Safety from Violence for Israel`s Women and Children

For over 40 years, Woman to Woman has been a leader in the struggle against domestic violence in Israel, running one of the most comprehensive programs in the country for the safety and treatment of women and their children.

Our mission is to assist families escape the cycle of abuse and rebuild their lives. To achieve this goal, we run a shelter in Jerusalem with an on-site children’s center. We also operate an award-winning Halfway-Housing Program - the only one of its kind in Israel as well as community-integration services for graduates of the shelter and halfway homes.

Since its establishment in 1982, Woman to Woman has helped many hundreds of women reclaim their lives after abuse at the hands of domestic partners. Our professional services are complemented by a group of volunteers who are involved in many facets of the organization`s activities.

Personal story

For 20 years I lived with a violent man

N, from a town in the southern part of Israel and the mother of four children, shares her story with us:

For 20 years I lived with a violent man. For 20 years I held everything inside. I told no one about the beatings, the curses, the threats. I was afraid – afraid that if I talked, if I tried to get up and do something – anything – about it, the intolerable situation would become even worse. He abused me physically, emotionally and economically: I couldn’t buy anything without going through him first, and if I did dare to buy something I knew he wouldn’t like, I had to hide it from him. He didn’t let me go out. When I wanted to try studying something, he discouraged me and told me I wasn’t up to it. He was good at finding ways to keep me from doing anything that might make me feel good about myself, and it hurt and angered him that I even wanted to try. Any attempt to do something I wanted for myself resulted in threats, curses, and beatings.

All stories

Our Programs

Residential Shelter

A protected living environment that provides women and their children with physical and safe shelter.

Children’s Center

Operates all year round, providing the children with a warm, supportive and enriching environment.

Legal Aid

Provides women with legal assistance, from the time they arrive at the shelter until the end of the proceedings

Halfway Housing

Apartments for women starting an independent life while still requiring guidance, support and rehabilitation.

Community Integration

Former shelter residents continue to recieve guidance and support as they integrate into the community.

1,000

New life saved

From settlements in Israel

180

Supportive professionals

365

Aid days a year

Woman to Woman Promotes Change

Woman to Woman is a spearhead for social change, raising public awareness of the issue of violence against women and promoting policy change. Woman to Woman continues to provide assistance even after the women have left the Shelter and Halfway Home apartments. Assistance includes: continued counseling, support, legal representation and exercise of rights, such as, housing, pension, allowances, employment and education, support groups, targeted intervention in crisis situations, and ongoing assistance for the women`s children.