total of 298 places in Brandenburg, as well as four protective apartments and three advice centers. Nevertheless, the reality shows that in 2022 around 112 women could not be accepted into a women's shelter, which indicates an acute lack of space. Women with pets or those affected by addiction are particularly affected. In this regard, Catrin Seeger, head of the women's shelter in Rathenow, asked for more support.

The need for intervention projects

In order to combat the acute threat to women, two pilot projects for intervention work should start. These should support women within 24 hours, even if they are not looking for a place in a women's shelter. Statistics show that domestic violence is a growing problem: In 2024, 6,790 crimes in connection with domestic violence were registered in Brandenburg, which means an increase of 465 cases compared to the previous year. For many, access to fast and effective offers of help is crucial, since more than 181,000 women in Germany were affected by domestic violence in 2023.

The help telephone “Violence against Women” can be reached around the clock at free number 116 016. On this hotline, those affected receive anonymous, confidential and barrier -free advice in 18 foreign languages. This is an indispensable offer that can help women even in stressful situations. In addition, the website Frauenhauskoordinung.de offers comprehensive information on searching for women's houses and advice centers in Germany, including their accessibility and recording capacities.

social challenges

The problem of violence against women is widespread and often remains hidden in the dark field. Studies show that many affected people do not file a complaint for fear, shame or due to social norms. The police regularly lead statistics on reported cases, but the number of unreported cases is often much higher. Statista points out that women in Germany often occur in statistics as victims of domestic violence-in 2023 about 71% of the 256,000 victims were female.

Another goal of the current campaigns by the Equal Opportunities Minister is to address men in a targeted manner and to sensitize violence against women. It is also planned to start an information campaign against misogynistic content on the Internet. These efforts are not only necessary, but also of fundamental importance in order to raise awareness of the topic in the long term and to bring about changes in society.