A women's shelter, also known as a women's refuge and battered women's shelter, is a place of temporary protection and support for women escaping domestic violence and intimate partner violence of all forms. The term is also frequently used to describe a location for the same purpose that is open to people of all genders at risk.
The Women's Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh was founded in 1974 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and provides services for victims of domestic violence. It was one of the first six centers for domestic violence that was established in the United States.
Out of 10,000 female individuals 13 are homeless in the United States. Although studies reflect that circumstances vary depending on each individual, the average homeless woman is 35 years old, has children, is a member of a minority community, and has experienced homelessness more than once in their lifetime.
The Marjaree Mason Center is a non-profit, shelter-based, domestic violence program headquartered in Fresno, California. Named for an Easton, California woman who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, the center operates one of the largest shelters in California.
The Center Against Domestic Violence is an American not-for-profit organization dedicated to preventing violence in the family and promoting the well-being and economic independence of women and children. It provides safe shelters, a network of supportive services, advocacy, education and resource information, and coalition building.
House Of Ruth Maryland is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1977 by a coalition of women's organizations, religious groups, service providers, and elected officials to provide a safe haven for victims of domestic violence and their children. It is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States and has offices throughout the state of Maryland. House of Ruth Maryland leads the fight to end violence against women and their children by confronting the attitudes, behaviors and systems that perpetuate it, and by providing victims with the services necessary to rebuild their lives safely and free of fear. Funding for House of Ruth Maryland is made possible through private (53%) and government (38%) funds, and other sources (9%) including investment income, training and client fees resulting mainly from the Gateway Project. Since its inception, The House of Ruth Maryland has served over 100,000 victims of domestic violence.
Hubbard House is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 entity, established in 1976, that was the first domestic violence shelter in Florida. Hubbard House is a certified, comprehensive domestic violence center and is a nationally recognized leader in domestic violence intervention. It provides programs and services to more than 5,000 women, children, and men annually in Duval and Baker counties. Hubbard House also provided a victim advocate in Nassau County beginning in 2000. The county later established Micah's Place.
Women's Center of Rhode Island (WCRI) is a domestic violence organization and safe house serving women and children in Providence and East Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1974, WCRI is a nationally recognized agency for promoting a violence-free America. WCRI is a member of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
The Women's Shelter of South Texas was established in 1978 to provide emergency shelter and support for victims of domestic violence. Services expanded in 1993 to include survivors of sexual assault. New facilities were built in 1994 that allows up to 65 clients. In 1995, the Batterers Intervention and Prevention Program (BIPP) was established. In 1987 the agency expanded to provide services to rural areas in Alice, Beeville, Kingsville, and Sinton. The Shelter wants to include offices and a full staff in each location. The organization continues to educate and prevent sexual assault in South Texas.
Switchboard of Miami, Inc., commonly referred to as Switchboard, was a private, nonprofit and registered 501(c)(3) organization located in Miami, Florida, United States that provided Miami-Dade County with comprehensive telephone counseling and referral services to thousands of social service programs beginning in 1968. The organization also offered counseling services and prevention programs, such as initiatives aimed at assisting high-risk youth and their families through partnerships with local schools. Since 1968, these services have been offered to the community at no charge. Callers can seek advice confidentially, as no information is needed by the company in order to receive the services. Switchboard shut down in 2016 following a "major financial emergency".
Hockey Helps the Homeless (HHTH) is a volunteer-driven charitable organization established in 1996. HHTH annually hosts Pro-am and Collegiate hockey tournaments in 15 cities across Canada where all funds raised locally will directly make an impact in their communities. HHTH's mission is to leverage Canada's affinity for hockey to raise awareness and financial support for the homeless through education, fundraising, and partnering with solutions-based local homeless support agencies. Over the past 25 years, HHTH has grown into one of the largest funders of homelessness support programs in Canada.
The management of domestic violence deals with the treatment of victims of domestic violence and preventing repetitions of such violence. The response to domestic violence in Western countries is typically a combined effort between law enforcement, social services, and health care. The role of each has evolved as domestic violence has been brought more into public view.
SAWA is a Palestinian, non-profit civil society organization established in 1998 by a group of female volunteers active in women's issues.
Violence against women in Pakistan, particularly intimate partner violence and sexual violence, is a major public health problem and a violation of women's human rights in Pakistan. Women in Pakistan mainly encounter violence by being forced into marriage, through workplace sexual harassment, domestic violence and by honour killings.
Harbor House of Central Florida is a non-profit state-certified domestic violence shelter near Orlando, in Orange County, Florida. Harbor House operates a 24-hour crisis hotline, and provides counseling and a 110-bed safe shelter for women, children and men. Its activities include community outreach, legal advocacy services, and community and professional education.
The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) is a division of the US Executive Branch under the Administration for Children and Families and the Department of Health and Human Services. The FYSB's primary purpose is to support programs for at-risk youth and their families.
Rajan Sawhney is a Canadian politician from the United Conservative Party in Alberta. She was elected in the 2019 Alberta general election to represent the electoral district of Calgary-North West in the 30th Alberta Legislature. On April 30, 2019, she was appointed to be the Minister of Community & Social Services in the Executive Council of Alberta. On July 8, 2021, she was shuffled into the Minister of Transportation.
Womankind, formerly known as the New York Asian Women's Centre (NYAWC), was founded in 1982 by a group of volunteers led by Pat Eng. In 2017, the NYAWC changed its name to Womankind. It is a non-profit organization which aims to empower Asian survivors of gender based violence. Womankind was initially a community awareness program designed to educate families about domestic violence in Chinatown, and then developed into a 24-hour multilingual hotline that now includes 18 different Asian languages and dialects. Womankind also provides Asian immigrant women confidential services including an emergency refuge, shelter services, crisis counseling, 24-hour online free multilingual hotline, welfare promotion, support groups, parenting workshops, children's services, volunteer training, community education, and some English courses. Each year, the organization receives over 3,000 hotline calls.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries reported an increase in domestic violence and intimate partner violence. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, noting the "horrifying global surge", called for a domestic violence "ceasefire". UN Women stated that COVID-19 created "conditions for abuse that are ideal for abusers because it forced people into lockdown" thus causing a "shadow pandemic" that exacerbated preexisting issues with domestic violence globally.
Earl Silverman was a Canadian domestic abuse survivor, activist and men's rights advocate who founded the Men's Alternative Safe House (MASH), the only privately funded domestic abuse shelter for men in Canada, and the Family of Men society, which operated phone lines to assist victims. He also served as the Canadian Liaison for the National Coalition for Men. June 14 is unofficially "Earl Silverman Day."
