Women's shelter

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.^[1] The term is also frequently used to describe a location for the same purpose that is open to people of all genders at risk.

Representative data samples done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that one in three women in the U.S. will experience physical violence during their lifetime.^[2] One in ten will experience sexual violence.^[2] Women's shelters help individuals escape these instances of domestic violence and intimate partner violence and act as a place for protection as they choose how to move forward. Additionally, many shelters offer a variety of other services to help women and their children including counseling and legal guidance.^[3]

The ability to escape is valuable for women subjected to domestic violence or intimate partner violence. Additionally, such situations frequently involve an imbalance of power that limits the victim's financial options when they want to leave.^[4] Shelters help women gain tangible resources to help them and their families create a new life.^[5] Lastly, shelters are valuable to battered women because they can help them find a sense of empowerment.^[5]

Women's shelters are available in more than forty-five countries.^[6] They are supported with government resources as well as non-profit funds. Additionally, many philanthropists also help and support these institutions.

^ "women's refuge Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved 2016-05-12.
^ ^a ^b Breiding MJ, Chen J, Black MC. Intimate Partner Violence in the United States – 2010. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2014.
^ Chanmugam, A. (2011). Perspectives on US Domestic Violence Emergency Shelters: What do Young Adolescent Residents and their Mothers Say?. Child Care In Practice, 17(4), 395. doi:10.1080/13575279.2011.596814
^ Cite error: The named reference McNulty, M. 2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Perez, S., Johnson, D. M., & Wright, C. V. (2012). The Attenuating Effect of Empowerment on IPV-Related PTSD Symptoms in Battered Women Living in Domestic Violence Shelters. Violence Against Women, 18(1), 102–117 16p. doi:10.1177/1077801212437348
^ "Global Data Count" (PDF). The Global Network of Women's Shelters. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.

[Definition-1] "women's refuge Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved 2016-05-12.

[:1-2] Breiding MJ, Chen J, Black MC. Intimate Partner Violence in the United States – 2010. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2014.

[Chanmugam-3] Chanmugam, A. (2011). Perspectives on US Domestic Violence Emergency Shelters: What do Young Adolescent Residents and their Mothers Say?. Child Care In Practice, 17(4), 395. doi:10.1080/13575279.2011.596814

[McNulty,_M._2009-4] Cite error: The named reference McNulty, M. 2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Perez-5] Perez, S., Johnson, D. M., & Wright, C. V. (2012). The Attenuating Effect of Empowerment on IPV-Related PTSD Symptoms in Battered Women Living in Domestic Violence Shelters. Violence Against Women, 18(1), 102–117 16p. doi:10.1177/1077801212437348

[6] "Global Data Count" (PDF). The Global Network of Women's Shelters. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.

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