New counseling and networking service for abused women launched in Copenhagen

The new project is expected to help women before they become a target for the city’s group shelters

Copenhagen’s homeless unit in the Social Administration has, in collaboration with Project Q-Værk, launched the Our Way Out initiative, which is an outpatient counseling and networking offer for abused women. Through it, more abused women will be helped as early as possible so that the violence does not have time to escalate and before they are forced into the Danish capital’s shelters.

Acting as early as possible

Our Way Out is a three-year project that was kistearted earlier this year. The aim of the project is to provide counseling by creating the framework for the meeting between abused women, as they themselves can often be important supporters for one another.

“We are really happy to start the collaboration with the City of Copenhagen. Through it, we hope that we can get in touch with some of the women that the employees in the City of Copenhagen are still in contact with on a daily basis at job centers, institutions and civic centers, so we can help them before they need an emergency aid", says project manager Birgitte Toft-Petersen.

The head of department at the Homeless Unit, Ida Nissen, says that she expects Our Way Out to be able to catch women who are exposed to violence and before they become a target group for shelters.

“We are happy to be part of the project, because their work is something we are missing and because there is a need for an effort that can help prevent women from eventually becoming a target group for shelters. Our Way Out can provide networking and support, while their peer-to-peer efforts are valuable both before, during and after a stay at a shelter, ” she explained.

The women who can seek help from Project Q- Værk include:

• Women who are in a violent relationship;
• Women who have just left a violent partner and do not live in a shelter;
• Women who have previously been to a shelter who experience the need for counselling and community in order not to end up in a shelter again;
• Women who experience delayed effects as a consequence of violence.

However, women with abuse or psychiatric diagnoses are further screened for relevant treatment options, just as women exposed to massive stalking or other higher-level threats are referred to relevant authorities.