How Do You Access a crisis shelter?

If you are experiencing violence and need immediate safety, you and your children can access urgent help and protection at one of Denmark’s shelters. Shelters provide temporary accommodation in safe surroundings, where adults exposed to violence are entitled to specialized support and help in addressing the violence they have experienced.

You have the right to access a shelter, and you do not need a referral from the municipality, police or any other authority. You can contact a shelter directly, including anonymously, and speak to a staff member about your situation. The shelter will then assess your need for accommodation and support.

You can either contact your nearest shelter directly or call Lev Uden Vold’s national hotline on 1888. The hotline is open 24 hours a day and can guide you to the support that best matches your situation, including available shelter spaces across Denmark. You can remain anonymous when calling.

There are shelters in all regions of Denmark. At a shelter, you can stay with or without children and receive advice, care and specialized support in safe surroundings. Shelter staff have extensive knowledge of domestic violence and many years of experience supporting adults exposed to violence and their children.

Shelters in Denmark operate under Section 109 of the Danish Social Services Act, which regulates temporary shelter accommodation and support for adults exposed to violence. The shelters operate under the principle of self-referral, which means that adults exposed to violence can seek protection directly without prior contact with public authorities. This ensures access to safety and protection at any time of day all year.

About LOKK

LOKK – National Organisation of Women’s Shelters in Denmark represents 54 shelters across Denmark, as well as their staff and affiliated volunteers.

Our purpose is to unite, support and strengthen the local, frontline efforts of shelters across Denmark.

We work to improve the conditions and framework for our members, so they have the strongest possible foundation for supporting adults exposed to violence and their children towards a safe future free from violence.

LOKK’s secretariat serves as a central coordinating body that provides specialist knowledge on intimate partner violence and domestic violence, contributes to quality development across Denmark’s women’s shelters, and offers specialized legal counselling.

LOKK also serves as a link between shelters and the political system and acts as a national knowledge center for members, stakeholders, public authorities and professional partners.

Since 1987, LOKK has served as a unifying national organization for women’s shelters in Denmark. All LOKK member shelters operate on a non-profit basis and are geographically represented across the country.

Crisis shelters in Denmark

Shelters are a vital part of Denmark’s response to domestic violence. They provide adults exposed to violence and their children with immediate protection, safety and specialized support – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

For more than 40 years, women’s shelters in Denmark have played a central role in addressing domestic violence. The first shelters were established in the 1970s as grassroots initiatives, driven by volunteers and the women’s movement. Since then, the sector has grown and professionalized and today forms an essential part of Denmark’s welfare response to violence in intimate and family relationships.

Crisis shelters in Denmark are regulated under Section 109 of the Danish Social Services Act, which grants adults and children exposed to domestic violence the right to temporary shelter and support.

Danish shelters operate under the principle of self-referral. This means that adults exposed to violence can contact a shelter directly and seek immediate protection without prior referral from a municipality or public authority. The purpose of this principle is to ensure that adults exposed to violence, and any accompanying children, can access safety and protection at any time of day, all year round.

Crisis shelters in Denmark operate under different organizational models, including independent non-profit institutions, foundations, associations, private non-profit providers and municipal services. Regardless of structure, they all provide immediate protection, safety and specialized support to adults exposed to violence and their children.

Today, crisis shelters are a crucial part of Denmark’s overall response to domestic violence. Every year, shelters help thousands of adults and children escape violence and begin a new life in safety. At the same time, shelters contribute specialist knowledge and frontline experience that help strengthen and develop responses to domestic violence at both local and national level.

Crisis shelters therefore play not only a life-saving role for adults and children exposed to violence, but also a vital societal role in preventing and combating domestic violence in Denmark.