The “Access for All” Support Fund for Women’s Shelters provides independent women’s shelters with fast, low-threshold financial assistance, enabling them to support women and children affected by violence who have an insecure residence status.
One in four women in Germany has experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner during her lifetime. As a result of the violence they have suffered, many women are forced to seek refuge with their children in one of Germany’s approximately 340 women’s shelters. The situation worsened during the coronavirus pandemic, as cramped living conditions and growing concerns contributed to an increase in domestic violence.
Women affected by violence and their children who do not have a secure residence status face particularly severe challenges. Language barriers, discrimination based on their background and a lack of knowledge about available support services make it more difficult to seek protection. Their residence status is often tied to their marriage, which can make leaving an abusive relationship extremely difficult or even impossible.
To improve the situation of these particularly vulnerable women and their children, we established the Support Fund for Women’s Shelters in 2021 together with the Kurt und Maria Dohle Stiftung and the Klaus und Lore Rating Stiftung. Independent women’s shelters can apply quickly and without unnecessary bureaucracy for grants of up to €1,000 for women and children with an insecure residence status. The funding can cover basic living expenses, healthcare services, language courses, legal assistance or tutoring for children. As these women are often not entitled to public benefits, stays in women’s shelters for women with an insecure residence status repeatedly go unfunded by public authorities across Germany.
The funds are administered by the Central Information Office of Independent Women’s Shelters, ZIF, which developed the focus of the fund and the application process in cooperation with us. When the fund was launched, our alliance of foundations initially provided €100,000. In 2023, we continued the fund with a further €100,000. We have since succeeded in securing another renowned funding partner. Together, we are supporting this work for particularly vulnerable women and their children in 2024 and 2025 with €200,000 per year and subsequently from 2026 to 2028, with 25,000 euros annually.
Our evaluation shows that this easily accessible form of funding recognises the urgent needs of women’s shelters and responds to them appropriately, even though it cannot close gaps in public provision or resolve structural shortcomings. The overarching aim of our initiative is therefore to support women’s shelters in their call for consistent nationwide funding that is not dependent on individual cases.
To date, a total of 197 women and 216 children have benefited from the fund. This makes one thing clear: women’s shelters are always shelters for children, too. This is another reason why we helped establish the Support Fund for Women’s Shelters.
| Location | Germany |
| Funding period | 2022–2028 |
| Grant amount | 185.000 Euro |
| Website | antrags.app/zif |
Interview with Esther Bierbaum and Nadine Weber
How does the fund for women and children with an insecure residence status make a tangible difference in the day-to-day work of women’s shelters?
Without the fund, much of this support would not be possible. Women and children with an insecure residence status would often be unable to find protection in a women’s shelter. Important documents, travel to public authorities or embassies, and medical care for uninsured children could not be financed. Basic necessities such as clothing are also frequently lacking. The fund enables fast, unbureaucratic assistance and gives staff members the confidence and strength to provide effective support.
The new Violence Assistance Act introduces new rules governing funding and access to protection. What do these changes mean in practice, and how do you assess them?
At present, the implementation of the Violence Assistance Act is creating additional administrative work for staff at independent women’s shelters. The federal states are currently drafting the legislation required to implement the act. It is therefore not yet clear exactly how existing women’s shelters will be funded from 2027 onwards. Some local authorities have terminated their agreements with women’s shelters for 2026 because federal funding under the act is not expected to be distributed to the states until 2027. For these shelters, the resulting financial challenges mean not only fighting for every woman and every child, but also fighting for the continued existence of each individual shelter, some of which have a feminist history spanning more than 40 years. The new Violence Assistance Act is intended to increase the number of places available in women’s shelters. We are working to ensure that this objective is genuinely achieved.
What does this mean for ZIF’s strategic work? What are the most important next steps?
The most important task is to keep all staff at ZIF member shelters well informed and to facilitate effective dialogue about current developments. We want to strengthen our colleagues so that they can enter negotiations at state level well informed and ready to make a strong case. It is also important for ZIF to maintain close dialogue with the Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth so that we can provide feedback on the difficulties encountered in practice. A very important medium-term objective is to open additional independent women’s shelters. This year, we are launching a project to support our member shelters in planning new shelters and expanding existing services.
For the act to have its intended effect, women’s shelter staff must be firmly involved in the implementation process as experienced practitioners. The federal government, the federal states and local authorities must all contribute to the funding. One question must guide every decision: What is best for the woman affected by violence and her children? How can protection services reach as many people as possible?
Esther Bierbaum and Nadine Weber