In just over a year, 432 people fleeing from domestic violence were sheltered in Flemish shelters, according to figures from Flemish Minister for Well-being Caroline Gennez (Vooruit). In 119 cases, the victims were accompanied by one or more children.
Shelters offer safe havens to people fleeing partner violence or other forms of intrafamilial violence. A pilot project has been underway since 1 April 2024, in which the Flemish Government pays for the first 12 weeks of shelter for a victim.
"In 15 months (between 1 April 2024 and 30 June 2025), more than 400 people, often with children, made use of the assistance and safety offered by such a shelter," said Flemish MP Freya Perdaens (N-VA), who had requested the figures from Gennez.
"This demonstrates that protection and shelter for victims of domestic violence remains necessary. As the pilot project will end soon, we at N-VA hope that this project will be continued," said Perdaens.
First step
Most people were sheltered in centres in East Brabant (113), followed by East Flanders (94) and Central-West Flanders (78).
The average length of stay in Flanders is 86 days. There are significant regional differences, however. In Halle-Vilvoorde, the average length of stay is barely 11 days, while in Antwerp and Central-West Flanders it reaches 165 days.
Perdaens also points to the number of people who could not be accommodated. "It's a good thing that people find their way to a shelter; that's the first step. But sometimes they can't be accommodated there. In the best-case scenario, they can be safely accommodated through another route. But we have no insight into how many people this affects."
