Country Profile The Czech Republic

General Country Information

Summary

There is one national women’s helpline in the Czech Republic, which is free of charge, available 24/7 and provides multilingual support, as well as other helplines that can support survivors of violence against women. There are seven women-only shelters and centres with crisis beds in the country, with approximately 200 beds, alongside 26 women’s centres and two services for survivors of sexualised violence. No data is collected on primary prevention activities, nor is a budget allocated for them. The state does not collect data on women’s specialist services.

Women’s Specialist Services

There is one national women’s helpline in the Czech Republic, called Hotline for victims of violence against women (Linka pro oběti násilí na ženách, tel.: 116 016). It is run by the ROSA Centre for women, is free of charge and available 24/7, meeting the standards of the Istanbul Convention. It offers multilingual support in Czech and English, and Ukrainian is available upon request. The helpline supports survivors of domestic violence and sexualised violence, and is financed by the state and donations. This helpline began operating with the European harmonised number in November 2024. Before November 2024, the same service was provided on a different number operated by the ROSA Centre for Women. In 2024, the helpline received 3,913 calls and chat contacts. The most common forms of violence reported by callers were domestic violence (in all its forms, including psychological, physical, sexualised and economic violence), as well as stalking and violence directly/indirectly affecting children.

Other helplines in the Czech Republic provide support to survivors of violence against women. The organisation proFem runs an information hotline for survivors of domestic and sexualised violence, which operates around the clock, but is not free of charge (tel.: +420 608 222 277); proFem also runs a legal advice line, active on Wednesdays between 17:30 and 20:30 (tel.: +420 777 012 555). The organisation Acorus runs a helpline for survivors of domestic violence, which is available around the clock, but not free of charge (tel.: +420 283 892 772). The DONA Hotline is available to survivors of crimes and domestic violence. It is not gender-sensitive, and is available 24/7 and free of charge.

There are seven women-only shelters and centres with crisis beds in the Czech Republic, with approximately 200 beds.¹ Some of them offer 24/7 access, and women are expected to pay a fee for their accommodation. On average, women can stay in the shelters for up to one year. The types of in-house services provided include casework, counselling and psychological support, referrals and collaboration with other services, and practical and legal advice.

All the women-only shelters are accessible to older women, and most of them are accessible to homeless women. Some women-only shelters accommodate women with physical disabilities, women with cognitive disabilities, women with substance abuse issues, as well as women with older sons (14 years and above). There is one crisis accommodation for survivors of trafficking in the country.
Funding for women’s shelters comes from the state, donations, and international funding, and shelters are located only in major cities. The main reasons for declining referrals were lack of space, insufficient capacity to support survivors or to accommodate survivors with children, or ineligibility for support. The most common forms of violence reported by survivors are normally domestic violence (in all its forms, including psychological, physical, sexualised and economic violence), as well as stalking and violence directly/indirectly affecting children.

Other shelters in the Czech Republic can support survivors of gender-based violence and accommodate both women and men. Some of these offer 24/7 access.

There are approximately 26 women’s centres and intervention centres in the Czech Republic, of which five are only for women survivors of Violence Against Women, are run by women’s NGOs and have a gender-sensitive approach. Women’s centres provide counselling, psychological support, legal advice, housing advice, referrals and collaboration with other services, representation at courts and other institutions, and residential support services. Additionally, they also provide specialised support to survivors of sexualised violence, including specialist forensic and medical care, needs assessment, specialist psychological care, specialist advocacy services, community awareness and education for prevention and legal advice.

While all women’s centres are accessible to older women, most of them are equipped to support women with uncertain residence permits, undocumented women, refugee women and women with sensory disabilities. Some centres are accessible to and can be accessed by women with cognitive disabilities and unaccompanied girls under 18. In fact, there are centres specialised in supporting minor girls and older women. There are no centres specialised in supporting survivors (at risk) of forced marriage, honour-based violence and female genital mutilation.

Women’s centres are funded by the state, donations, and international funding, and are located only in major cities.

There is one specialised rape crisis centre for survivors of sexualised violence, run by proFem. This centre provides specialist forensic and medical care, needs assessment, specialist psychological care, and specialist advocacy services. Additionally, it also provides a specialised helpline for sexualised violence cases. The funding comes from the state, donations and international funding. It is located in Prague and supports women, young women and children under the age of 18.

Additionally, the centre Persefona, based in Brno, supports survivors of domestic violence and sexualised violence. It offers different services for survivors of sexualised violence, including legal and psychological counselling, self-help groups, accompaniment to police, court and other authorities, and referrals.

Public authorities do not collect data on primary prevention activities, and there is no official definition of primary prevention included in the national strategies to counter violence against women. No budget is allocated to this field by public authorities. Activities conducted in the Czech Republic include feminist self-defence trainings, school-based primary prevention programmes and awareness-raising campaigns or programmes. The NGO Konsent works on the prevention of sexualised violence and focuses on awareness-raising and education activities.

1. Data from the WAVE Country Report 2023. ↩︎