Rising demand for women's shelters and counseling in Germany and Austria amid funding cuts

In Germany, a 2025 report by the Frauenhauskoordinierung e.V. found that around 13,440 women and 15,280 children sought protection in women’s shelters, while roughly 12,000 shelter places remain unavailable. The study highlights that many women must finance their stay, with costs ranging from €10 to €100 per day, and that post‑shelter employment drops from 23 % to 15 %. At the same time, the federal government is considering multi‑billion‑euro cuts to social programmes, raising concerns that protection services could be further reduced.

In Vienna, Austria, women’s counselling centres have reported a 20 % increase in contacts since March compared with the previous year. The rise is attributed to greater awareness and outreach rather than a surge in violence, according to Laura Wimmer of Frauenservice Wien. Calls now cover psychological, physical and sexual abuse, and other organisations such as the women’s sexual‑violence counselling centre and the Austrian Integration Fund’s women’s centres are seeing similar trends.