Gender-Based Housing {GBH}

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Gender-Based Housing {GBH}, Berlin

Research, Analysis, Mapping
curated by Prof. J.Stollmann, WM J.Köpper and LA M.Wegewitz
Teamwork with Feyza Sayman and Nikita Schweizer
TU Berlin, 2020

Do women* feel safe at home?

How safe and affordable is renting in Berlin as a single woman*?

What factors make the current housing crisis more challenging for women*?

What are the housing options in the city?

Why can‘t they change their house when they feel uncomfortable?

What are the spatial aspects that make the house safe/unsafe?

What are the social, psychological and spatial experiences of women* related to their home?

What can be done?

Gender-based violence is a global pandemic. It has infiltrated every possible place; in every possible form. It exists in both the public and the private realms. It cat-calls women as they walk in the street, it gropes and grabs where it shouldn’t, and it makes the home a dangerous place. There is a spectrum of violence against women, and it spans different degrees of severity, locations, and people. Though every situation is different, all incidents are harmful. Gender-based violence is most visible in the public realm, but this investigation seeks to uncover the affects of violence against women in the home; domestic violence. In Germany, more than 80% of victims are women*.¹ A woman* could be assaulted in her home by a partner, roommate, or even a visitor. The incidents include assaults, harassment, intimidation, you name it.

Meanwhile, Berlin is currently in a housing crisis. In the past ten years, rents have more than doubled.² The population is growing exponentially, estimated to pass the 4-million-mark by 2025.³ The local government has taken steps to counter the skyrocketing rental prices, including banning mega-landlords and the recently introduced 5-year rental freeze. However, finding a home in Berlin is still extremely difficult. And it seems to be even harder for women*. In renting, one should consider the price, location, size, etc. As a woman* an added factor to consider is that of safety. The majority of ‘short-term’ rentals in Berlin consist of flat-shares of ‘WGs’. These are apartments that are usually let by one main tenant, who then rents out the various bedrooms to other sub-tenants. Financially, women* are still earning much less than men, meaning that they may have to compromise on aspects of the apartment when renting. The gender pay gap in Germany currently sits at a difference of 21%. The rental crisis is pushing women to live in places that they feel unsafe, too worried to leave because of how hard it is to find accommodation in the first place.

What are the housing options for women* in Berlin? And if you are unsafe at home, what can you do? Frauenhauses are women’s* shelters that offer protection for those needing it. In 2019 a total of 729 places were available in six women’s refuges, as well as refuge apartments and second-level apartments. They are now working intensively on “emergency accommodation for women* affected by violence in the event that the needs cannot be met by the women’s shelters,” writes press spokesman Moritz Quiske. But these cannot meet the demand. There seem to be an increasing number of self-made all-female* WGs.

1.   Yan, 2018. Women Disproportionately Affected By Domestic Violence In Germany: Official Figures [online] Xinhuanet. Available at: <http://www. xinhuanet.com/english/2018-11/21/c_137620352.htm> [Accessed 11 July 2020].
2.   Ratgeber.immowelt.de. 2020. Immobilien-Ratgeber - Nützliche Infos & Tipps Zu Immobilien. [online] Available at: <https://ratgeber.immowelt.de/> [Accessed 11 July 2020].
3.   DW. 2017. Berlin 24/7: Germany’s Capital Is Growing At An Alarming Speed
| DW | 15.01.2017. [online] Available at: <https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-24-7-germanys-capital-is-growing-at-an-alarming-speed/a-37105320> [Accessed 11 July 2020].
4.   The Economist. 2020. Why The Pay Gap In Germany Is So Large. [online] Available at: <https://www.economist.com/europe/2020/03/14/why-the-pay-gap-in-germany-is-so-large> [Accessed 11 July 2020].
5.   Langowski, J. and Piontek, H., 2020. Wenn Die Kontaktsperre Lebensgefährlich Wird. [online] Tagesspiegel.de. Available at: <https://www. tagesspiegel.de/berlin/haeusliche-gewalt-in-der-coronakrise-wenn-die-kontaktsperre-lebensgefaehrlich-wird/25696336.html> [Accessed 11 July 2020].

This information graphics show the process of the research as overall narrative. Taking domestic violence as a starting point, statistics of domestic violance are presented. Rather than concentrating on the reasons and outcomes of domestic violance from family/partner; the research takes a position to bring the inexplicit situations of domestic violance into light. It takes Berlin‘s current housing crisis in center and evaluates this in a feminist perspective.

How safe and affordable is renting in Berlin as a single/young women?