Providing shelter for abused women. Lessons from the Danner Women’s Shelter
In the heart of Copenhagen, the Danish capital, is the Danner Women’s Shelter, Denmark’s first shelter for abused women. The shelter opened 35 years ago in the wake of a growing public debate about violence against women, an issue that was relatively a taboo and viewed as something to be dealt with privately. The story of the establishment of the shelter points to a struggle.
Advertisement
The driving force behind Danner was originally voluntary, but over 35 years, Danner has grown from a grass-roots movement to a modern, professional organisation with 38 employees and 200 volunteers who ensure the shelter’s daily running.
Opportunities
A private organisation, Danner works to ensure respect, equality and equal opportunities between the sexes, and a world free from violence against women and children.
The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, and Ms Sicily Kariuki, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs, Kenya, were conducted on a tour of the shelter as a sideline of the Women Deliver Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, recently, to learn from the Danish experiences on Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
At a meeting at the Danner headquarters which was also attended by Ghana’s Ambassador to Denmark, Mrs Edith Hazel, and a delegation from Kenya, the CEO of the organisation, Ms Susanne Philipson, said the shelter had evolved into one of the biggest for abused women in the country.
Ms Philipson said the Danner Shelter was open to any woman who was abused. Funded by the municipality in accordance with the law, it offers counselling and accommodation for women subjected to violence, and their children.
Over the years, between 15,000-20,000 women and their children have been helped by the shelter. In the same period, about 6,000 women and children have stayed at the Danner Shelter.
According to her, the shelter has almost 100 per cent occupancy rate, as violence within relationships is still significant in Denmark, where gender-based violence is still seen as a taboo so some women find it difficult to report abuses to the police or authorities.
Other Trending Stories
Counselling
“Most of the abused women come into the shelter with guilt. They are therefore counselled and encouraged and if they want to go through divorce, they are guided and helped with custody issues.
Since most of their children are witnesses to these abuses, they are also taken through counselling,” Ms Philipson stated.
She said the Danish Government gave each woman about 2,200 Danish krone a day. The women therefore pay for their own food.
They usually stay at the shelter for about six months before they leave. They are followed after they leave to monitor their progress and to make sure they are on their feet again.
The shelter works with the municipality to get these women jobs, accommodation or education.
Partnerships
In addition to operating a shelter for abused women and their children, Danner is also involved in various national and international projects.
The organisation documents and describes the extent and consequences of violence in order to break down taboos and prevent violence and also works for political focus on women’s rights and opportunities.
Danner agreed to provide technical expertise, knowledge and advice to the Gender Ministry on how to operate government shelters, especially the one in Accra and other ones that are going to be set up.
Collaboration
Nana Oye Lithur, who gave a brief on the issue of gender-based violence in Ghana, stated that reporting GBV in Ghana had been a challenge because of some traditions.
Ghana, she said, has a shelter for abused women but currently the government needs help in running the facility effectively.