Europe lacks 67% of the shelter space necessary to meet the needs of women and children fleeing violence. Three countries, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania, have no shelter space for women. Only 17 out of 46 European countries operate nationwide women’s helplines 24/7 and free of charge. The statistics indicate that a majority of European countries are failing to meet the Council of Europe Taskforce Recommendations on the provision of services for women victims of violence. Such services are critical given recent findings by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (“FRA”) that one in three European women has experienced some form of violence since the age of 15.
The NGO Women Against Violence Europe ("WAVE") recently released these and other findings in WAVE’s Country Report 2013. The WAVE report also maps available women’s helplines, shelters and other centers for survivors of violence, and documents the stories of women in shelters across Europe.
Compiled from: WAVE urges European countries to do more to meet the Council of Europe Taskforce Recommendations for specialized service provision for women survivors of violence, WAVE (May 2014).