Country Profile Luxembourg

General Country Information

Summary

There is one national Domestic Violence Helpline accessible to all survivors of violence in Luxembourg. It is free of charge, offers multilingual support, but does not operate 24/7. In addition, the women’s centre Femmes en détresse operates a women-only helpline on workdays. There are seven women-only shelters offering 196 beds and eight women’s centres in Luxembourg. There is a sexual violence referral centre and crisis as well as medical services available for survivors of sexualised violence. Measures related to primary prevention are included in the National Action Plan on violence against women and girls, and the state finances such activities. The state collects some data on women’s specialist services, which is publicly available.

Women’s Specialist Services

There is one national helpline in Luxembourg, the national Domestic Violence Helpline (Helpline Violence Domestique, tel. +352 20601060), which offers support to all survivors of violence, including women. The helpline was opened in 2020, during the first COVID-19 lockdown. It operates daily from 12:00–20:00, is free of charge and offers multilingual support in Luxembourgish, French, German and English. As it does not operate 24/7, it does not meet the standards of the Istanbul Convention for the provision of a national women’s helpline. It is funded by the state and is run by the association Fondation Maison de la Porte ouverte and Pro Familia, which have signed an agreement with the Ministry of Equality between Men and Women to provide this service. Additionally, the women’s centre Femmes en détresse operates a women-only helpline, available on workdays from 9:00–17:00.

Luxembourg has seven women-only shelters with a total of 196 beds. The capacity does not meet demand, as many women remain in the shelters for more than a year due to the shortage of affordable housing. Officially, stays are limited to three to six months, but in practice, the average stay is up to a year in some shelters and longer in most. Some shelters allow 24/7 access, but entry at night and on weekends is only possible with police accompaniment. Women with an income contribute a fixed percentage towards accommodation costs, while the state covers expenses for those without income. Shelters provide casework, counselling and psychological support, referrals and cooperation with other services, as well as practical and legal advice.

Women-only shelters can be accessed by and are accessible to refugee women, women with cognitive and/or sensory disabilities, transgender women and women with older sons. Most shelters can accommodate homeless women, older women, and women with children with disabilities. Women with uncertain residence permits and undocumented women, women with physical disabilities and unaccompanied girls under the age of 18 can be accommodated by some shelters. Additionally, there are specific houses for all survivors of trafficking in persons, which provide 24 beds in different cities of the country. No shelters can accommodate women with substance abuse issues.

Women-only shelters are funded by the Luxembourgish state and donations. Three women-only shelters are run by women’s NGOs with a gender-specific and feminist approach, one by another NGO, and three by other entities. Two shelters are located in the South of Luxembourg, one in the North and the remaining ones in the centre. The reasons for declining referrals ranged from not having space and/or capacity to support the survivor and/or accommodate survivors with children to survivors being ineligible for support. The most common forms of violence reported by survivors were domestic, physical and psychological violence.

There are eight women’s centres in Luxembourg. Two of these centres operate for all survivors of human trafficking, one centre supports girls and young women up to the age of 21 (or up to 27 if they are students), one is an intervention centre for all survivors of gender-based violence, and the other centres support women survivors of intimate partner violence. All women’s centres provide counselling and psychological support, referrals and collaboration with other services as well as residential support services. Seven centres in Luxembourg provide legal advice, financial and social welfare support and advocacy. Housing advice is given by six centres, two centres provide employment, and one women’s centre can provide representation at court and other institutions. The women’s centres offer only non-residential support services, but they can also organise and finance emergency housing accommodations.

All women’s centres can be accessed by and are accessible to refugee women, women with physical, cognitive and/or sensory disabilities, as well as transgender women. Most centres are equipped to support women with uncertain residence permits and undocumented women, and older women. Moreover, two women’s centres are specialised in supporting survivors of trafficking in persons.

Women’s NGOs run four centres in Luxembourg, one centre is run by other NGOs and the remaining by other entities. Funding stems mainly from the state and donations. The women’s centres cover most regions of the country, with one located in the North, two in the South and the remaining one in Luxembourg City. In 2024, 2,187 women were supported by women’s centres in Luxembourg.

In Luxembourg, there is one sexual violence referral centre and crisis as well as medical services available for women and girls who have experienced sexualised violence. They provide support such as specialist forensic and medical care, specialist psychological care, specialist sexualised violence advocacy services, as well as community awareness and education for prevention. The centre Umedo documents sexualised and physical violence and is open to both men and women. Moreover, all hospitals provide crisis and medical care. Funding for the centres is derived from the Luxembourgish State and donations. These services are located in major cities of Luxembourg and are available to all survivors of sexualised violence.

Luxembourg has a National Action Plan on violence against women and girls, which includes specific provisions on the primary prevention of violence against women, but no specific definition of primary prevention. The Luxembourgish State funds primary prevention activities. The activities available in the country are feminist self-defence trainings, school-based primary prevention programmes, training for primary prevention practitioners, bystander intervention training, self-care activities, awareness-raising campaigns, and prevention theatre sessions for young people. The Orange Week, a community event dedicated to combating violence against women and girls, offers additional events and workshops in line with the National Action Plan. In addition, there is a National Plan on sexual and emotional health, which focuses on the development of sexual and emotional education promoting the values of respect and equality between the sexes.