Shelters

The services are free of charge, and available for women without official identification (they can also obtain an ID at the centre). The Module of Attention and Protection of Women’s Rights offers various services for VAWG survivors such as psychosocial counselling, support for developing life and safety plans, crisis intervention, support and self-help groups, legal advice and representation, medical evaluation and follow-up. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Women’s City Program developed a digital platform that offered select services, as well as a WhatsApp channel where survivors could obtain psychological counselling. Campaigns for survivors to report GBV were also implemented, in coordination with the National Institute of Women and the 911 line.

In Honduras, survivors of violence can also be eligible for a witness protection programme in case their participation in a criminal case endangers them or someone close to them. However, the survivor must prove that their case is related to organized crime to receive this service, which in many cases is not something that survivors are comfortable mentioning. Some prosecutors also fail to inform victims about the witness protection programme during the criminal process.374

Access to shelter is key to protecting women against various forms of GBV, particularly domestic violence. Shelters, which are emergency, temporary, safe accommodation for women and children who have faced or are at risk of violence, vary significantly across contexts. They may be run by NGOs, run independently, or supported by the State. There are several concerns relating to the provision of shelter services, including: limited availability, inadequate funding, lack of security and confidentiality, barriers to access and referrals (e.g. need for formal recognition of survivor status), safe transit out of shelters, limited duration of stay permitted and lack of services to empower women to deal with violence faced.375

Shelters and safe houses are becoming increasingly available to survivors seeking refuge. Informants shared that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tunisian Ministry of Women opened a new GBV shelter with the assistance of UNFPA. The High Judicial Council urged family judges to take all necessary measures to protect victims, guarantee their access to justice, and address violence against women and children (two extremely vulnerable populations during global pandemics). In 2020, the Tunisia’s Ministry of Women, Children and Family endorsed its first national procedure manual for women’s shelter, outlining uniform guidelines as they deliver services, including legal services to women and children survivors of violence376. The majority of safe houses in PNG are managed by religious organizations such as Haus Ruth in Port Moresby (run by City Mission PNG), Nazareth Center for Rehabilitation in Bougainville (Church of Melanesia), and Meri Seif Haus in Goroka (Four Square Church). Although most shelters are chronically under-resourced, they provide survivors with a short-term, often

“The mushrooming of support services like shelters is very exciting.”

– Key informant working as a researcher in PNG

free, opportunity to escape dangerous situations and access other services. Shelters can be a life-saving measure for women facing extreme physical and/or sexual violence, or SARV. Most shelters are in major cities, with the exception of the Nazareth Center, which operates several small, community-based havens and one large refuge in Bougainville. Women are often referred to the shelters by the police or case management organizations such as Femili PNG, and some women find their way to a shelter on their own. In Bougainville, the FSC makes referrals to the Nazareth Center, likewise, the Oxfam-supported KUSWA and Human Rights Defenders make referrals to the Meri Seif Haus.

In Honduras, the shelter network is private, in that it functions through NGOs that do not receive state funding. Expanding the network of shelters available to victims of domestic violence was one of the requests made to the States by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.377 Survivors face insufficient shelter coverage outside the capital city, Tegucigalpa. Challenges faced by Honduran survivors were expressed by a member of the Honduran judiciary:

“There is no transitional housing to enable women to file complaints in the main cities of the country. A woman who travels from the interior of the country to file a complaint in the cities finds that she does not have a place to stay while the process is taking place. Those who can, stay in the homes of relatives.” These shelters can also have restrictive provisions, including prohibiting cell phones, as well as unrealistic requirements as to how long one can stay and who may accompany them, with which survivors are unable to comply:

There are heightened needs and challenges associated with safe shelters in conflict situations. In such situations, safe shelters are run by the United Nations, NGOs or community-based organizations, or by governments. However, there are limited examples of organizations or networks providing shelters in camps and urban settings. The 2005 Inter-Agency Standing Committee Guidance on Gender-based Violence provides detailed guidance on the provision of safe shelters for refugees fleeing GBV, including providing community-based protection options in camp settings whenever possible.378 Case studies conducted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and University of California, Berkeley, showed that despite scarcity, there is great diversity in shelter models (e.g. traditional safe houses, homes of community volunteers, secret spaces in offices or community centres, clusters of huts in enclosed sections of refugee camps), populations served, and ways of operating.379 Engagement of shelters with surrounding communities is of

“There are safe houses where survivors of VAWG can stay for up to three months and they can enter with children only up to certain ages. This is not always an option for the user, since it implies abandoning their life and work context.”

-Key informant from the judiciary