Transition homes are critical sources of support for women and children fleeing domestic violence or facing difficulties with housing and poverty. More than just a safe place to stay, transition homes offer residents access to a variety of services that will help them to better their lives. The increasing rate of single women heading households and the rise of homeless women and children are recent social developments that reflect the need for transition homes. Changes in family lifestyle require a redefinition of the traditional housing model to involve sharing and providing services within a larger community. Studies of alternative housing indicate that some women would prefer to live in women-only housing with moderate design alterations that address safety concerns. This is particularly relevant to women who frequently wind up homeless due to problems with career opportunities or managing households on their own. A communal support structure can assist women with making new lives for themselves and their families in a transition home and afterwards. Furthermore, characteristics of the built environment influence personal wellbeing, social interaction, relationships with staff, and the impression on the surrounding community. This thesis explores the design of a transition home that integrates social programs and outreach services to help improve the lives of women and children in need. Through deliberate design choices, architects can offer an appropriate solution to women’s housing issues that foster independence, provide safety and give hope for a brighter future.

Transition homes are critical sources of support for women and children fleeing domestic violence or facing difficulties with housing and poverty. More than just a safe place to stay, transition homes offer residents access to a variety of services that will help them to better their lives. The increasing rate of single women heading households and the rise of homeless women and children are recent social developments that reflect the need for transition homes. Changes in family lifestyle require a redefinition of the traditional housing model to involve sharing and providing services within a larger community. Studies of alternative housing indicate that some women would prefer to live in women-only housing with moderate design alterations that address safety concerns. This is particularly relevant to women who frequently wind up homeless due to problems with career opportunities or managing households on their own. A communal support structure can assist women with making new lives for themselves and their families in a transition home and afterwards. Furthermore, characteristics of the built environment influence personal wellbeing, social interaction, relationships with staff, and the impression on the surrounding community. This thesis explores the design of a transition home that integrates social programs and outreach services to help improve the lives of women and children in need. Through deliberate design choices, architects can offer an appropriate solution to women’s housing issues that foster independence, provide safety and give hope for a brighter future.

The aim of this study was to examine women shelters conditions as an organization and how these conditions affect their work with children who have experienced family violence and live in their shelters. In order to achieve a more profound and comprehensive view of the women shelters and their work with these children we selected to execute a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews with collaborators from nine different shelters in Sweden. We found that the women shelter as a non-governmental organization was bicameral and complex where their work with children distinguishes on several areas. We discovered that the women shelters were an organization, affected and formed by its environment. From our empiricism we could distinguish differences on a municipality level where collaborations with schools and social services occur in a resource guided hierarchy which influences the women shelters work with children. The women shelters work also showed to have a focus on the mother, even when they worked with the children. We also found that the shelters work varied in ways of including ideological foundations of moral to its work and therefore where directed and adapting their work with children from different approaches to its working procedures. As a conclusion, women shelters work with children can appear as a lottery of support and help due to its variations in what help the children are offered on their shelters.

Mäns våld mot kvinnor är idag ett omfattande samhällsproblem som nu börjar uppmärksammas mer inom media så väl som politik. Kvinnors utsatthet för våld är inte längre en privat sak utan ansvaret vilar på samhällets axlar. Svenska kvinnojourer är idag den enda möjligheten för skydd och organisationerna har lång erfarenhet med både stöd- och förebyggande arbete inom området våld i nära relation. Den rådande covid-19 pandemin har nu tagit sin plats på världskartan och har försvårat mycket av det viktiga arbete jourerna gör för utsatta kvinnor. Denna studie syftar på att undersöka upplevelser och erfarenheter personalen på svenska kvinnojourer har, av covid-19 pandemins påverkan på de våldsamma relationerna, samt deras möjlighet att erbjuda det livsviktiga stödet. Att försöka att skapa en bild av pandemins konsekvenser för kvinnorna som utsatts för detta våldsamma samhällsproblem var därtill också en huvudpoäng med studien. Den ökade isoleringen och den ökade frustrationen över situationen syns i studiens resultat att vara de största riskfaktorerna för intensifiering och ökningen av mäns kontrollerande och våldsamma beteende mot kvinnor. Därutöver har den sociala distanseringen försvårat kvinnojourernas arbete och därmed kontakten till de utsatta kvinnorna. Det förebyggande arbetet har mer eller mindre ställts in. Efterverkningarna av denna nya verklighet är fortfarande okänd men förväntas inte vara utan betydelse. / Men's violence against women is today a widespread societal problem, which is now beginning to receive more attention in the media as well as in politics. Women's exposure to violence is no longer a private matter, the responsibility now rests on the shoulders of the society. Swedish women shelters are today the only opportunity for protection, and the organizations have extensive experience and knowledge of both support and preventional work in the area of ​​intimate partner violence. The current covid-19 pandemic has now taken its place on the world map, and has made much of the important work the women shelters do for victimized women more difficult. This study aims to examine the experiences and perceptions of Swedish women shelters, on the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on violent relationships and their ability to offer vital support. The purpose of creating an image of the pandemic's consequences for the women who were exposed to this violent societal problem was also a main point of the study. The increased isolation, and the intensified frustration over the situation is shown in the study results as being the biggest risk factors for intensifying and increasing men's controlling and violent behavior towards women. In addition the social distancing has made the work of the women shelters and thus the contact with the victimized women more difficult. The preventive work has more or less been seized. The aftermath of this new reality is still unknown, but is not expected to be without significance.