Implementation of the Istanbul Convention - Protection from Violence for Women in emergency housing - BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe

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WOM E N

Implementation of the Istanbul Convention
– Protection from Violence for Women in
emergency housing
Recommendation of the BAG Homeless Aid

Support, protection and counselling given in facili-           • enabling access to legal advice and advocacy (triple
ties for the homeless for women suffering violence                mandate) for homeless women who are victims of
                                                                 violence,
The BAG (Federal Working Group) Homeless Aid con-              • ensuring adequate funding for effective, compre-
demns any form of violence against women and chil-               hensive protection measures in homeless shelters
dren and welcomes the Federal Republic of Germany’s              (e.g. building modifications, deployment of staff etc.).
ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on pre-
venting and combating violence against women and               BAG Homeless Aid demands the following at local gov-
domestic violence. Women and children who are im-              ernment level
pacted by violence, housing emergency and homeless-            • preventive nationwide provision of low-threshold
ness need comprehensive protection. We urge lawmak-               services for homeless women (e.g. women’s day cen-
ers, civil servants, NGOs as well as individual institutions      tres),
and service providers to coordinate their responses to         • more safe spaces and facilities 24/7 for women and
this challenge.                                                   children who have been made homeless,
                                                               • funding and infrastructure for a regional coordination
The Federal Working Group’s demands:                              network of support systems and service providers,
The BAG Homeless Aid is committed to achieving the             • accommodation quotas at local level that bypass
following at federal, state and local level                       standard housing provision to offer urgent accom-
• addressing the situation of homeless women im-                  modation for women, women with children and
    pacted by violence within a comprehensive political           families in a housing emergency.
    strategy to combat gender-based violence,
• extending the definition of violence to include more          BAG Homeless Aid recommends that institutions and
    forms of structural gender-based violence, so as to        service providers
    do justice to the specific situation of homeless wom-       • develop violence prevention concepts for in- and
    en and their children,                                        outpatient hospital services,
• addressing the needs of homeless women affected               • set up programmes with clear guidelines for emer-
    by violence in the Round Table “Together against              gency response to incidents of violence,
    violence against women” at federal, state and local        • offer preventive support for staff in the form of train-
    level,                                                        ing, consciousness raising and information on cycles
• integrating the key agencies who support homeless               of violence and gender stereotypes (“doing gen-
    women into network structures (e.g. the Federal-              der”),
    State Working Group on Domestic Violence, round            • employ suitably qualified female staff as contact per-
    tables against violence against women),                       sons, with experience in women-specific issues and
• ensuring that these coordination networks have ap-              work approaches,
    propriate funding,                                         • cooperate closely with other women’s counselling
• further expanding support systems, closing gaps in              services, women’s refuges and local equal opportu-
    protection and addressing structural inequality,              nities officers,
2          BAG W recommendation: protection against violence for women in emergency housing

• offer homeless women training and coaching pro-              quired to support specialist services and participation
    grammes to enable development of resources, self-         in networks dedicated to implementing the Istanbul
    determination, participation and empowerment.             Convention.
Violence against women is a manifestation of gender           These recommendations aim: to raise awareness of
inequality and a serious violation of human rights. One       protection against violence for women in the homeless
in three women in Germany has been the victim at least        sector, to propose guidelines for action by institutions
once in her life of physical and/or sexual violence. Ap-      and service providers, and introduce those guidelines
proximately one in four is the victim at least once of        into public discourse in the context of implementing
physical, psychological or sexual violence by their cur-      the Istanbul Convention.
rent or ex-partner.1 A 2020 survey by BAG Homeless Aid
of women in institutions and facilities for the homeless      The Istanbul Convention and its significance for the
revealed that between 70 and 80% of them had been             homeless sector
the victims of violence.2 Family-of-origin violence, sex-     The Istanbul Convention is the most comprehensive
ual violence and, most of all, domestic violence shapes       international human rights treaty to date that aims to
the lives of many of these women, with multiple, poten-       combat gender-based violence.
tially severe consequences.                                   The Convention’s focus is on the areas of prevention
In ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on pre-         of violence, protection and support, structural devel-
venting and combating violence against women and              opment, procedural law and protective interventions.
domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) in 2018, Ger-         Furthermore, it calls on each individual citizen to chal-
many committed to an effective contribution to pre-            lenge and reappraise his or her own attitude to violence
venting and combating violence against women and to           against women and domestic violence. In doing so, it
supporting those women impacted by it. The Conven-            seeks a change of consciousness in society, particularly
tion defines as violence any act of gender-based vio-          amongst men and boys with violent tendencies towards
lence which results in, or is likely to result in physical,   girls and women. In short: the Convention tasks legisla-
sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering to         tors with ensuring equality between men and women,
women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbi-      on the grounds that violence against women is rooted
trary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public     in inequality between the sexes and that a culture of
or private life.3                                             relativism prolongs a tendency to ‘look the other way’. It
Federal and state governments are urged to establish          is time politicians introduced suitable measures to pro-
corresponding structures and frameworks to ensure             tect girls and women and the children and educate so-
implementation of the Istanbul Convention. Responsi-          ciety to the point where such gender-based misogyny
bility for monitoring and reporting on implementation         is ostracised.
lies with the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior      The Convention recognises violence against women
Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). Its 2020 periodic         for what it is: a form of human rights violation and dis-
report, compiled in conjunction with a number of fed-         crimination. The Convention calls for countries who do
eral and state ministries, details legislation and meas-      not adequately address such violence to be held to ac-
ures at federal and state level for protection of women       count. It is the first international treaty that includes a
against violence. Though working groups and round             definition of “gender” as a structural category of social
tables have been set up at various levels, the themes of      inequality. Gender is recognised as a social construct.
prevention of and protection against violence and pro-        This means that, in line with dominant social concepts
vision of support services for women in the homeless          and practice of femininity and masculinity, women and
sector have barely featured in the discussions to date.       men are ascribed certain roles and behaviours within
Domestic violence as the trigger for homelessness, the        the heterosexual norm. Investigations have shown that
vulnerability of women living on the street, the need         gender binary roles and behaviours promote the ac-
for protection in homeless hostels that are frequently        ceptance of violence against women.
male-dominated, violence in the context of hidden             Effective implementation of the Istanbul Convention re-
homelessness – these are all aspects that, in the context     quires the involvement of governments and all relevant
of implementation, must be addressed by the homeless          public authorities at federal, state and local level, and
sector, and action taken by politicians and civil society.    of civil society. There is an urgent need for a compre-
Professional expertise and existing support provision in      hensive strategy that uses the Istanbul Convention as a
the homeless sector for women impacted by violence            starting point to promote and develop a plan of action.
must be augmented by violence protection concepts,            To date, the federal framework has produced inconsist-
both general and specific to each institution, that com-       ent implementation in the various states, resulting in
bine preventive measures with supportive interven-            unequal treatment at odds with the constitution (Prin-
tions. Increased staff and financial resources will be re-      ciple of Equality Art. 1 and Art. 3 Basic Law).
BAG W recommendation: protection against violence for women in emergency housing                            3

For the homeless sector this means engaging at every        Structural violence – a symptom of unequal power
level in the process to demand measures specifically tai-    relations and marginalisation
lored to the needs of women, with or without children,      The Istanbul Convention is based on a comprehensive
who have been victims of violence, and fostering a rec-     understanding of violence which commits states to ex-
ognition that homelessness itself is a form of structural   tend its application to cover structural gender-related
violence that dominates the multifactorial situation of     power differences.8
women and their children who are affected by it.             The vulnerability of homeless women to structural vio-
                                                            lence and multiple discrimination can have a significant
Multifactorial problems for women in housing                negative impact on their life opportunities, particularly
emergencies                                                 when it comes to professional integration, unequal pay,
Social and personal problems reinforce each other.          economic dependence or parenting and children’s edu-
Homeless women are exposed by their gender and so-          cation. Adverse circumstances may render it impossible
cial situation to the risk of multiple kinds of violence.   for women to make individual choices in overcoming
If basic needs for housing, privacy and protection for      homelessness and unemployment, or even illness.
life and limb are not fulfilled, human dignity can suffer     Despite this, homeless women’s everyday experiences
long-term damage. The threat of exposure to assault in      of violence are not seen primarily as structural violence,
public places or in precarious domestic situations be-      but are stigmatised as individual and self-inflicted or
comes an everyday burden under the category of latent       milieu-specific. Feelings of guilt and shame are then
violence. Increasing vulnerability heightens the risk of    internalised by the affected women, resulting in low
being victimised. Research has shown that a chronic         self-esteem and the psychological burden of feeling
sense of defencelessness seriously weakens resilience.      trapped in a cycle of violence.
The impact can be traumatic, with serious consequen-        Recurrent experiences of structural violence have a
ces for physical and psychological wellbeing.               negative impact on quality of life and self-respect, and
The reality of life for homeless women is determined        may result in increasing hypersensitivity, psychosomat-
by numerous structural categories of social inequality,     ic disorders and depression.9
which underpin and reinforce each other. A homeless
woman can suffer sexual discrimination or classist dis-      Protection from violence for women in housing
crimination4 as “socially weak”5, or both at the same       emergency facilities
time; as poor and as a woman who deviates from a so-        The Convention obliges states to establish and develop
cially defined norm. To this multiple discrimination can     systems that protect and support all those impacted by
be added further, individually applicable categories of     gender-based violence. This ranges from general sup-
inequality. If she has dark skin, she might endure ad-      port like health and social services to specialised sup-
ditional racial discrimination as a Romani or, if she has   port facilities for target groups (e.g. women’s refuges
a disability or handicap, ableist discrimination6. If she   and sheltered apartments), to specialist counselling for
has a religious affiliation, she may also be subject to re-   victims of sexual violence, through to medical and fo-
ligious, e.g. antisemitic or anti-Muslim discrimination.    rensic-medical examinations, and tailored services for
Depending on whether the interaction is with members        children who have suffered violence and/or witnessed
of a different social group or gender, the impact can be     violence between their parents.
more or less intense and long-lasting.                      However, the existing protection and support system
Class, sexual and racial discrimination all emanate from    does not offer all women who are or have been victims
“power relations … that interact, reinforce each other,     of violence the same access to help. Records show that
resemble each other, but never quite merge into one”7.      in Germany there is a shortage of hundreds of places in
These findings indicate that homeless women are not          women’s shelters. It is very difficult to gain admission
only discriminated against on the basis of gender. Al-      into women’s refuges for female EU citizens or psycho-
though it is common knowledge that domestic violence        logically disturbed and/or addicted homeless women
can occur in every social group, class discrimination       who have suffered violence. As a result, many affected
against women in these situations is intertwined with       women – not just victims of domestic violence – seek
sexual discrimination against the female gender. These      help in the emergency housing sector.
two forms of discrimination interact and reinforce each     How then can homeless women find the protection and
other, significantly impacting society’s awareness – or      support they need as envisaged by the Istanbul Con-
lack of awareness – of homeless women’s experience of       vention? It is up to each individual country to decide
violence, with negative consequences for funding and        how to establish a system that implements the require-
provision of protection from violence services and ac-      ments of articles 20-26. It is only the goal that is legally
cess to trauma counselling.                                 binding. Implementation can be achieved by housing,
                                                            supporting and counselling homeless women within
4          BAG W recommendation: protection against violence for women in emergency housing

the framework of aid for the homeless (social housing          • additional staff to meet a greater need for supervi-
and support in line with §§ 67 ff SGB XII etc.), or through       sion,
anti-violence provision (counselling centres, women’s          • late shifts and night shifts providing security outside
refuges, sheltered apartments), or a combination of              of educational supervision times,
both.10                                                        • additional emergency rooms for temporary separa-
As for professional support of children in the homeless          tion of family members in escalating situations,
sector, neither the funding nor the staff resources are         • securing of the external area to provide protection
adequate to the challenge.                                       from intruders and undesirable persons,
Current standards indicate the need for a multidimen-          • adequate lighting of the premises and easily obser-
sional approach that aspires to a comprehensive sys-             vable play spaces for children,
tem of protection.                                             • a regulated emergency information system enabling
                                                                 rapid responses to critical events,
1. Protection and support                                      • a violence protection strategy tailored to each insti-
Such an approach entails expanding the supply of emer-           tution,
gency women’s accommodation that offers specialist              • information notice boards (e.g. for women’s repre-
counselling, as well as separate, secure access for wom-         sentatives, child protection representatives, drug
en to social housing that matches appropriate stan-              specialists, crisis phone line, victim counselling),
dards11. In mixed gender accommodation, protection             • house rules containing clear commitments to the
should be guaranteed by a violence protection concept            prevention of violence, specifying sanctions for non-
and appropriate modifications to the building.12 As re-           compliance,
quired by the Convention, such arrangements should             • regulated contact with local police in dangerous si-
include from the outset separate provision for the child-        tuations.
ren of abused mothers. In the context of low threshold
services for homeless women, psychological and social          b.) Counselling and support services:
counselling and support are vital for traumatised wom-         Professional counselling centres for homeless people
en who have been victims of violence.                          require sufficient time and staff resources to enable
So there is a need for an adequate number of safe              abused women to raise issues of violence. Even when
spaces, accessible 24/7, which offer the necessary help         counsellors sense that a woman seeking help is a victim
and respect women’s rights. The stock of temporary             of violence, the setting often inhibits such conversa-
housing or general refuges such as homeless shelters           tions.
frequently does not meet those standards. When that            In all such settings combining counselling and housing,
is the case, alternative accommodation like hotels must        women’s access to female staff members must be guar-
be made available.                                             anteed.
The following specific measures may serve as examp-             Low threshold service provision offering medical and
les:                                                           psychological help and legal advice must be available
                                                               for women and children who are the victims of home-
a.) Building modifications and safeguards: in commu-            lessness and violence. The type of provision currently
nal emergency housing and mixed gender shelters for            available is frequently too high threshold for the wom-
the homeless of the housing emergency aid, it is vital         en concerned.
that women have safe spaces for themselves and their           Particularly in the case of homeless women, police and
children to retreat. Where necessary, building modifica-        law enforcement authorities should be instructed to re-
tions should ensure separate accommodation units are           spond immediately to calls for help and to deal proper-
available, to prevent possible assault and re-traumati-        ly with hazardous situations. The rights of victims need
zation.                                                        strengthening. What is required is a support system for
Such safeguards should include13:                              exercising those rights and initiating legal steps. Ge-
• self-contained (lockable) accommodation units with           nerally, there are inadequate resources for supporting
    separate sanitary facilities for every family, guaran-     victims during prolonged coping processes and for
    teeing the right to privacy, with suitable furniture for   helping women with complex traumas. The under-re-
    children,                                                  sourcing of counselling centres significantly reduces
• additional spaces/rooms, ideally with educational            accessibility to their services. In the exercise of justice,
    childcare facilities, providing a safe framework and       the needs of women who have been victims of violence
    carefree environment for children to pursue their          must be properly served. This requires enhanced awa-
    own interests, outside the family unit and, where ap-      reness of all forms of violence in the context of home-
    propriate, with children of their own age, thus allevi-    lessness. Where families are concerned, it is important
    ating what might be a cramped domestic situation,          to examine to what extent in practice family courts re-
BAG W recommendation: protection against violence for women in emergency housing                            5

gularly take domestic violence into account in decisions      tensive relationship building required to overcome the
about custody and access.                                     fears and inhibitions of those needing help from the
                                                              Youth Welfare Office, it seems more promising to offer
2. Specialised services for women with children               these services through the integration of qualified staff
The Istanbul Convention demands separate specialist           in the team and in the daily supervision/support pro-
support services for children who have suffered or wit-        cess.
nessed violence.                                              Possible service provision depending on the type of in-
Children represent the most vulnerable of all groups          stitution could include:
requiring protection from violence. Being at a stage of       • social group work projects for children and young
development where they are reliant on adults for pro-             people (services as per § 29 SGB VIII),
tection and feelings of security, children and young          • preventive educational support (family support/
people experience violence as especially threatening              educational advice/individual support) services as
and existential. The consequences are even more se-               per § 27 SGB VIII,
vere when the violence is committed by those close to         • domestic help (in line with the legal and substantive
them. Any experience of violence can result in severe             basis of youth welfare as per §§ 20,27,31 SGB VIII in
psychological damage and pathologies.14 It is the task            conjunction with § 70 SGB XII).
of all staff in facilities for the homeless to work together   What is needed is a cooperation agreement between
to ensure the well-being of children at all times and to      the respective departments, housing and youth wel-
a high degree.                                                fare, for financing the integration of Youth Welfare Of-
In institutions for the homeless, women with children         fice staff. Such an arrangement would not, however,
who have suffered violence need additional safe spaces         absolve staff in homeless shelters who detect an acute
and opportunities to share their experiences. There are       danger to a child’s welfare from reporting it via the es-
various forms of service provision for women that en-         tablished channels as a matter of urgency.
able them to recognise and talk about their own spe-
cific problems. Group activities for mothers and their         3. Training, cooperation and integration
children promote feelings of solidarity and encourage         Violence is often a taboo subject, particularly in mixed
an interest in the inner lives of children. A number of       gender homeless shelters and communal housing, and
factors can make women more resilient and strengthen          is seldom brought to light either by the women and
the bond between mother and child: clear communi-             children affected, or by the staff.
cations on sanctions for violent behaviour, concrete in-      This is where empathy and gender-sensitivity is re-
structions for action e.g. via in-house flyers on preven-      quired. For staff who work with women, violence has to
ting violence, discussion groups and training sessions        be a subject that can be addressed and dealt with.
on methods of dealing with violence, and the experi-          As a first step, staff in the homeless sector need man-
ence of community and solidarity in a group.                  datory targeted training in understanding the concept
Where necessary, parents or single parents should re-         of “violence” in its full range and extent, to be able to
ceive preventive support to counter any developments          respond in a professional manner.
within the family which threaten the welfare of a child.      As a second step, it is essential to network and regularly
It is also essential to establish standardised processes      communicate with the experts on the ground, meaning
for detecting and reporting acute threats to child wel-       the female staff of the women’s shelters and service
fare.15                                                       providers. In some German cities (e.g. Munich), Round
Protective measures for children and young people are         Tables were set up even before the Istanbul Conventi-
covered by the Child and Youth Services Act (SGB VIII),       on was ratified, and their members address questions
so it is advisable for the homeless sector to work togeth-    of violence against women, children, and non-binary
er with the competent youth welfare offices.                    individuals. Professionals provide information on cur-
This cooperation can be practised in a variety of ways.       rent themes, and there is a natural and regular collegial
From experience, a generalised presence in homeless           exchange with the homeless sector.16
shelters of Youth Welfare Offices offering various forms         These round tables must be established in towns and
of service provision is not particularly expedient. But       cities nationwide. Not only because they are a manda-
preventive interventions in individual cases can and          tory component of the Istanbul Convention, but also
should be sought at any time from a Youth Welfare Of-         because they are the only way to guarantee that pro-
fice. Assistance by social workers in the homeless sector      fessionals in the homeless sector regularly engage with
to families seeking help with applications can be a great     this disturbing, frightening subject, become sensitive to
support and relief.                                           the experiences of violence of their female clients and
Because of the low threshold work approaches in the           their children, and are able to respond appropriately.
homeless sector, the strong presence of staff and the in-
6             BAG W recommendation: protection against violence for women in emergency housing

Above all, the Coordination Centre envisaged in the                             bka.de/DE/AktuelleInformationen/StatistikenLagebilder/Lagebilder/
                                                                                Partnerschaftsgewalt/partnerschaftsgewalt_node. html (requested on
Istanbul Convention must be established at federal le-                          20.01.2021)
vel.                                                                       2
                                                                                Bösing, Sabine; Lotties, Sarah (2021): Die Istanbul-Konvention und ihre
                                                                                Auswirkungen auf den Gewaltschutz für Frauen in den Einrichtungen
The centre must ensure                                                          der Wohnungsnotfallhilfe – Eine Bestandsaufnahme, in wohnungslos:
• continuous data collection on violence against wo-                            Aktuelles aus Theorie und Praxis zur Armut und Wohnungslosigkeit,
    men and the creation of data banks for research pur-                        Vol. 67, No. 1/2021, pp 25-29
                                                                           3
                                                                                Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating vio-
    poses,                                                                      lence against women and domestic violence: https://rm.coe. int/Co-
• raised public awareness of all forms of violence and                          ERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?d                  ocu-
                                                                                mentId=0900001680462535 (requested on 07.04.2021)
    their impact,                                                          4
                                                                                Social inequality research describes discrimination against members of
• continuous availability and evaluation of training                            a “lower” social class as classism.
    programmes for professionals in the sector,
                                                                           5
                                                                                This term, common in social and scientific discourse, has a sociological
                                                                                and normative ambiguity which suggests linguistic discrimination.
• the setting up of round tables as regular exchange                       6
                                                                                Ableism” – discrimination against the disabled.
    forums,                                                                7
                                                                                Roß, Bettina (Hg.) (2004): Migration, Geschlecht und Staatsbürger-
                                                                                schaft, Weiterdenken für antirassistische, feministische Politik und Po-
• the monitoring, evaluation and optimisation of the                            litikwissenschaft. Verlag für Sozialwissenschaft, Wiesbaden, p 18
    effectiveness of interventions.                                         8
                                                                                Rabe, Heike; Leisering, Britta (2018): Die Istanbul-Konvention. Neue
                                                                                Impulse für die Bekämpfung von geschlechtsspezifischer Gewalt.
                                                                                Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte, Berlin
Violence protection concepts in the homeless                               9
                                                                                See Köppen, Britta; Krägeloh, Martina; Heise, Eva-Maria (2012): Empi-
sector                                                                          rische Effektstudie. FrauenbeWegt und FrauenbeDacht. Zur Untersu-
                                                                                chung der Effektivität Sozialpädagogischer Beratung (FrauenbeWegt)
The development and implementation of violence                                  und Psychologischer Beratung (FrauenbeDacht) in der Versorgung
protection concepts is not an explicit obligation ari-                          wohnungsloser, psychisch erkrankter Frauen der Stadt Berlin: GE-
                                                                                BEWO- Soziale Dienste_gGmbH: http://www.berlin-stadtderfrauen.
sing from the Convention. But they are needed wher-                             de/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Effektstudie_GEBEWO_2012pdf.pdf
ever people are housed together, to ensure effective                             (requested on 05.03.2021)
protection against violence.                                               10
                                                                                See Engelmann, Claudia; Rabe, Heike (2019): Umsetzung der Istan-
                                                                                bul-Konvention – Gewaltschutz in der Wohnungslosenhilfe, in: woh-
Violence protection concepts are now being develo-                              nungslos. Aktuelles aus Theorie und Praxis zur Armut und Wohnungs-
ped in the homeless sector in some parts of Germa-                              losigkeit, Vol. 61, No. 3, pp 94–98
                                                                           11
                                                                                BAG Homeless Aid (2013): Integriertes Notversorgungskonzept: Ord-
ny, partly in conjunction with refugee shelters17. The                          nungsrechtliche Unterbringung und Notversorgung – Definitionen und
aim is to avoid all forms of violence in those facilities                       Mindeststandards. A recommendation by BAG Homeless Aid.
– irrespective of who is committing violence against                       12
                                                                                BAG Homeless Aid (2019): Sicherstellung bedarfsgerechter Hilfen
                                                                                für Frauen in einer Wohnungsnotfallsituation, position paper of BAG
whom - and there are clear standards to which every                             Homeless Aid, Berlin
institution should aspire. At the same time, each insti-                   13
                                                                                Bösing, Sabine; Lotties, Sarah (2021): Die Istanbul-Konvention und ihre
                                                                                Auswirkungen auf den Gewaltschutz für Frauen in den Einrichtungen
tution needs its own individual protection concept.                             der Wohnungsnotfallhilfe – Eine Bestandsaufnahme, in wohnungslos:
This entails attaining the highest possible general                             Aktuelles aus Theorie und Praxis zur Armut und Wohnungslosigkeit,
standard while at the same time taking into account                             Vol. 67, No. 1/2021, pp 25-29
                                                                           14
                                                                                Hughes, Karen et al., (2017): The effect of multiple adverse child-
the special features of the institution and allocating                          hood experiences on health: a systematic review and meta-analysis,
organisational responsibilities. The first step is to im-                        in: Lancet Public Health, S. e356-366, https://www.thelancet.com/
                                                                                action/showPdf?pii=S2468-2667%2817%2930118-4 (requested on
plement standardised prevention measures applica-                               08.03.2021) This meta study commissioned by the WHO substantia-
ble to all types of accommodation, while the second                             tes the harmful effects that adverse childhood experiences (ACE) like
step requires ongoing development and differentia-                               child abuse or domestic violence have upon lifetime health outcomes.
                                                                                The meta study combines analysis of 37 studies with risk estimates for
tion, tailored not just to the victims but to the self-                         23 outcomes with a total of 253,719 participants. In comparison with
protection of staff.                                                             people without ACEs, the risk of harmful outcomes for those with ACEs
                                                                                was three to six times greater for sexual risk tolerance, psychological
These concepts embody practical preventive meas-                                disorders and alcohol problems, and around seven times greater for
ures such as team training, transparent rules, and                              drug problems and interpersonal and self-inflicted violence.
adequate lighting of corridors and hallways. But they
                                                                           15
                                                                                BAG Homeless Aid (2020): Familienunterstützende Hilfe zur Überwin-
                                                                                dung sozialer Schwierigkeiten nach §§ 67 ff. SGB XII in Wohnungsnot-
also provide guidelines for dealing with violent and                            fällen. A recommendation by BAG Homeless Aid.
risk situations and specify possible interventions like                    16
                                                                                See Rosenke, Werena (2017): Frauen. In: Specht, Thomas et al.:
                                                                                Handbuch der Hilfen in Wohnungsnotfällen. Entwicklung lokaler Hilfe-
sanctions, complaints management, cooperation                                   systeme und lebenslagenbezogener Hilfeansätze. Commissioned by
with external violence counselling centres, and ways                            the Ministry for Work, Health and Social Affairs of the State of North
of overcoming the experience of violence.                                       Rhine-Westphalia. Berlin / Düsseldorf 2017, pp 306 - 309
                                                                           17
                                                                                Beispiel eines Gewaltschutzkonzepts: Zentrale Beratungsstelle Nieder-
Compiled by the Women’s Coordination Technical                                  sachsen (2020): Rahmenkonzeptgewaltschutz – Gewaltschutzkonzept
Committee of the BAG Homeless Aid and adopted                                   für die Einrichtungen der Hilfen in line with §§ 67 ff. SGB XII in ZBS
                                                                                Lower Saxony, Regional Office Osnabrück https://www.zbs-nieders-
by the BAG Management Board on 17.03.2021                                       achsen.de/umgang-mit-konfliktsituationen/ (requested on 12.04.2021)
1
    BMFSFJ Background information: Domestic Violence (2020): https://
    www.bmfsfj.de/bmfsfj/themen/gleichstellung/frauen-vor-gewalt-schuet-   Impressum:
    zen/haeusliche-gewalt/haeusliche-gewalt-80642?bezuggrd=CHP             Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V.,
    (requested on 07.03.2021); Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), In-    Waidmannsluster Damm 37, 13509 Berlin, Tel (+49) 30-2 84 45 37-0,
    timate Partner Violence Crime Statistics Analysis-2019 https://www.    Fax (+49) 30-2 84 45 37-19, www.bagw.de, info@bagw.de, März 2021.
BAG W recommendation: protection against violence for women in emergency housing                                                7

Programmes, information, recommendations,                                Administrative law
                                                                         Integriertes Notversorgungskonzept: Ordnungsrechtliche Unterbrin-
positions of the BAG Homeless Aid as a registe-                          gung und Notversorgung – Definitionen und Mindeststandards,
red association                                                          Empfehlung, 2013
                                                                         Den Kältetod von Wohnungslosen verhindern! Handreichung, 2011
Basic programme and national strategy
Aufruf zu einer Nationalen Strategie zur Überwindung von Wohnungs-       Participation
not und Armut in Deutschland, 2013                                       Mehr Partizipation wagen, Empfehlung der BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe
                                                                         e. V. zur Förderung und Unterstützung von Partizipation in der
BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe e. V. (Hg): Für eine bürger- und gemeinde-
                                                                         Wohnungslosigkeit, 2015
nahe Wohnungslosenhilfe, Grundsatzprogramm, beschlossen von der
Mitgliederversammlung am 20.06.2001 in Köln                              Personal help, social services, orientation to social spaces
                                                                         Verbesserung der sozialen Integration wohnungsloser Menschen.
Task and qualifying                                                      Eckpunkte für eine bürger- und gemeindenahe Wohnungsnotfallhilfe-
Angebote zur Tagesstrukturierung für wohnungslose und von Woh-
                                                                         planung, Positionspapier, 2011
nungslosigkeit bedrohte Menschen. Hilfen zur Alltagsbewältigung im
Rahmen der Hilfe zur Überwindung besonderer sozialer Schwierigkeiten     Zugangssteuerung im Spannungsfeld von Leistungserbringern,
nach §§ 67 ff. SGB XII und § 16 d SGB II, Positionspapier, 2017           Leistungsträgern und Leistungsberechtigten. Empfehlung, 2020
Sozialer Arbeitsmarkt und Sozialunternehmen: Voraussetzungen und         Social law
Anforderungen eines innovativen Förderinstruments für die vom            Familienunterstützende Hilfe zur Überwindung sozialer Schwierigkeiten
Arbeitsmarkt ausgegrenzten Personen, Positionspapier, 2013               nach §§ 67 ff. SGB XII in Wohnungsnotfällen, Empfehlungen der BAG
Bericht zur Erhebung der „Hilfen zur Qualifikation und Wiedereinglie-     Wohnungslosenhilfe, 2020
derung ins Arbeitsleben“ für Menschen in Wohnungsnot(Wohnungsnot-        Sozialrechtliche Grundlagen der Erschließung von gesundheitlichen
fälle) und in sozialen Schwierigkeiten in Deutschland, 2011              Hilfen nach § 6 DVO zu § 69 SGB XII, Eine Handreichung, 2018
Spezifische Handlungsansätze im Bereich Arbeiten und Qualifizieren         Rechtsverwirklichung der Hilfen nach §§ 67-69 SGB XII, Grundsatz-
für wohnungslose Frauen, Positionspapier, 2011                           positionen, 2017
Beteiligung von Menschen in Wohnungsnot und in besonderen so-            Rechtsansprüche junger Erwachsener in Wohnungsnot und sozialen
zialen Schwierigkeiten am Arbeitsleben, Arbeitsmarktpolitisches          Schwierigkeiten verwirklichen und fortentwickeln! Positionspapier,
Programm, 2009                                                           2013
Record keeping and statistics                                            Handreichung zu Ansprüchen auf Hilfe zur Überwindung besonderer
Standards einer integrierten Wohnungsnotfallstatistik auf Bundesebene,   sozialer Schwierigkeiten nach §§ 67 ff. SGB XII von Personen ohne deut-
Empfehlung, 2018                                                         sche Staatsangehörigkeit, 2012
Women                                                                    Empfehlung der BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V. zur rechtlichen
Empfehlung der BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V. zur Sicherstellung be-        Gestaltung der Beteiligung frei-gemeinnütziger Träger bei der
darfsgerechter Hilfen für Frauen in einer Wohnungsnotfallsituation,      Prävention von Wohnungsverlusten, 2011
2019                                                                     Abweichende Festsetzung der Regelleistungen zur Sicherung
Spezifische Handlungsansätze im Bereich Arbeiten und Qualifizieren         des Lebensunterhaltes für Leistungsberechtigte nach dem SGB II,
für wohnungslose Frauen, Positionspapier, 2011                           Handreichung, 2010
Frauen in Wohnungslosigkeit und Wohnungsnot, Darstellung der             Empfehlung der BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V. zu Änderungsbedarfen
Lebenslagen und der Anforderungen an eine bedarfsgerechte Hilfe,         und Auslegungsproblemen im SGB II und SGB XII in der Hilfe für woh-
Positionspapier, 2003, aktualisiert 2012                                 nungslose und von Wohnungslosigkeit bedrohte Menschen, 2009
Empfehlung der BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V. zur Organisation einer        Empfehlung der BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe zur rechtskreisübergrei-
Beratungsstelle für Frauen in besonderen sozialen Schwierigkeiten,       fenden Organisation der Hilfen für Menschen in Wohnungsnot nach
1998, aktualisiert 2012                                                  SGB II/ XII, 2009
Empfehlung der BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V. zu den Mindestanfor-          Homeless aid in facilities of inpatient care
derungen an stationäre Einrichtungen für Männer und Frauen (hetero-      Grundsätzliche Positionsbestimmung         stationärer    Hilfen   im
gene Einrichtungen), 1997, aktualisiert 2012                             Wohnungsnotfall, Empfehlung, 2018
Health                                                                   Housing - housing emergency
Gesundheit ist ein Menschenrecht. Empfehlung der BAG Wohnungs-           Wohnungspolitisches Programm der BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V
losenhilfe zur Sicherstellung der medizinischen Versorgung von           Wohnungspolitik gegen Wohnungslosigkeit und soziale Ausgrenzung
Menschen in einer Wohnungsnotfallsituation, 2018                         am Wohnungsmarkt, 2006
Prinzipien einer normalitätsorientierten gemeindenahen Versorgung        Bezahlbaren Wohnraum schaffen, Wohnraum für wohnungslose
älterer und / oder pflegebedürftiger wohnungsloser Männer und             Menschen akquirieren, Empfehlung, 2017
Frauen, Empfehlung, 2013                                                 Integriertes Notversorgungskonzept: Ordnungsrechtliche Unterbrin-
Auswirkungen zunehmender Kostenbeteiligung und Eigenverant-              gung und Notversorgung – Definitionen und Mindeststandards,
wortung auf die Gesundheitsversorgung wohnungsloser und armer            Empfehlung, 2013
Patienten, Positionspapier, 2010                                         Empfehlung der BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V. zur rechtlichen
Handreichung der BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V. zu Fragen aus dem           Gestaltung der Beteiligung frei-gemeinnütziger Träger bei der
Gebiet der Krankenversicherung, 2010                                     Prävention von Wohnungsverlusten, 2011
Psychische Erkrankungen bei wohnungslosen Frauen und Männern,            Wohnungsnotfalldefinition der BAG Wohnungslosenhilfe e.V., 2010
Darstellung der Problemlagen und Handlungsbedarfe, Positionspapier,      Kooperation und Arbeitsteilung zwischen freiverbandlicher Woh-
2006, Neuauflage 2017                                                     nungslosenhilfe und kommunaler Obdachlosenhilfe bei den Hilfen in
Sicherstellung der medizinischen Versorgung wohnungsloser Männer         Wohnungsnotfällen, Positionspapier, 2010
und Frauen, Positionspapier, 2003                                        SGB II und SGB XII und die Folgen für die Hilfen in Wohnungsnotfällen,
Migration                                                                Positionspapier 2008
Hilfen für BürgerInnen aus anderen EU-Mitgliedsstaaten in Wohnungs-
not und sozialen Schwierigkeiten, Positionspapier, 2019
                                                                         These brochures/leaflets may be ordered at info@bagw.de. Members of
Hilfen für Migrantinnen und Migranten in Wohnungsnot und sozialen        BAG Homeless Aid can receive these brochures/leaflets free of charge
Schwierigkeiten, Grundsatzpositionen, 2013                               up to 25 copies.
Handreichung zu Ansprüchen auf Hilfe zur Überwindung besonderer
sozialer Schwierigkeiten nach §§ 67 ff. SGB XII von Personen ohne deut-
sche Staatsangehörigkeit, 2012
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