Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Selbstbestimmung im Frauenhaus

Women's shelters are protective and counselling facilities for women affected by violence in the social environment and their children. In addition to protection and security, the (re)attainment of a self-determined, non-violent life is a central goal of these social institutions. The distinctive house rules and their control by the staff seem to contradict this. In order to make this discrepancy transparent or to invalidate it, ten clients of the Association of Vienna Women's Shelters were interviewed on the topics of house rules, control, sanctions, self-determination and co-determination. The results, some of which were surprising, could be analyzed using the theory described above.