ARCHITECTURE THAT EMPOWERS

SANCTUARY FOR DOMESTIC ABUSED AND MARITAL RAPE VICTIMS

KHADIJA SHAFQAT

LOCAL CASE STUDY

Women Shelter Homes (Dar-ul-Aman)
 Women Shelter Homes (Dar-ul-Aman)

At first, Social Welfare Department established Dar-ul-Aman in all 8 divisional

headquarters to give shelter to the women victims of violence. With the passage of
time, awareness regarding the rights of the women increased and they become more
educated about their rights. Resultantly the need for the shelter home in each district
arose and the Department spread the net of Dar-ul-Aman in all 36 districts of Punjab.
These homes can accommodate 20 to 50 residents at a time.

Eligibility Criteria
Following women are eligible to enroll:

 Women victims of violence including domestic violence, physical,

psychological abuse, rape cases, vanni and sawara cases, forced marriage,
emotional and economical abuse, etc. are admitted to these shelter homes
 Female victims of violence having children are also accommodated

Admission Procedure
The process for admission is as follows:
 Women referred by court, voluntary agencies, press/ media, social workers,
community leaders, philanthropists or any member of advisory committee
of Darul-Aman are admitted
 Women can also directly get admission in Dar-ul-Aman
 At the time of admission, the applicant has to fill up the admission form
 The applicant has to appear for medical checkup within 14 days of
admission and also has to appear for first psychological consultation

Facilities
Dar-ul-Aman provides:
 Protection and institutional care to all residents such as free boarding &
lodging facilities including all the necessities of life
 Free medico-legal aid

 Psychological support such as counseling sessions

 Religious, recreational and vocational trainings
 Basic education for the children of residents
 Adult education

Monitoring and Evaluation System

Shelter home has a systematic monitoring and evaluation system. The
system is run by Directorate General Social Welfare and Bait-ul-Maal,
Lahore.

Following are the major tools of the system:

Action Planning Cycle (Template)

Mid-Term Evaluation
Final Evaluation
Monthly Progress Report
Resident Statistics
Health and Hygiene Forms
Service Provider Visit Forms