Nowhere To Go: Czechia’s Housing Crisis Keeps Women in Abusive Relationships

“We agree that violence is wrong, we agree that psychological abuse is a form of violence and we also agree that these people should separate. But that’s not possible because they have nowhere to go,” says sociologist Blanka Nyklova, referring to the findings of a study on barriers to addressing domestic violence. Although the system has succeeded in fostering greater cooperation among institutions, the people working within them agree that they often lack effective solutions. “The housing crisis has deepened and is demonstrably worse than it was five years ago,” says Dana Moree, an anthropologist at Charles University, summarising the results of several months of field research. The data journalism team at iROZHLAS.cz also collaborated on the project, during which two researchers and an editor interviewed dozens of experts. According to Moree, there is a rare consensus among institutions that housing is one of the biggest obstacles: “Everyone confirms this, from social workers to the police to non-profit organisations. It’s no longer just about recognising violence; the system has made progress in that regard. The issue is that even when they assess the situation, they don’t have adequate solutions available.” Source: Deloitte Escalating housing costs The Czech Republic ranks among the worst states in terms of the unaffordability of both owner-occupied and rental housing. Real estate prices are approaching those of the wealthiest Western countries, but people’s incomes do not keep pace. In Prague, for example, it takes 15 average annual salaries to buy an apartment, which is the third-worst result in Europe. According to a 2025 Deloitte analysis, only Amsterdam and Athens have even less affordable apartments. In Brno, this takes 14 annual salaries, placing it fifth in Europe. In Ostrava, the average person would need to work for 11 years without spending anything. The situation is similar for rental accommodation. Finding affordable rental housing in the Czech Republic is just as difficult as it was nearly 20 years ago, and a report by the Ministry of Regional Development ranks it among the four worst countries in the OECD in this regard. This is felt most acutely by residents of Prague, where rent consumes up to one-third of a household’s monthly income – twice as much as in smaller urban centres. Newly signed leases account for only a fraction of all leases each year. The ministry’s analysis shows that the average rent for existing, active leases has risen by 56 per cent since 2014. However, according to data from Deloitte, the price increase for newly listed apartments is even more drastic: asking rents have risen by 80 per cent since that same year, while median income has increased by a mere 53 per cent. Source: Deloitte Safe spaces on paper only “Clients stay with abusive partners for months longer than they need to, precisely because they can’t find housing. First of all, because of the cost – women simply don’t leave these relationships any better off financially. On the contrary, they have to secretly save up money for a security deposit and rent,” says Daniela Klezlova, a lawyer at the organisation proFem, which focuses on domestic and sexual violence. What’s more, many clients are on parental leave. Single mothers with children are considered a high-risk group by private landlords. “Landlords are often afraid of noise or that a woman on parental leave won’t be able to pay the rent,” adds Klezlova. This is also confirmed by one of the police officers who participated in the study. “We report the abuser. I’m sorry to single out men, but that’s usually the case. The victim is likely financially dependent on him, so she can’t afford to pay rent, electricity… He can just cut off the utilities or stop paying the bills. But what about her? This issue simply isn’t resolved in general. The financial situation is one reason why victims return,” he said. Types of housing Crisis accommodation: Offers immediate refuge at a moment of acute danger, usually for one week. The aim is to ensure safety right after fleeing the abuser, along with basic psychological stabilisation. Shelter housing: Housing usually for several months or a year. If it is a shelter focused on victims of domestic violence, specialised services are available on site – psychological help, legal help, and so on. Some of these are at undisclosed addresses. Affordable social housing: standard rental housing provided by the municipality or the state, with no link to social services. It serves either people leaving shelters who need to get back on their own feet, or people who are at risk but not in acute danger. Today, women often stay with the abuser because they have nowhere to go. An affordable apartment would give them a real chance to leave before the situation escalates into acute physical danger. Although the country’s new Social Housing Act recognises victims of domestic violence as a particularly vulnerable group (incidentally, data from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs shows that approximately 26 per cent of social housing tenants have experienced domestic violence), practical implementation runs into serious constraints. The construction of social housing is financed primarily by European funds. However, short-term crisis housing (crisis apartments), for example, where a victim can stay for the first few days or weeks after leaving an abuser, is not supported at all by the largest of the European funds (IROP). Operators of specialised centres must therefore scrape together funds from temporary projects, government grants and private donations. For instance, the Port centre, which serves 1,600 clients annually and provides secure emergency housing, has no fewer than 38 different sources of funding. Compounding the issue is mothers’ fear that they will lose custody of their children due to their temporary housing situation. “Women often do not want to use crisis housing or general shelters. They fear that in subsequent custody proceedings, the court will rule that such facilities do not provide adequate conditions for raising children,” says attorney Klezlova. “Shelters naturally meet hygiene standards, but the victims’ fear is so overwhelming that they don’t seek out emergency housing at all. Instead, they try to find a place to rent on the open market. But that greatly prolongs the time they remain exposed to violence,” she adds. Special services If a victim decides to leave the household, they often also encounter a shortage of residential capacity in social services. There are a total of 211 shelters in the Czech Republic. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs stated to iROZHLAS.cz that “the network of services is comprehensive, stable and evenly accessible across regions” and that “there are 89 shelters in the Czech Republic for families with children, 59 for people in crisis and 59 for victims of domestic violence.” However, in response to follow-up questions, the ministry’s press office clarified: “The figure of 59 shelters is based on the Register of Social Service Providers, where these services are registered, among other things, for the target group of people at risk of domestic violence.” The problem is that the vast majority of the shelters mentioned are not suitable for mothers with children or for victims of violence. This is because they generally serve multiple target groups and do not provide the necessary specialised services. “Ensuring the safety of our clients is key. In our case, this safety is guaranteed by the fact that the shelter is located at a private address,” says Vilma Janouskova, director of the non-profit Acorus, describing the specifics of services for victims of domestic violence. “All staff members are specially trained in working with traumatized victims. We offer social counselling, legal assistance and therapeutic support to both women and children at the shelter.” Services for men at risk of domestic violence are even less accessible in the Czech Republic than they are for women. This is because shelters specialising in victims of domestic violence generally accept only women with children. Men – who, according to research, make up roughly 12 per cent of all victims of domestic violence in the population – are thus forced to rely exclusively on traditional shelters when in a crisis situation. The only official source that has analysed the availability of social services for victims of domestic violence in detail remains a study commissioned by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs itself in 2021. The ministry argues that it is still relevant. “We do not currently have a more recent analysis. The analysis’s conclusions confirm that the availability of specialised services for people at risk of domestic and gender-based violence is insufficient in all regions,” the ministry’s response states. However, the analysis itself points out that the data in the Register of Social Service Providers does not reflect reality – and that many services list victims of domestic violence as one of their many target groups, but in reality do not have quality standards, staff or safety procedures specifically tailored to them. Problems in border areas and where regions meet An analysis of availability found that the situation is worst in specialised shelters, where 90 per cent of the recommended capacity is lacking. According to available data from the aforementioned report, there are only three highly specialised shelters in the country, all of which are located in Prague and the South Moravian Region. For residents of other regions, these services are to a large degree inaccessible. If we assume that every social housing service is capable of caring for victims of domestic violence, the shortage amounts to at least 681 beds. But if we count only those that specialise in victims of domestic violence, the figure is about 3,000. “Since the beginning of this year, we’ve had to turn away at least 15 women from our shelter. In the crisis apartment, where women can stay for a maximum of one week, we’ve had to turn away nine. And we’re not even halfway through the year yet,” says Janouskova, director of the non-profit Acorus. If we were to take into account all shelters that serve victims of domestic violence as one of their target groups, we would find that there are significant regional differences here as well. While assistance is formally available throughout the Czech Republic, a closer examination clearly reveals problematic areas. The situation is worst along the borders with neighbouring countries and at the boundaries between individual regions; care is least accessible where the Olomouc and Moravian-Silesian regions meet, as well as on the border between the Liberec and Hradec Králové regions. Specialised crisis assistance is completely lacking in five regions, while experts have identified significant gaps in the availability of intervention centres in Vysocina and in the South Moravian and Hradec Kralove regions. “We have repeatedly drawn attention to the need for accessible housing. I believe that a systemic framework should be established to ensure that apartments are available to address domestic violence, whether at the municipal or regional level,” says Lucie Paprsteinova, director of the Bily kruh intervention centre in Ostrava. Paprsteinova’s remarks are corroborated by the minutes of meetings of the committees on the prevention of domestic violence, where the issue of housing was addressed at most meetings. The most discussed topic was securing stable funding for residential services. Organisations that operate these services are struggling to survive amid financial uncertainty. While in Western Europe, institutional funding for shelters is provided directly by the state and regional governments, in the Czech Republic these institutions depend on available grants. “Funding is provided on an annual basis. The uncertainty lies in the fact that the grant approval process is rather lengthy, and every year you have to wait several months to find out how much you will actually receive,” says Janouskova, noting that such a system does not allow for long-term funding and planning. “The fact that it’s not possible to expand capacity is also due to the fact that you don’t know how much funding you will get – and there isn’t enough of it.” The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has repeatedly drawn attention to the funding situation and strongly urged the Czech Republic to ensure long-term and sustainable support for these services. In a statement, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs said it viewed the CEDAW Committee’s recommendations as an important impetus. “We have long supported the funding of specialised social services, and we are currently taking steps to boost the financial stability of social services in general, which will also benefit victims of domestic and gender-based violence,” the ministry said. This article is part of a five-part series produced in collaboration between data journalists from Czech Radio and researchers from the Institute of Sociology and Charles University. Their shared goal was to identify barriers in the system of support for victims of domestic violence. Translated from the Czech original by Ian Willoughby The production of this investigation was supported by a grant from the Journalism Science Alliance.