Women’s Night Café – Crisis point for women from the association Wildwasser, a working group against the sexual abuse of girls Gertraud Deinhart, FrauenNachtCafé

Women’s Night Café – Crisis point for women from the association Wildwasser, a working group against the sexual abuse of girls

Gertraud Deinhart, FrauenNachtCafé – Nächtliche Krisenanlaufstelle, Berlin, 2° Round-Table,16th May 2014

With financial support from the European Union

WIT is a project funded under the EC Programme PROGRESS 2007-2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Who are we?

What do we do?

The most important principles of the Women’s Night Café

Organisation


Who are we?

The Women’s Night Café is a project in support of women in crisis or conflict situations. It has existed since 2006.

The concept was developed from the knowledge and experience that violence experienced (sexual, physical, psychological violence) often leads to crisis situations and/or fragile biographies even if it took place many years ago.


Who are we?

A survivor-controlled approach and self-help are important principles of the Women’s Night Café. The staff experienced sexual violence themselves as girls and include their personal and professional expertise in their work.

The Women’s Night Café is rooted in political self-help. This involves participation in debates in society, countering violence, discrimination and exclusion, thereby supporting women to promote their own issues.


What do we do?

The support available is divided into three categories:

Open space from women for women for exchange and participation

Individual advice and crisis intervention, face-to-face and by telephone

Mentored, subject-related discussion groups, group activities and workshops


What do we do?

In addition the Women’s Night Café offers:

Information and networking, internet research, books (especially about the central topics violence and sexual abuse);

Further education for supporters and experts;

Networking, political committees and public relations;


What do we do?

The offer of the Women’s Night Café is low-threshold, it can be accessed anonymously, free of charge and without prior registration;

The mixture of open and structured/mentored and individual and group-related offers gives women the opportunity to choose the most suitable form of support for themselves.

Collective forms of support take on special importance because they counter the excluding and isolating effects of violence with community-building experience.


What do we do?

Discussion is important, but is not the only way of providing empowerment and support: movement, relaxation, building workshops, boxing, painting etc. also contribute to the (re)discovery of inner resources and thereby gain scope for action.

Our opening times: weekly 3 evenings/nights from 8 pm to 2 am on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays and culturally relevant holidays such as Easter, Christmas and New Year.

The opening times are deliberately in the evening/night and concentrate on the weekend because there is hardly any other external support available at these times.


The most important principles of the Women’s Night Café are:

A feminist, supportive approach; individual crises and violence are seen within the context of structural violence and injustice;

Crises demand change:

- of the individual patterns of behaviour and experience,

- of social relations, and in respect of societal restrictions, normalizations and structures of injustice;

if this is successful, crises can provide important development impulses;


The most important principles of the Women’s Night Café are:

•Empowerment and the promotion of resilience and self-determination are important aims, they are effective in combatting discrimination and support equal participation in society;


Organisation:

Six female members of staff are employed part-time in the Women’s Night Café. Two members of staff are present on each evening/night the café is open;

The Women’s Night Café is funded by the Berlin Senate and the Joint Welfare Organization.


Thank you for your attention!

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This training material is supported by the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity - PROGRESS (2007-2013). This programme is implemented by the European Commission. It was established to financially support the implementation of the objectives of the European Union in the employment, social affairs and equal opportunities area, and thereby contribute to the achievement of the Europe 2020 Strategy goals in these fields.The seven-year Programme targets all stakeholders who can help shape the development of appropriate and effective employment and social legislation and policies, across the EU-27, EFTA-EEA and EU candidate and pre-candidate countries. For more information see: http://ec.europa.eu/progress. The information contained in this publication doesn’t necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Commission.

The sole responsibility of this training material content lies with the author. The Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information here contained.

Documents

Women’s Night Café – Crisis point for women from the association Wildwasser, a working group against the sexual abuse of girls Gertraud Deinhart, FrauenNachtCafé