Violence against women is the most common human rights violation worldwide.
And it has many faces.
A Wolfratshausen association wants to help victims.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen - Violence against women has many faces.
It can express itself in insults and humiliations, in disregard or control, in withdrawal of household benefits or imprisonment, in cyberbullying up to beatings, rape and murder.
It is the most common human rights violation in the world.
Violence against women: The number of unreported cases is high - "every fourth woman experiences this"
The association “Women help women”, based in Wolfratshausen, would like to draw attention to the problem and the work of women's shelters on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The association is responsible for the women's refuge in the district, the counseling center in Wolfratshausen, the intervention center and the emergency number.
Nicoline Pfeiffer and Nina Hickethier, responsible for public relations, invited our newspaper to Wolfratshausen for an interview.
A total of five social pedagogues, an administrator, two housekeepers and an IT manager work full-time for “Women Help Women”.
A supervisor, if necessary interpreters and some volunteers support the team.
Only women can become active members of the association.
However, the association is also happy to have sponsoring members.
Sponsoring membership is open to everyone, the association urgently needs them.
Women's refuge in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen is full - there have been even more cases since the beginning of the corona pandemic
Any woman or young person who experiences violence in one of its many forms in the domestic environment can turn to the counseling center.
"Statistically, every fourth woman experiences this once," says managing director Nicoline Pfeiffer.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, violent crime in your own four walls has increased by 36 percent, according to the police in the district, she says.
Sex crimes and child pornography have also increased.
The number of unreported cases is very high.
The association feels this in the demand for advice: In 2019, 213 people took advantage of the offer in person, by telephone or online, in 2020 there were 251 people.
In 2019 there were 52 requests for admission to the women's shelter, in 2020 there were 86.
Corona makes work in the women's refuge more difficult - nevertheless: "There are always ways out of violence"
Admission to women's shelters was often restricted during the corona pandemic. The women's refuge in the district, which is financed by the government of Upper Bavaria and the district, continued to take up as usual and carried out rapid tests on site. But the six rooms in which the women, possibly with children, can stay for a few months are not always enough, says Nina Hickethier: "We then look for free places in other women's shelters." It is difficult to accommodate asylum seekers whose asylum procedures are carried out has not yet been completed. The same applies to women from the EU who have not lived in Germany long enough. Only after five years did EU citizens gain access to social security, unless they had a job or had children of school age. But these groups can also be helped, emphasizes Hickethier.“We want to encourage everyone to call us. There are always ways out of violence. "
Victims live temporarily in the women's refuge - they should be able to lead a life without violence
The advice is open-ended, free of charge and subject to confidentiality. If women move temporarily to the women's shelter, the location of which is to remain a secret, they take care of themselves there. They and their children receive psychosocial support. They are offered existential counseling and are shown how they can defend themselves against violence. Even during their stay in the women's shelter, the association is looking for long-term future solutions for the residents as part of the “second stage” program. But the lack of housing in the district poses challenges for the helpers. Sometimes moving to a completely different city within Germany even makes sense. The association assists the victims with legal issues such as contact, custody and divorce.
Pfeiffer and Hickethier regret that the rights of fathers in Germany have generally been strengthened in the past - without distinguishing whether contact is good or dangerous for the children and mothers.
"70 percent of the women are mistreated again by their ex-partners as part of their dealings," said Pfeiffer.
The demand of women’s rights representatives for “safety first” has unfortunately not yet been implemented.
Perpetrators are only slackly pursued - domestic violence remains a perennial problem
In general, the lax criminal prosecution of the perpetrators is a problem.
At least, according to the association's spokespersons, in 2020 at the Munich District Court by civil protection orders under the Violence Protection Act 702 perpetrators because of domestic violence were expelled from the apartment and / or were banned from contact.
Unfortunately, there are no figures for the district.
If the violence has not yet become a habit and there is hope of recovery, there is still the possibility that the men will contact the perpetrator counseling center.
However, Pfeiffer says that most would find it difficult to change their behavior.
"The perpetrators promise a lot, and the women often need several attempts to part with them."
TANJA LÜHR
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