Country Profile Belgium

General Country Information

Summary

There is no national women’s helpline in Belgium as it is a federal state but there are regional helplines offering support to survivors of violence, both in Brussels and Wallonia and in Flanders. There are approximately 27 women-only shelters in Belgium, as well as 17 other shelters accessible to women survivors in Brussels and Wallonia and approximately 82 additional shelter accommodation options in Flanders (referred to as residential support modules). The number of beds in shelters in Flanders is not available, but in Brussels and Wallonia, there are approximately 1,847 beds in total. There are at least 44 women’s centres in Belgium providing different support services. There are services for survivors of sexualised violence in Belgium, including ten sexual violence referral centres and one rape crisis centre which also operates a specialised helpline. Measures related to primary prevention are included in the National Action Plan and there is an official definition, although no specific budget for primary prevention activities. The state in the French-speaking part of Belgium does not systematically collect data on women’s specialist support services. In Flanders, data on women’s specialist support services is available upon request and sometimes (partially) publicly available on the website of the Flemish Parliament.

Women’s Specialist Services

There is no national women’s helpline for the whole of Belgium due to structural and linguistic differences within the country. Instead, there are distinct helplines for each of the two main linguistic communities (the French-speaking part, Brussels and Wallonia, and the Dutch-speaking part, Flanders). Therefore, Belgium does not meet the Istanbul Convention standards for the provision of a national women’s helpline.

For the French-speaking part of Belgium, there are two helplines supporting women survivors of violence. The first helpline is the Domestic Violence Helpline and Centre for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (Écoute violence conjugale et Centre de Prévention des Violences Conjugales et Familiales – CPVCF, tel.: +32 80003030) which is free of charge and available 24/7. In 2024, the helpline received 13,067 calls. The majority of calls were from survivors of domestic violence, 22% from the survivor’s network (family or professionals) and 2% from perpetrators of domestic violence. The three most common forms of violence reported by callers were psychological violence (74%), verbal violence (47%), and tensions (59%). It should be noted that callers reported several forms of violence at the same time. The CPVCF also offers online chat and messaging services and in 2024, the helpline received and responded to just over 500 messages. The second helpline is run by the Collective against Family Violence and Exclusion (Ligne d’écoute du CVFE – Collectif contre les Violences familiales et l’Exclusion, tel.: +32 42234567). The helpline is available 24/7 and received 5,475 calls in 2021. There is also a helpline for survivors of forced marriage, My Marriage Belongs to Me (Mon mariage m’appartient, tel.: +32 80090901), which is free of charge but does not run 24/7 (it is available on workdays only). Funding for women’s helplines in Brussels and Wallonia comes from the state, local authorities, subsidies, and donations.

In Flanders there is a helpline (tel.: +32 1712) to report any kind of violence and (child) abuse, which is available to all survivors of violence, not just women. The helpline is run by the Centres for General Welfare Work (Centrum voor Algemeen Welzijnswerk – CAW) and Child Abuse Trust Centres (Vertrouwenscentra kindermishandeling – VK) and is accessible via phone, email, and chat. The helpline is state-funded, free of charge, and offers multilingual support in Dutch, English, and French, but it is not available 24/7. In 2024, the helpline received 9,444 calls concerning 13,281 persons or (potential) survivors of violence or child abuse. Seventy-three percent of callers were women, 26% were men, 0,5% were non-binary or gender non-conforming individuals, and 1,4% unknown. The three most common forms of violence reported were emotional violence (38%), physical violence (22%), and sexualised violence (11%). In addition, 85% of calls were related to domestic violence incidents.

There is another regional helpline in Belgium supporting survivors of violence, Tele-Reception (Tele-Onthaal/Télé-Accueil) that is available 24/7 also via chat in both Dutch (tel.: +32 106) and French (tel.: +32 107). The helpline is a general support line run by volunteers for all possible questions, including support to survivors of all forms of violence. In 2023, the helpline received 105,568 calls (68% by women) and handled 78,376 conversations. Other helplines for specific groups of survivors include GAMS Belgium (tel.: +32 22194340) for women and girls (at risk) of female genital mutilation. Different specialised helplines exist for survivors of human trafficking including Payoke (tel.: +32 32011690) in Flanders, Pag-Asa (tel.: +32 25116464) in Brussels, and Sürya in Wallonia (tel.: +32 42324030). In addition, there is also a group of government-initiated, volunteer-run helplines called Listening Ears (Luisterende Oren), which offer support to survivors of domestic violence in 24 languages (individual phone numbers available by language).

In the French-speaking part of Belgium, there are 21 women-only shelters (five in Brussels and 16 in Wallonia) with a total of 889 beds (203 in Brussels and 686 in Wallonia). Most of the women-only shelters offer 24/7 access. In Brussels and Wallonia, women are expected to pay for their accommodation in a shelter, meaning that undocumented women without sufficient income have limited access to women-only shelters. Concerning women with a low income, most women-only shelters propose a contribution based on the woman’s income. On average, women are allowed to stay in a shelter for up to one year. The types of in-house services most often provided by women-only shelters are counselling/psychological support, practical advice, and legal advice.
Most women-only shelters in Brussels and Wallonia are accessible to homeless women. Some women-only shelters can be accessed by and are accessible to women with uncertain residence permits/undocumented women, refugee women, women with physical disabilities, women with substance abuse issues, transgender women, and women with older sons (14 years and above). There are also specialised shelters supporting particular groups of survivors including the Sisters’ House in Brussels, which is accessible to refugee women and can accommodate 70 women. The Brussels Refuge (Le Refuge Brussels) provides emergency accommodation for up to three months and support for LGBTQI+ people aged 18 to 25 who have been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. In 2022, a new shelter reserved for LGBTQI+ youth opened in the Brussels-Capital Region with 14 beds.

Funding for women-only shelters in Brussels and Wallonia comes from the state as well as donations. Six women-only shelters are run by women’s NGOs with a feminist and gender-specific approach and 15 are run by other NGOs. In Wallonia, and especially in the shelters run by the Collective against Family Violence and Exclusion, all survivors reported experiencing psychological and verbal violence; three quarters also reported economic violence, while two thirds reported physical violence and/or sexualised violence. The main reasons for declining referrals were no space/capacity to support the survivor and no space/capacity to accommodate survivors with children. While Brussels and Wallonia do meet the Istanbul Convention standards for the provision of women’s shelters, the need actually outnumbers what women-only shelters can currently accommodate.

In addition, there are other shelters which can provide support to all survivors, namely 17 shelters (11 in Brussels and six in Wallonia) with a total of 958 beds, 815 in Brussels and 143 in Wallonia. Shelters are located in all regions of Brussels and Wallonia and most offer 24/7 access.

In Flanders, there are six women-only shelters, but the number of beds for 2024 is not known. In recent years, the Centres for General Welfare Work (Centrum Algemeen Welzijnwerk – CAW) have focused on transitioning from group accommodation to individual accommodation in studios with support options – referred to as intra-family violence residential support modules. As a result, shelter accommodation capacity is no longer counted per bed but per type of residential support. The CAWs are responsible for providing residential accommodation for women survivors of violence. Four women-only shelters have an anonymous address, while two women-only shelters have a known but secure address. Women-only shelters in Flanders are, in principle, available 24/7, but physical access to the building is limited to those who have been officially admitted. In emergency situations, immediate admission can be arranged, even outside office hours, but this usually happens via referrals from the police, hospitals, or care providers. The types of in-house services most often provided by women-only shelters are casework, counselling/psychological support, referrals/collaboration with other services, practical advice, legal advice, and childcare. Women are expected to pay for their accommodation in a women-only shelter. At the beginning of 2024, the Flemish government decided that during the first twelve weeks, the average length of stay in a shelter with a secret address, no daily fee would be charged. After this twelve-week period, the survivor is expected to cover the accommodation costs either through their own means, if sufficient, or through a contribution from the Public Centre for Social Welfare (OCMW). This measure doesn’t count for women-only shelters with a known but secure address. In 2024, the daily rate was €20.28 for persons under 12 years old and €32.98 for persons aged 12 or over. In 2023, the average length of stay in a women-only shelter was 74,9 days.³

All women-only shelters in Flanders can accommodate older women (65 years and above) and most can accommodate women with older sons (14 years and above). Some women-only shelters can be accessed by and are accessible to women with uncertain residence permits/undocumented women, refugee women, women with physical disabilities, women with cognitive disabilities, women with sensory disabilities, women with substance abuse issues, transgender women, and women with children with disabilities. Women-only shelters cannot accommodate homeless women, but temporary accommodation is available for women (and their children) who can no longer live at home due to various circumstances or when they have nowhere to stay due to an emergency situation. There are no specialised shelters supporting particular groups of survivors nor women survivors or those at risk of specific forms of violence in Flanders. However, Payoke is a Flemish NGO for survivors of trafficking and exploitation, offering specialised care and support to survivors of human trafficking, including a 45-day stay in a safe space.
Women-only shelters in Flanders are run by the CAWs which fund shelters with the subsidies they receive from the Flemish government. However, not all CAWs operate a shelter. Women-only shelters are located in all five Flemish provinces. The main reason why women-only shelters had to decline referrals was because of a lack of capacity for example due to illness of staff members, or because there was no space to accommodate the survivor and/or her children. The most common forms of violence reported by survivors in 2024 were domestic violence, physical violence, psychological violence, sexualised violence, and economic violence. In 2024, a total of 568 survivors were accommodated in women-only shelters.

In addition to the intra-family violence residential support modules, the are other shelter accommodation options for survivors of violence against women in Flanders. These are also offered by the CAWs and include residential support units with accommodation and crisis shelters, which women and children can also turn to if needed. There are 82 such residential support units and crisis shelters available. Shelters are available to all survivors and some offer 24/7 access.

There are at least 34 women’s centres in Brussels and Wallonia, four of which are run by women’s NGOs and the rest by other NGOs. Four of the women’s centres are only for women survivors of violence against women, and the rest are for all survivors, including women. Almost all centres provide counselling/psychological support, more than half offer legal advice, and some provide financial and social welfare support/advocacy, housing advice, and employment, but no centres provide referrals with other services, representation at court/police, or residential support services. Some centres provide support services for survivors of violence such as discussion groups, trainings, literacy classes or individual psychosocial support. Women’s centres also provide specialist support services for survivors of sexualised violence such as specialist forensic and medical care, specialist psychological care, and specialist sexualised violence advocacy services.

Some women’s centres in Brussels and Wallonia can be accessed by and are accessible to women with uncertain residence permits/undocumented women, refugee women, women with physical disabilities, and transgender women. There are at least eight women’s centres which support transgender women and non-binary people, the association Tels Quels and seven centres of the Maisons Arc-en-Ciel. Located in the four corners of Wallonia, the Maisons Arc-en-Ciel are local relays for all LGBTQI+ people looking for a friendly and caring place, peer-to-peer activities, and information. In addition, three centres provide specialised support to survivors (at risk) of female genital mutilation, including GAMS Belgium, the group for the Abolition of Female Genital Mutilation. Two centres provide specialised support to survivors (at risk) of forced marriage and honour-based violence. There are also two centres providing specialised support to survivors of trafficking, including the NGO Payoke which is located in Flanders but operates throughout Belgium. There is one women’s centre providing specialised support to women with uncertain residence permits/undocumented women, refugee women, and older women, respectively.

In Flanders, there are four women’s centres offering various services to women, such as socio-cultural activities, discussion groups, and trainings, though not only for survivors of violence. In addition, the six women-only shelters that are part of the Centres for General Welfare Work (CAW) also offer non-residential support services. Collaboration with the Houses of Justice, the victim support unit of the police and/or the Veilig Huizen (Family Justice Centres) is possible. All centres offer counselling/psychological support, information and referrals for legal aid, referrals for financial and social welfare support (some also do advocacy), referrals for housing advice and collaboration with other services.

All women’s centres in Flanders are equipped to support women with uncertain residence permits/undocumented women, refugee women, older women (65 years and above), transgender women, and unaccompanied girls under the age of 18. There are two women’s centres providing specialised support to survivors (at risk) of forced marriage, honour-based violence, or female genital mutilation, namely GAMS Belgium and INTACT (both of which operate in all of Belgium), as well as support to girls under the age of 18. Additionally, there is one centre, Persephone, which supports women with disabilities and chronic illnesses.

Funding for women’s centres in Brussels and Wallonia comes from the state as well as donations and centres are located in most regions. In 2024, approximately 2,500 women were supported by women’s centres in Brussels and Wallonia. Funding for women’s centres in Flanders also comes from the state as well as donations, and centres are located only in major cities.

There is one rape crisis centre in Belgium, SOS Rape (SOS Viol), which is the only NGO in Belgium that provides long-term support to survivors of sexualised violence. While the organisation has a feminist background, it also works with male survivors. SOS Viol also runs a helpline (tel.: +32 80098100) which is free of charge, available 24/7, and operates both in Brussels and Namur (Wallonia). The helpline received 2,810 calls in 2022,⁴ an average of 11 calls per day. Approximately one in three calls concerned a new report of sexual assault. In 2022, 88% of survivors who called were women, and 12% were men. The three most common forms of sexualised violence reported were rape (81%), sexual assault (11%), and harassment (3%). SOS Viol also offers a chat service and replied to 443 messages in 2022, 92% of which concerned female survivors and 8% male survivors.

In addition, there are five sexual violence referral centres in Brussels and Wallonia called Sexual Assault Care Centres (Centres de Prise en Charge des Violences Sexuelles – CPVS). The CPVS are open 24/7 and offer medical and forensic care, psychological support, and follow-up for survivors. Specialised police officers are also present at the centres if the survivor wishes to lodge a complaint. In 2023, the centre in Brussels was extended to offer three examination and consultation rooms, an additional psychotherapy room, rest room, several adapted hearing rooms, as well as a multi-purpose area to provide additional activities for survivors or their families. The centres are located in Brussels, Charleroi, Liège, Namur and Arlon. The CPVS in Namur opened in April 2023, and the one in Arlon in December 2023.⁵ Additional CPVS were planned to open in 2024 covering the provinces Halle-Vilvorde, Eupen, Mons and Walloon Brabant, but these services have so far not been established. Sexual Assault Care Centres are open to all survivors of sexualised violence, more specifically women, men, transgender people and children, although 91% of survivors receiving support in these centres in 2022 were women (including transwomen).

In Flanders, there are also five CPVS which are called Zorgcentrum na Seksueel Geweld (ZSG) in Dutch. These centres are located in Antwerpen, Leuven, Limburg (in Genk), Oost-Vlaanderen (in Gent), and West-Vlaanderen (Roeselare). Funding for sexualised violence support services comes from the state, and these services are located only in major cities. Even though they are located in medium-sized and large cities, CPVS cover all regions of Belgium, some of which are more remote than others.

In 2022, the 10 CPVS in all of Belgium supported a total of 3,287 survivors of sexualised violence, with an average of nine people visiting a centre per day. The average age of survivors seeking support at a CPVS was 24, and 70% of survivors reported to the CPVS within seven days of the assault. Furthermore, Nupraatikerover.be is an online chat support service for minors who have questions about, or are survivors of, abuse, neglect, or sexualised violence. It is an initiative of the Child Abuse Trust Centres (Vertrouwenscentra Kindermishandeling – VK). The helpline 1712 can also provide support to survivors of sexualised violence. Child Focus is another helpline available in Belgium that aims to prevent the sexualised exploitation of minors (tel.: 116000) and which is available 24/7. All Sexual Assault Care Centres can also be contacted seven days a week via phone or chat.

Public authorities in Belgium do not collect data on primary prevention, although this was planned as part of the National Action Plan to Combat Gender-Based Violence 2021–2025. This National Action Plan does include specific provisions on primary prevention (in Axis III), focusing on awareness-raising, information, and primary prevention initiatives, as well as a definition of primary prevention in line with the definition used by the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, no specific budget is allocated to available primary prevention activities which include feminist self-defence trainings, empowerment activities for girls and women, school-based primary prevention programmes, training for primary prevention practitioners, self-care activities, and awareness-raising campaigns or programmes.

In Brussels and Wallonia, only two organisations carry out primary prevention activities, notably by organising feminist self-defence courses (for women, including trans women, non-binary people, and girls aged eight to 18). These are CVFE in Liège and Garance in Brussels. The CVFE offers trainings exclusively for adult women and does not yet offer additional mixed-gender trainings. For almost two years, Garance has expanded its trainings to include courses for more specific audiences, such as a course for bisexual and lesbian women and a course for trans women and intersex people. Garance is the only organisation in Belgium that evaluates its primary prevention activities.

In Flanders, there are several primary prevention initiatives which are run by NGOs and include information campaigns, educational programmes for schools, and training for professionals working with at-risk groups. There is also an increasing focus on gender-based violence and the role of toxic masculinity in the emergence of violence. These organisations collect data for their annual reports, but it is not published by public authorities under the heading of primary prevention.

1. This number does not include the 82 residential support modules accessible to women in Flanders. ↩︎
2. This number only includes the beds in shelters in Brussels and Wallonia, as the number of beds is Flanders is not available. ↩︎
3. Data for 2024 is not available. ↩︎
4. Figures for 2023 and 2024 are not available. ↩︎
5. The Secretary of State for Equality has supported the creation of new CPVS. It means that it is a federal pilot project supported by the Secretary of State for
   Equality between Women and Men, subsidised by the national lottery and piloted by the ICRH (International Centre for Reproductive Health) UZ Gent. ↩︎