New women's shelter in Trossingen: Support for harassed women!

New women's shelter in Trossingen: Support for harassed women!

A new women's shelter will open its doors in Trossingen from August 2024. This means that a total of 19 places are available for women affected by violence in the region. Loud Swabian newspaper This new house will not only offer a backup to women from the Tuttlingen district, but also to those seeking help from other districts.

The existing women's shelter in Tuttlingen, which has been active for 30 years, will be usefully supplemented by the new offer in Trossingen. There are currently twelve places available there. The number of inquiries to women's shelters is constantly increasing; some of them concern women from all over Germany. Susanne Klein, board member of the Tuttlingen Women's Shelter Association, and the social educators Juliane Weinmann and Juliane Schmieder encourage that more and more women seek help earlier instead of staying in violent relationships for years, like Schwarzälder messenger reported.

High need for support

The risk situation is carefully examined in each individual case by the employees in the women's shelter. In cases of high risk, accommodation in another federal state may be necessary. However, if the risk is lower, attempts are made to keep the women in the social environment so that the children can continue to attend kindergarten or school.

The financing of women's shelters remains a central issue. The district council of the Tuttlingen district recently decided on a change in financing to ensure the security of the offer. The women's shelter in Tuttlingen receives an annual subsidy of 82,000 euros, which is based on cost developments. The district also pays 33,000 euros for rent and additional costs. The care costs for women from other districts will be adjusted: they will rise to 45 euros per day, while the costs for accommodation also vary, in Tuttlingen to 9.80 euros and in Trossingen to 11.45 euros.

Sustainable support and financial measures

In order to still create financial scope for action, the district is partly foregoing income from other social welfare offices. This is particularly important because the need for safe havens for women affected by violence remains unabated. Incidentally, the Tuttlingen district's fees are in the middle range compared to other institutions.
Police crime statistics show alarming figures: around 80 percent of those affected by domestic violence are women. It is therefore crucial that appropriate protection and support services are available.

Overall, the development in Trossingen and Tuttlingen is a sign of growing awareness of the problem of domestic violence and the need to provide structural support. The opening of the new women's shelter in Trossingen is therefore not only a local but also a socially relevant initiative that aims to offer women in emergency situations a safe haven.