Many women become victims of violence in their marriages or relations. Beside massive psychological violence they often experience also physical violence. Especially women from abroad are often economically and emotionally dependant on their husbands, many of them have no friends or they don`t know people they could go to, to talk about their problems.
Also those women can get help from SOLWODI. In many cases it`s necessary to accommodate those women for a certain time in a safe flat. SOLWODI safe flats are also suitable to accommodate the children of those women who need help. In addition, very often legal advice is required if a divorce is imminent, or the question comes up, who will take care of the children, or how can a permit of residence be obtained. Especially the question ,who will take care of the children, is a great problem, since it`s often being used by the fathers to put pressure on their wives.
It`s important, to support women intensively to get independent, both economically and emotionally as well. In this context, SOLWODI provides support to find a flat or a job, to get integrated, to attend language courses and to get legal advice, if necessary.
As a result of underdeveloped economies in some Asian, African, Southamerican and also in some middle and eastern European countries, the living conditions for unmarried women with children, especially when living in rural areas, are extremely bad. When looking for a job in tourism centers, those women and their children are competing with many other jobless people. Under those miserable conditions, they offer themselves as prostitutes to tourists, paedophiles or even national policemen, thereby having no medical or legal protection. Emotionally, sexually and financially exploited, those women become separated from their normal social environment.
Especially for children this situation is a catastrophe, since they are being more frequently abused by sextourists. As a result, a normal start into life becomes impossible.
Prostitution is forbidden in most countries. In regular swoops the policemen only arrest the prostitutes and the children, their clients however run no risk, since they bring most welcome foreign currency into the country.
In order to assure the survival of their family, many women consider, beside prostitution, the marriage with a man in another rich country as a suitable option. Traffickers, pretending to arrange such a marriage, but also paedophiles exploit this emergency situation of women. It`s disastrous for the women, that they neither know the living conditions nor the legal situation in the foreign country. Most of them don`t know, that for example in Germany, according to paragraph 19 of the foreigners`law somebody must have been married for a certain number of years and also have lived together with the husband in order to get an unlimited permit of residence.
Difficulties also stem from the different expectations of the marriage partners. Women very often feel obliged to support their family abroad financially, whereas the German husband, contrary to that, expects a grateful, submissive wife without great demands. This difference of expectations can lead to psychological and physical violence against those women from abroad.
Until some years ago, mainly women from Africa, Asia and Latinamerica were recruited for jobs in rich countries and when they accepted such an offer, they were forced into prostitution. Meanwhile we observe a greater demand for younger prostitutes from Eastern Europe. When they arrive in Germany, the traffickers confiscate the passport and money of those women and sell them into brothels. Threatening them or even using sheer violence ( also raping them ), they are forced to work as prostitutes.