Develop or improve national or sub-national action plans or policies

Alongside efforts to establish and reform legislation, shelter advocates should promote state efforts to develop policies which support the effective implementation of laws, for instance, through creating national action plans and related policy initiatives.

While shelters and related services usually fall under provisions that guide the development/ implementation of domestic violence response systems, policy-advocacy should focus on shelters as a key component to ensuring the safety of women, including the integration of shelter services within comprehensive policies on violence against women and linked with all response areas (e.g. effective police practices, communication and collaboration between health, judicial and other stakeholders, accountability measures for perpetrators of violence) (UN Women, 2011 and UN, 2010).

In line with commitments made at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 and the resulting Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, national action plans should outline a list of shelters activities and survivor services to which the state is committed to supporting, a framework for implementation (including a dedicated budget), and indicators of success.

To provide accessible, immediate and secure emergency and short-term accommodation for victims/survivors and their accompanying children, including supporting women to remain at home if safe to do so, action plans and policies should entail:

• the provision of safe accommodation and emergency shelter for women and girls who are at risk of all forms of violence.

• support for a range of accommodation options accounting for different geographical areas (e.g. rural, urban). For example, in addition to formal shelter facilities, models may cover:
  • informal shelter services;
  • community-run safe houses;
  • subsidized temporary hotel accommodation;
  • temporary shelter with trained and supported community or religious leaders;
  • accommodation with neighbors or community volunteers in confidential sites; and
  • designated private housing with specific security safeguards (including the survivor’s own home, where feasible).

• measures to ensure activities will be accessible to diverse groups of women and girls who need these services (e.g. women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; immigrant, migrant, refugee or undocumented women; indigenous women; lesbian, bisexual and transgender women; women with children, disabilities, substance addictions, mental health concerns, living with HIV/AIDS; elderly women, adolescents, etc.) This may involve:
  • Ensuring all services are accessible for women with disabilities.
  • Training disability and community workers in responding to violence, the needs of women with disabilities and the needs of women caring for children with disabilities who have experienced or are at risk of family violence.
  • Introducing diversity training for workers.
  • Recruiting indigenous and ethnically diverse staff.
  • Ensuring the availability of interpreters and translators.
  • Training interpreters on issues surrounding violence against women (Amnesty International, 2007, Setting the Standard: International Good Practice to Inform an Australian National Plan of Action to Eliminate Violence Against Women)
  • Providing more resources in community languages.

• Protection and funding for women and their children to retrieve their possessions and support for their daily needs.
• Survivor access to immediate and longer-term high-quality counseling and support services.

• A national toll-free 24-hour, 7-days a week telephone hotline and/or online service providing information, advocacy, support and counseling.
• Free legal assistance, advice, advocacy and court support for survivors, as well as accessible information on their rights and entitlements.
• Free access to a qualified and impartial interpreter and translation of legal documents, upon request or as needed.
• Measures to ensure appropriate services are available for children accompanying their mothers to the shelter.

• Comprehensive strategies to facilitate the professional and social reintegration of survivors, ensuring their capacity to make decisions about their lives from a socially, economically, and emotionally empowered position. This may include:
  • measures to ensure the economic independence of survivors
  • linking shelters to skills development
  • income generating initiatives
  • professional training opportunities
  • employment services
• Supporting women to access long-term stable housing and employment, by facilitating access to social housing or promoting measures which prioritize housing access for survivors of violence.  Such policies should promote secure land tenure for survivors, and account for the diversity of women’s experiences, particularly from marginalized groups (e.g. women living in informal settlements or displaced).

(UN Women’s Handbook for National Action Plans on Violence Against Women, 2011; Women Against Violence Europe, 2004, Away from Violence: Guidelines for Setting Up and Running a Women's Refuge; see also: Developing a national action plan)

See additional examples of relevant policies in the Secretary-General’s Database on Violence against Women (filter for Policies, strategies and programmes and Keyword shelter).

• Policies should include clear goals and objectives, with indicators, institutional responsibilities and timeframes for achieving results.