Country Profile Hungary

General Country Information

Summary

There are two national women’s helplines in Hungary, both are free of charge, and offer multilingual support, but are not available 24/7. There are also other helplines that can provide support to survivors of violence against women. There are 63 shelters accessible to women survivors of violence, four of which are women-only, with a total capacity of 460 beds. There are no women’s centres in Hungary, nor are there services for survivors of sexualised violence. Public authorities in Hungary do not collect data on primary prevention activities nor is there a specific budget allocated to such activities. The term women’s specialist service does not exist as an official category in Hungary, therefore, is not used by the state or in official statistics. The state can provide data on request regarding services that are available to the survivors of violence which collect their own data. There are only a few women’s rights NGOs providing women’s specialist services, and those that do exist undertake their own data collection as well.

Women’s Specialist Services

There are two national women’s helplines in Hungary, both are free of charge and offer multilingual support, but do not operate 24/7. The first helpline is run by the NANE Women’s Rights Association and is called NANE Helpline (NANE Segélyvonal, tel.: +36 80505101). The NANE Helpline accepts calls from survivors of all forms of violence against women, their relatives or friends, as well as professionals, and offers confidential emotional support, information, and referrals. It is staffed by trained volunteers and available via phone on weekdays, as well as through an anonymous online chat on selected days. This helpline provides multilingual support in Hungarian, English, Russian, Polish and German, depending on the language skills of the helpline operators. The vast majority of helpline operators speak English well enough to provide support in this language.

The second national women’s helpline is called PATENT Legal Aid (PATENT Jogsegély, tel.: +36 80808081) and is run by the PATENT (People Opposing Patriarchy) Association. PATENT’s legal team operates the helpline, complemented by legal aid via email and chat. In addition, PATENT offers individual and in-person consultations and legal representation in gender-based violence-related criminal proceedings, family law matters, and child custody cases. The helpline focuses on both interpersonal and structural forms of violence against women, offers free legal support to women affected by violence and reproductive rights violations. This helpline also offers multilingual support and consultations in Hungarian and English, depending on the language skills of the helpline operators. Hungary therefore does not meet the Istanbul Convention minimum standards for the provision of a national women’s helpline.

Both the NANE and PATENT Legal Aid helpline rely on a mix of funding sources, including international grants, individual donations, and limited funding comes from public sources, such as municipal (project) support, or taxpayers’ offers.² Both organisations also depend heavily on volunteer work and pro-bono expertise to operate sustainably. In 2024, the NANE Helpline received 19,513 initiated calls/attempts from 2,409 unique numbers, and was able to respond to 718 calls, 320 help requests via emails, 47 chat help requests and 181 help requests via Facebook. The PATENT Legal Aid helpline received 5,639 initiated calls/attempts from 627 unique numbers and was able to respond to 447 calls and 700 help requests via email. In addition to this, 150 chat inquiries were answered by PATENT’s lawyers and volunteers and 140 clients received in-person consultations.

The most common forms of violence reported by callers to both helplines were domestic violence, physical violence, and psychological violence. Most callers reached out to the NANE Helpline regarding domestic violence, which typically includes a combination of verbal, psychological, economic, and physical abuse and in many cases, sexualised violence as well. A significant proportion of these situations also involve children. Most women contacting the PATENT Legal Aid Helpline seek legal guidance on divorce proceedings resulting from domestic violence and matters of child custody. Each case is unique, and intimate partner violence may manifest as physical, psychological, financial or sexual abuse, or a combination of these forms. In addition, many women fear losing custody of their child. Abusers often exploit legal proceedings to maintain control and to punish their former partners, prolonging harm and abuse, which makes continuous legal support provided through the helpline vital for PATENT’s clients.

There are other helplines in Hungary that can provide support to survivors of violence against women. The National Crisis Management and Information Telephone Service (Országos Kríziskezelő és Információs Telefonszolgálat – OKIT, tel.: +36 80205520) is the statewide helpline for all survivors of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual exploitation, forced marriage, and human trafficking and has a central role in referring survivors to shelters. OKIT is available 24/7, free of charge, and offers multilingual support in Hungarian, English, and German. The helpline is run by the Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) and is funded by the state. In 2024, it received approximately 10,300 contacts, including calls and emails, from around 10,000 callers. Of these, 4,598 were from women (of which 3,999 called in relation to their own case), and 1,040 from men (of which 762 called in relation to their own case). Additionally, OKIT initiated shelter placements for 2,117 survivors – 690 women, 1,401 children, and 26 men. The most common forms of violence reported by callers in 2024 were domestic violence, physical violence, and violence directly or indirectly affecting children. There are also helplines that provide support for survivors of specific forms of violence. For example, EMMA Association operates the EMMA Helpline (tel.: +36 80414565) for women facing difficulties with motherhood, primarily for those who had traumatising experiences during maternity or are survivors of obstetric violence. This helpline is free of charge, but not available 24/7.

There are different types of services providing accommodation for all survivors of domestic violence and trafficking in Hungary. Access to shelter accommodation is available through the National Crisis Management and Information Telephone Service (Országos Kríziskezelő és Információs Telefonszolgálat – OKIT). Most shelters are open to both men and women, although there are institutions that only accept women survivors of violence. According to the information provided by the state, there is one crisis centre and one secret shelter only for women survivors of domestic violence as well as two protected accommodations for women survivors of human trafficking. These shelters offer in total 33 bed spaces for survivors of domestic violence and 18 bed spaces for survivors of human trafficking. Shelters offer 24/7 access and the state reports that women are not expected to pay for their accommodation. In terms of length of stay, women can stay in crisis centres for a maximum of eight weeks, in secret shelters for a maximum of six months. In the protected accommodation, the length of stay is tailored to the survivor’s needs, meaning there is no pre-determined maximum length. The types of in-houses services most often provided by these shelters include casework, counselling/psychological support, referrals/collaboration with other services, practical advice, and legal advice as well as physical care (if necessary) and leisure activities.

According to the state, all the shelters that only accept women can accommodate homeless women and older women (65 years and above). Most of the shelters can be accessed by and are accessible to women with physical, cognitive, or sensory disabilities, women with substance abuse issues, transgender women, women with older sons (14 years and above), and women with children with disabilities. Some of the shelters are equipped to support women with uncertain residence permits/undocumented women and refugee women. However, the state notes that the admission of survivors into a crisis centre or shelter (as well as those in their care, such as children) is up to the institution. In the case of certain specific groups of women, their needs may be a deciding factor for admission into a shelter. Crisis centres, secret shelters, and protected accommodation facilities can only admit women who are capable of taking care of themselves and do not pose a threat to others (i.e., who can be integrated into the community). None of the shelters that accept only women can accommodate unaccompanied girls under the age of 18. There are no specialised shelters supporting particular groups of survivors nor women survivors (at risk) of specific forms of violence, apart from the two protected accommodations for survivors of human trafficking.

Shelters only available to women in Hungary are funded by the state and run by other NGOs. These NGOs do not necessarily apply feminist principles and are not considered women’s rights NGOs. Such shelters are available in the capital city, county seat and a smaller rural town. The main reasons for declining referrals to shelters are if the survivor did not experience domestic violence or human trafficking and if the survivor was not assessed to be in a crisis situation (as a result of domestic violence or human trafficking). Based on the experiences of women’s NGOs, survivors are only assessed as being in a crisis situation in very serious cases of violence. The state claims that there is no waiting list for these services and that there are enough spaces for women survivors of violence. However, the entering condition “to be in a crisis situation” prevents many survivors from being eligible for shelter accommodation. In practice, the NANE Helpline has received complaints from survivors who could not find an available shelter space. That is often the case for women who seek shelter without children. According to the state, the most common forms of violence reported by survivors in 2024 were domestic violence, physical violence, psychological violence, and violence directly or indirectly affecting children. In 2024, 78 women and 170 child survivors of domestic violence were accommodated in women-only crisis centres and secret shelters.

In terms of other shelters that are available to both women and men survivors of violence, the state reports that there are 19 crisis centres and seven secret shelters for survivors of domestic violence with 286 available bed spaces, and 20 halfway houses with 80 beds for survivors after crisis intervention available in halfway houses. Additionally, there is one crisis apartment and three protected accommodations for survivors of human trafficking with 64 available bed spaces (one protected accommodation is only for male survivors of human trafficking with six bed spaces), and nine transitional houses/exit apartments with 36 beds for these survivors after crisis intervention. Survivors can stay in halfway houses for a maximum period of five years. There is no maximum length of stay in protected accommodation, it depends on the needs/recovery of survivors. The state reports that these shelters are run by church and municipal organisations and receive support from the state to provide shelter accommodation. In 2024, in total 613 women, 1,290 children, and seven men were accommodated in the domestic violence crisis services (which include crisis centres and secret shelters). The state notes that the number of male survivors receiving care is negligible. It also notes that when placing men in care, it is important to ensure that the host institution does not have a problem with accepting male survivors and that the presence of men does not have a negative impact on the recovery of female survivors receiving care.

There are no women’s centres in Hungary. However, there are non-residential services to support survivors of domestic violence which were established in 2018 – so-called “crisis ambulances”. Currently there are seven crisis ambulances which are regionally spread throughout the country. Most of them are operated by the Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA). These services do not categorise themselves as women’s centres; they are not operated by women’s NGOs with a feminist and gender-specific approach. According to the information provided by the state, all crisis ambulances provide counselling/psychological support, legal advice, financial and social welfare support/advocacy (providing information and assistance in cases), referrals/collaboration with other services. Services such as housing advice, employment, representation at court/police/social services, and residential support services are available within other institutions.

The state reports that crisis ambulances are low threshold services and are available for all survivors and groups of women. One crisis ambulance provides specialised support to survivors of human trafficking. Apart from this, there are no specialised services supporting particular groups of survivors nor women survivors (at risk) of specific forms of violence in Hungary. According to the information provided by the state, the seven crisis ambulances are operated by civil society organisations with financial support from the state. Crisis ambulances are located in all regions, and an estimated 3,000-3,200 survivors were supported in 2024.

Several women’s NGOs such as NANE and PATENT Association have different initiatives and programs that provide specialised services and support to survivors of violence against women through a feminist approach, although not in the form of a centre. The scope and outreach of these services is limited by available human and financial resources. NANE operates a trauma-response and empowerment support programme “Power to Change” which targets women survivors of intimate partner violence and domestic violence. In 2024, three “Power to Change” programmes were organised for 47 individuals. The “Integrated Client Service”, a joint NANE-PATENT initiative, offers trauma-sensitive support to survivors including legal assistance, psychological, and social counselling. This initiative is delivered by a team of experts who regularly consult with each other to ensure balanced and coordinated cooperation. The “Helper’s Network” is also a joint NANE-PATENT initiative which provided survivors with technical and practical support in relation to legal and administrative processes, in a trauma-informed and survivor-centred manner. The joint initiative ceased to operate in 2025.

There are no specialised support services for survivors of sexualised violence in Hungary. A specialised service for survivors of sexualised violence is available for children. It is based on the Barnahus Model from Iceland which was adapted and introduced in four cities in Hungary in the last decade; first, it was introduced in the city of Szombathely, then Debrecen, followed by two places in Budapest, and one in the city of Gyula. The Barnahus Model is recognised by the state, since the Act on Criminal Procedure now allows children to be involved in hearings with the support of specialist services to help assess and provide therapy to child survivors of neglect and abuse, and especially survivors of sexualised violence. Those five services now operate as Hearing and Therapy Centres. Women’s rights NGOs have not been involved and are not taking part in this service provision process.

Organisations and state services available for survivors of domestic violence and other forms of violence against women can also support survivors of sexualised violence. For example, the NANE Helpline and PATENT Legal Aid offer support and consultations for cases involving sexualised violence, although not in the form of regular service provision for survivors of sexualised violence. These NGOs can provide specific sexualised violence services as well, if the capacity and resources allow it. For example, NANE organises support groups for adult women survivors of childhood incest. In addition, both organisations conduct different advocacy and awareness-raising work against sexualised violence.

Public authorities in Hungary do not collect data on primary prevention activities at a national, regional, or local level. Hungary also does not have a National Strategy or Action Plan on preventing and combating violence against women or specific forms of violence, with the exception of trafficking. In addition, primary prevention is not addressed in the goals and measures of the Action Plan developed for the European Union on “strengthening the role of women in the family and in society” for 2021-2030, and the first and second plan of measures for 2021-2022 and 2023-2024 did not include any aims related to primary prevention. There is also no definition of primary prevention at a national level, but there is a definition in the joint prevention programme developed by NANE and PATENT.

Available primary prevention programmes are run by women’s NGOs. NANE and PATENT operate a joint intimate partner violence and sexualised violence prevention program for young people, composed of two stand-alone but complementary programmes. In 2024, 179 prevention workshops were organised, reaching nearly 800 participants. The two NGOs also manage a programme for teenage girls, called the “Rebellious Girl Camp”, which incorporates a series of interactive empowerment activities, and workshops connected to the topic of violence prevention. In 2024, one camp and one minicamp were organised.

NANE and PATENT apply for various, mostly international, tenders/calls for proposals to run these prevention workshops, but there are also related municipal cooperation projects. At least half of the workshops are financed by the client (e.g., school, community, etc.). The scope and reach of these programmes remain limited and there is currently no permanent or regular state funding for primary prevention programmes that focus on violence against women and girls in Hungary. There is no evaluation of the impact of primary prevention activities other than the analysis of participant feedback. None of the evaluations are financed by public authorities.

School-based prevention activities within the public education system have often been dependent on the commitment of individual teachers. Moreover, changes in the legislation in 2021 created an obstacle for NGOs conducting prevention activities to access schools: according to the new regulation, any person or organisation cooperating with an educational institution and holding a session on sexual culture, sex life, sexual orientation, sexual development, the harmful effects of drug use, the dangers of the internet and other physical and mental health promotion is required to receive a special authorisation by an official body designated by law. This body was only appointed in June 2025, and therefore organisations providing primary prevention programmes could not register as a provider of these activities before this. As a consequence, schools were noticeably less open to inviting external organisations, including violence prevention programmes organised by women’s NGOs. In addition to this, in practice and based on the school curriculum, there is no space and time in the public education system to talk about sexual education and violence prevention.

1. Of these, 1,165 were answered by NANE and PATENT helpline operators. ↩︎
2. There is a type of funding coming from personal tax offers of individual taxpayers as they can donate 1% of their personal income tax to a civil society organisation of their choice. ↩︎
3. This figure excludes the six bed spaces in the protected accommodation only for male survivors of trafficking ↩︎