If you are currently experiencing domestic violence: the German national helpline 116 016 is free, anonymous, available around the clock, and offers support in multiple languages. You can find available shelter spaces near you directly at frauenhaus-suche.de, the central search portal operated by ZIF. This article is written for professionals working in shelters, counseling centers, and municipalities, and describes internal, organizational processes — not the acute search for a safe place to stay.
The public side: frauenhaus-suche.de
Through frauenhaus-suche.de, the Central Information Office of Autonomous Women’s Shelters (ZIF) operates a nationwide, multilingual search portal where people affected by violence and professionals alike can find shelters and safe housing by postal code, radius, and criteria like accessibility or childcare — including current admission availability. It is the central public point of contact for the acute search for a safe space, and an important, safety-critical service.
The institutional side: what happens next
What looks like a simple search on the public side is often a demanding coordination process on the institutional side: a counseling center calls several shelters one after another to confirm current capacity. Case handoff happens by phone, fax, or email — with all the downsides that brings for traceability and data security. This is exactly where internal, institutional software comes in — not as a replacement for the public search, but as a tool for the coordination work behind it.
Where digital tools help institutions
SafeNet addresses precisely this internal layer with two features: real-time coordination for fast capacity matching between connected shelters, and automated, secure case handoff when a case moves between institutions. Neither replaces the public shelter search for people affected by violence — they replace the manual, error-prone coordination that happens behind it.
Who this is relevant for
Primarily shelters and counseling centers that regularly hand off cases to other institutions, and municipalities that need visibility into actual capacity utilization across their area of responsibility.
Conclusion
Public search portals like frauenhaus-suche.de and internal coordination tools solve different problems — both are necessary. Learn more about SafeNet’s features for institutions or get in touch.
