LOKK

National Organisation of Shelters and Crisiscenters for Battered Women and Children

LOKK STATISTICS 2001

LOKK

Applebys Plads 7, 3.

DK-1411 København K

Denmark

Phone 32 95 90 19 fax 32 95 90 69

http://www.lokk.dk/ 

Contents

INTRODUCTION

THE ORGANISATION

DATA ON THE NUMBER OF QUERIES

DATA ON THE NUMBER OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN WHO MOVED INTO A SHELTER

DATA ON THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN 

DATA ON THE VIOLENCE 7

Social status of the batterer 7

Does the violence differ according to the nationality of the woman? 7

Type of violence 7

Does the type of violence differ according to the nationality of the woman? 8

How many report the violence to the police? 8

Initiatives directed towards the batterer 8

FOLLOW-UP AND PREVENTIVE ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN AFTER THEY MOVE OUT 8

How many shelters can offer the women help after they move out? 8

DATA ON THE WOMEN WHO MOVED OUT 9

Where do the women move to? 9

Where do the ethnic women move to? 9

CONCLUSIONS 9

Introduction

Our statistics include specific data on the 2012 women and 1853 children who stayed at the 34 different shelters in Denmark in 2001. The collection of data is done by the research center for social work “Formidlingscentret for Social Arbejde” in Esbjerg. The data has been collected by means of questionnaires completed by the staff and women at the shelters. In the statistics, it is important to note that the women are registered anonymously. The consequence may be that the same woman appears more than once in the statistics. Please note this is not an authorised translation.

The organisation

LOKK is a Danish national organisation of shelters established in 1987. In 2001 the organisation had 34 shelters as members. LOKK’s main objective is to illuminate the extent of violence committed against women and to support the work of the shelters. LOKK seeks from a feminist perspective to prevent and eliminate physical and psychological violence committed against women and their children using the following measures:

¨ Coordinate and communicate relevant information on violence against women to the shelters;

¨ Cooperate with shelters, partners and other NGOs on a national and European level;

¨ Establish relevant working groups;

¨ Negotiate and cooperate with national authorities to secure appropriate funding;

¨ Ensure a constant and qualified debate in the media and general public.

Finance

Out of 34 shelters, 18 shelters have agreements with and are mostly financed through the local county. 13 are partly financed through the local county. 3 shelters have no agreements with either county or municipal authorities.

Capacity

There were 496 places available at the 34 shelters, 216 places for women and 242 places for children. From 2000 this marks an increase of 11 places. The explanation for this is that while some shelters closed down in 2001, 3 new shelters opened in Nakskov, Frederikssund and Nykøbing Falster .

Turnover

The total turnover of the 34 shelters amounted to EUR 10.925.942. This marks an increase from 2000 of EUR 1.682.803 (18 %) where the turnover was EUR 9.243.139.

Expenses

Does the local municipality support the woman when she stays at the shelter?

Our data show that two thirds of the 34 shelters do not receive subsidies from the municipality to cover food or shelter. In addition, we note that the funding received from some municipalities differ significantly, as well does the costs of staying at the shelters. The majority of shelters only charge for food expenses or have arrangements where the woman individually is responsible for the cost of food.

Personnel

In 2001 32 shelters had 1 paid supervisor. This marks an increase from 2000 when 29 shelters had 1 paid supervisor. Comparing the statistics of 2000 for full-time staff we note 161 full-time positions in 2000 and 150 full-time positions in 2001 i.e. the number of full-time personnel had decreased with 11 positions. The number of part-time positions had increased from 66 positions in 2000 to 81 positions in 2001.

The number of volunteers has fallen from 1493 in 2000 to 1456 in 2001, a decrease of approximately 2 %. It is in this context noteworthy that the Danish Government’s “action plan to stop violence against women” encourages that the work done to tackle violence against women should partly be the responsibility of private organisations. It is within such organisations we usually witness a high number of volunteers. This causes a dilemma when our statistics show that the numbers of voluntary workers have consistently been falling since 1999.

Data on the number of queries

Queries

There were in total 10.483 women who contacted a shelter in 2001. Approximately 14 %, the equivalent of 1495, were personal, which means that the woman physically contacted the shelter with the intention to move in, get counselling and other forms of support.

Police, social workers, other social authorities, family and friends did almost 84 % of other queries over the phone. The remaining 2 % of shelters did not answer this question.

In 58 % of all queries the woman asked for an available place at the shelter. In 33 % of the cases the query regarded some form of help and advice. 9 % can be categorised as other queries, for example, practical help with completing official documents.

Rejections

Out of 8027 requests for available places at the shelter, 4154 women were turned down due to lack of vacant places. This means that every second woman who wishes to move into a shelter cannot do so. This marks a significant increase from 2000 where one in every third woman was turned down a place for the same reason. In this context, it is worth repeating that all contacts to shelters are made anonymously and a consequence hereof can be that the same woman may appear more than once in the statistics. It is a fact though that women and children were often turned down a place and it is therefore imperative that we widen research within this field in order to determine the actual scope of the problem.

The total number of rejections amounted to 4829 in 2001. 65 % of these were referred to another shelter. In almost 13 % of the cases, it was determined that the woman were in need of different help, while 4 % were turned down because of lack of resources.

6 % of the women were turned down a place due to different kinds of abuse, for example, alcohol, medicine, drugs, and mental illness. 12 % were turned down for “other” reasons.

Data on the number of women and children who moved into a shelter

The total figure shows that 2012 women and 1853 children moved into a shelter in 2001. This constitutes a decrease from last year of 74 women (3,7 %) and 54 children (3 %).

Residence time

The average amount of time a woman stayed at the shelter was 35 days per woman. In 2000 this figure amounted to 31 days per woman i.e. the average length of time has increased from 2000 with 4 days per woman. Looking at the statistics from 1996 we note that a woman stayed an average of 26 days, which means that the average length of time has increased over the last 5 years with 10 days.

Our statistics here show some significant differences between Danish women and women of a different ethnic origin. 638 ethnic women stayed at 33 shelters in 2001. Most noteworthy is the significant longer average time of 50 days that ethnic woman stayed at the shelters. This means that the residence time for an ethnic woman is almost twice as long as her Danish counterpart.

According to the shelters one of the main reasons for the long length of residency is generally the increased difficulty of getting housing. This often means that women are forced to stay longer than necessary. This is highly problematic since many women are occupying places, which are in high demand. Furthermore, many find it frustrating not having their own home and practical problems, like getting to work, can become a problem. Women and children are badly affected by displacement from their customary environment and children are often unable to continue school or day-care center as normal. The women are often highly vulnerable and insecure about their future and they need, as soon as they are ready, to start rebuilding their lives under more stable conditions.

The fact that it is significantly more difficult for an ethnic woman to move out of the shelter than it is for a Danish woman demands further scrutiny. Also it is important to engage with this subject matter in general since the residence time for all women is increasing on a yearly basis.

Data on the women and children

Age

Looking at table 3 (see table 3 p.16 Danish version) we note that women in the ages of 18-29 and 30-39 each account for approximately one-third of the women who stayed at a shelter. Again our statistics also show significant differences between Danish and ethnic women. 33 % of Danish women are between 18-29, while 47 % of ethnic women are in the same age group.

Nationality

Data show that 63 % (1262) of the women are registered as Danish citizens, while 32 % (638) are not registered Danish citizens. The number of women with other ethnic background accounts for an increase of 2.2 % since 2000. If we look at the number of women not born in Denmark, the figure comes to 40 % (808). In 2000 this number was 38.6 % i.e. we note an increase of 1.4 %.

For the women with no Danish citizenship, 52 % are defined as family reunification immigrants, 15 % are defined as immigrants, 13,6 % are refugees and 3 % are asylum seekers. For 16 % of the women with other ethnic background, the status is not shown.

The ethnic women stayed primarily at shelters on Sjælland. On kvindehjemmet, one shelter in Copenhagen, the proportion of ethnic women was as high as 71 %. On Frederikssund shelter, the proportion was 57 % and on Hillerød and Boligfonden the proportion were 47 %. See table 4 (p.18 Danish version).

Implications

The implications of this are important to note. The amount of resources available to the individual shelter is very limited, however, it is a known fact that the large proportion of ethnic women staying at the shelters carries additional work, especially in terms of interpretation. Figures in 2001 show that over 50 % of ethnic women staying at shelters needed interpreters. This is an increase from 1999 where one in every three ethnic woman needed an interpreter. The consequences for the women can be that they do not get the help and support they need. The language barriers can lead to much misunderstanding and miscommunication and makes it difficult for some women to express what help they need. For the under-resourced staff this phenomenon becomes a significant obstacle for providing the much needed help and support. See table 5 (p. 19 Danish version).

Our statistics also show that a large part of the ethnic women are not integrated in the Danish society and that their social networks are often poor or non-existent. A large part of the women who are family reunification immigrants have not received general help from social authorities to support and encourage their integration. Consequently many women from ethnic minority groups return to their abusive husband/partner and later on return to the shelter once again.

In this context it is important to place focus on how restricted the shelters are due to their limited financial resources, particular in relation to devoting a more pro-active and in depth help towards tackling the problems ethnic women often encounter. Most shelters are economically restrained and dependent every year on reaching financial agreements with municipalities and counties or raising funds for specific projects. However such funds are often limited to a certain period and only to specific projects. Indeed the inadequacy of funding from public authorities prevents shelters from carrying out sufficient help and long-term planning.

We can conclude that the help and support the individual shelters are able to provide differs. Research into how the shelters can improve the economic conditions under which they operate is necessary, particularly to secure that the help and support shelters provide can become more permanent.

Civil status

Our statistics show that out of 1960 women, 1072 or more than 50 % are married or living with a partner and children. 318 or 16 % are married or living with a partner without kids. 350 women or 18 % are single parents/mothers, while 172 (8 %) are single with no children.

Occupation

Out of 1808 women, 33,5 % of the women were unemployed, 19,2 % were employed, 8 % were retired and 7,5 % were going through some form of education. See table 6 (p.22 Danish version).

Children

According to our statistics women brought 1893 children to the shelters. Since 2000 this represents a small decrease. The lower number of beds available in some shelters could partly explain this tendency. Another factor could be the longer time ethnic women stays at the shelters. Ethnic women often bring more children than Danish women and naturally take up more vacant places for their children.

Age

Every second child is under the age of 6, every fifth child is between the ages of 7-10 years old and every seventh child is between the ages of 11-15 years old. In a minority of cases, the children are above 15 years old.

Data on the violence

In almost 85 % of the cases, one individual inflicted the violence. In 6 % of the cases, several individuals inflicted the violence. 2 % do not know whether the violence was inflicted by one or more individuals, 3 % did not answer this question. Our statistics show that 1.2 % have not been subject to violence.

In those cases where the woman has been subject to violence from one individual, the batterer has been in 79 % of the cases her husband or present partner. In almost 14 % of the cases, a former husband or partner has inflicted the violence. In 6 % of the cases, a different family member, boyfriend, colleague, acquaintance or neighbour has inflicted the violence.

In those cases where the woman been inflicted with violence by more than one individual, the statistics show that 22 % of the batterers are husbands or present partners. Approximately 4 % are former husbands or partners. Approximately 25 % are other family members while 12 % are others i.e. boyfriend, colleague, acquaintance or neighbour.

Social status of the batterer

1826 women answered the question on the social status of the batterer(s). The figures show here that 1167 (63,9 %) are Danish citizens, 160 (8,8 %) are registered as immigrants and 193 (10,6 %) of the batteres are registered as refugees. 36 (2 %) are asylum seekers and 90 (4,9 %) are family reunification immigrants. In 9.9 % of the cases the women did not answer this question. See table 7 (p.24 Danish version)

Does the violence differ according to the nationality of the woman?

Our statistics show that women from ethnic minority groups are 50 % more likely to be subject to violence from more than one batterer. In every third case Danish women are subject to violence from other family members than her husband or partner. For ethnic women this figure comes to every second.

Type of violence

There were 1,2 % (34) women who had not been subject to some kind of violence. 10,5 % (288) women had been subject to mere physical violence, 44,5 % (1223) women had been subject to both physical and psychological violence. If we combine these figures, the total figure of women who, as a minimum, had been subject to physical violence comes to 75 %.

Almost 13 % (347) of the women had been subject to psychological violence, while (146) 5,3 % had been subject to attempted strangling.

3 % (82) had been subject to rape and 14 % (392) had been subject to threats. 5 % (127) had been subject to violence, which included the use of weapon or other types of objects.

The figures from 2000 show that violence in the forms of physical violence, strangling, rape and threats of violence amounted to 30,1 %, whereas in 2001 this figure had increased to 33,1 %.

Does the type of violence differ according to the nationality of the woman?

Table 8 (p.26 Danish version) shows that women from ethnic minority groups are more likely to be subject to both physical and psychological violence than their Danish counterparts. The type of violence is also more likely to be in the forms of attempted strangling and rape. “Only” every ten ethnic woman is subject to psychological violence.

The causes of the relative low number of ethnic women subject to psychological violence may be that translating and expressing this type of violence may be difficult. Another factor may be that some ethnic women perceive physical violence as a more legitimate cause to secure them a place at the shelter.

The difference in the type of violence experienced by ethnic and Danish women is also noteworthy. It is fair to assume that the ethnic women staying at the shelters need to process the psychological traumas but also, in many cases, treat the physical wounds and secondary effects the physical violence has inflicted on them.

How many report the violence to the police?

Table 9 (p.27 Danish version) shows that almost 45 % of the interviewed women did not report the violence 19,4 % did report the violence. This marks a decrease from 2000 when 21,4 % reported the violence to the police.

Initiatives directed towards the batterer

Our statistics here show that 9 shelters have such initiatives. The remaining 25 shelters have no such initiatives, but are anticipating to implement such plans at a later stage. 5 shelters answered, “don’t know” to this question. Table 10 (p. 28 Danish version) shows the different methods that shelters can implement in their efforts to tackle or manage the conflicts within families.

60 % of the 12 shelters expressed the opinion that it is not their task to include the batterer in their attempts to tackle the violence. 43 % expressed that they would like to incorporate the batterer but that they have to few resources to do so. 50 % expressed that they prioritise their efforts towards the women and therefore do not wish to incorporate the batterer in such efforts.

Increasingly though shelters are prone to see the problem of violence in its full entirety. However the lack of resources and amount of immediate problems that the women and children face, continue to constitute a barrier for incorporating the men in these efforts.

Follow-up and preventive activities to support the women and children after they move out

How many shelters can offer the women help after they move out?

Our statistics here show that 23 out of the total 34 shelters offered support to women and their children after they moved out. This means that every fourth woman who stayed at a shelter in 2001 received such help. Considering that such follow-up support often play an important part in preventing the women from returning to the shelter, the number of women who receive this help ought to be higher. However, once again the shelters are limited by their financial restraints. It is in this context desirable that the shelters gain more resources in order to make this support a permanent offer to the women who stay at the shelters.

Data on the women who moved out

Out of the 2012 women who stayed at one of the 34 shelters, 301 or 15 % were asked to leave the shelter. The reasons for this were in 15 % of the cases due to overcrowding, in 24 % of the cases the women were mentally ill or had a drug abuse. In almost 20 % of the cases, the women broke the regulations of the shelters. For almost 42 % of the women who were asked to leave reasons could be categorised as others. This category includes women who do not have a permit of residency, the woman was found by her batterer, or alternatively she was in need of other types of help.

Where do the women move to?

Approximately 20 % of the 2012 women moved back to their abusive husband or partner. 10 % moved back to their home in which their husband/partner were no longer living. 6.5 % moved back to their home as single. The share of women who moved into new housing is 20 %. Almost 10 % moved to a different shelter or a family treatment center. 20 % moved to different places, while for 10% data is not known.

Comparing these statistics to 2000 we note a small decrease in the number of women who move back to their abusive husband or partner. The share of women who moved into new housing had increased from 18 % in 2000 to 20,5 % in 2001.

Where do the ethnic women move to?

Again here we note some significant differences between Danish and ethnic women. Ethnic women more often move back to their husband/partner than Danish women. See table 12 (p. 33 Danish version).

Our statistics show that the shelters are facing complex tasks, which demand depth, insight and resources. A large part of this task is accumulated due to the increasing large presence of ethnic women and children. These women are besides being battered, lacking a social network and have significant language difficulties. Furthermore it is very difficult to place these women in their own housing and as mentioned their average stay at the shelter is 50 days per woman compared to 28 days for Danish women.

It is therefore necessary that the shelters get the support required to tackle all the tasks and responsibilities bestowed upon them. It is here imperative that a positive and constructive cooperation is in place between the shelters and other social authorities.

It is just as important that counties and municipalities are willing to act in accordance with the scope of the problem. Despite the Danish government’s “action plan to stop violence against women” launched 8th March 2002 we note that several shelters have not received adequate funding from their county. Several shelters are therefore in severe economic difficulties and likely to close down in 2002. It is in this context vital to follow how the economic subsidies and financial agreements with municipalities and counties develop in the near future.

A reoccurring theme is the high number of women who are turned down every year due to lack of vacant places. Also the year 2001 saw an increase in the number of women who requested a place as well as an increase in the number of women who were turned down.

It has been repeated in LOKKs statistics that because the women are registered anonymously, the data regarding the number of rejections should be seen with some uncertainty. We have therefore implemented from 1 June 2002 a more targeted research into counting the numbers of women who take contact to a shelter.