About Battered Women's Shelters
- Domestic violence occurs when a family member or spouse attempts to dominate others in a physical or mental way. Women who are victims of domestic violence are typically thought of as being physically hit or intimidated, but there are other behavior patterns that can fall into the abuse category, including mental abuse, berating, controlling behaviors, threats, intimidation, lack of freedom, economic control, neglect and other types of passive abuse.
Although an increase in awareness of these problems is creating avenues that never existed before, the majority of domestic violence goes unreported. Victims often feel there is no way out, that there is no escape, that they are safer in the situation than trying to get out; some even feel that they deserve the abuse.
Battered women's shelters are designed to be a safe haven for women---and their children---who are the victims of abusive partners or family members. Many women flee a situation fearing for their lives and realize that it is not safe to take refuge with a friend or family member, because the abuser may follow them. Women's shelters are designed to provide food, clothing, shelter and safety to women trying to escape a dangerous situation.
More than that, they attempt to provide a hope of escape for these women. - The precursor to the women's shelters of today was the Casa delle Malmaritate in 16th-century Italy. Literally "the House of the Unhappily Married Wives," the shelter was set up by a Florentine fraternity that recognized the need for a safe place for women to go when staying with their husbands put them in danger. Few women had the means to support themselves without turning to practices condemned by the church, and that same church recognized that these women taken advantage of by their male counterparts needed an alternative. A similar shelter was set up in Bologna, and residents included victims of domestic violence, victims of rape and prostitutes.
The church provided many places for abused women to shelter from their tormentors. It wasn't uncommon for women to seek refuge in convents and with members of the clergy.
The first modern women's shelter, Chiswick's Women's Aid, was opened in 1971 by Erin Pizzey in London, England, and provided not only aid to hundreds of battered women, but considerable insight into the world of domestic violence. - Shelters provide emergency housing, but many also provide services to help women become more self-sufficient, deal with the emotional burdens of their abuse, and get back on their feet.
Run by government agencies or nonprofit organizations, shelters are usually stocked with clothes, blankets and food for those seeking refuge there. There are typically counselors on hand to help with emotional problems and the feelings of helplessness victims are often left with. Some are run by churches and religious organizations; those can provide spiritual guidance as well. - There is a certain stigma attached to women's shelters and those they seek to help. While studies have shown that there is a difference between the victims of domestic violence and violence-prone women, those in shelters are not there because they put themselves in a situation to be abused. That stigma is one that shelters around the world struggle to eliminate: the idea that those who are abused were asking for it.
Women in shelters are often struggling to put their lives back together, something that takes courage and strength. Shelters have often come under attack as being anti-male, but most work to get their victimized members acclimated to society and help them come to terms with their own worth. - Women's shelters around the world have not only helped countless women and children escape violent homes, they have also helped raise awareness about the problems of domestic abuse. In recent years, advances have been made in the fields of sociology and psychology that show just how often and in how many ways people in family settings can be victimized. This new attention has also brought awareness to the problem of men being abused. If anything, this is an even more difficult problem to acknowledge because of the low percentage of men willing to come forward and say that they have been abused by a female partner or family member.
