Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What is domestic violence?
Domestic violence includes all forms of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence and affects people of all genders and ages. It usually takes place within the family and household, but can also affect people from current or former relationships who do not live in the same household.
- Physical violence includes violent acts such as slapping, pushing, kicking or hard grabbing, biting and scratching, throwing objects at someone, hitting with or without objects, punching, beating, choking, threatening to hurt or kill someone, locking someone up or tying them up.
- Sexual violence ranges from sexual harassment, to sexual assault, to rape. Sexual harassment includes violent acts such as intrusive approaching, sexually suggestive comments, unwanted touching or kissing, harassment by exposing oneself or showing pornographic pictures and films.
- Psychological violence includes violent acts such as insults, intimidation or yelling, devaluing and humiliating, creating feelings of guilt, jealous behavior or psychological terror. Destroying objects or torturing victims' pets also counts as psychological violence.
- Economic violence is a special form of psychological violence that aims to control and put pressure on victims. Newspapers and other media often use the term economic or financial violence for this. The following examples can be identified as economic violence: Providing insufficient funds for maintenance/household, strict control over expenditures made, prohibiting purchases of any kind, taking away money or valuables (e.g., jewelry), selling valuables belonging to another person, prohibiting or preventing work, prohibiting or preventing education, prohibiting access to a joint account, exploiting labor without adequate pay/reward.
Why should I seek help for domestic violence?
Domestic violence carries many consequences, whether psychological (such as anxiety, sleep disorders, depression, feelings of shame and guilt, stigmatization, etc.) or physical (such as broken bones, damage to internal organs, scars, abdominal injuries, STDs, death, etc.). Affected individuals may not only have physical injuries, but are often traumatized long-term. This includes feeling uncomfortable, threatened, being tense or anxious. Victims should seek help to improve the situation and not blame themselves, only the perpetrators of violence have sole responsibility. Children often feel partly responsible, guilty, helpless and left alone, and therefore need qualified support quickly to cope with their experience of violence so that violence does not become the norm.
What is SOS@Home?
The social start-up SOS@Home was founded in early 2022 and operates a platform that connects victims of domestic violence with existing help and support services.
Who is behind SOS@Home?
We are a team of young students and graduates from different fields. Ida and Lena are studying Management of Social Innovations at the University of Applied Sciences Munich. Ida is responsible for partnerships with aid organizations and networks, and Lena is in charge of marketing and public relations. Svea studied Social Work and is currently in the Master's program for Human Resource Management. She is responsible for all issues related to human resources, strategy and coordination. Mohamed successfully completed his Bachelor's degree in Computer Science at the University of Applied Sciences in Aachen and is responsible for the technical tasks around our platform together with our technology partner Novatec Consulting GmbH.
Leo
Ida
Lena Why have we started our start-up?
We developed the idea for this platform as part of a course at Munich University of Applied Sciences, as a survey by the Technical University of Munich regarding domestic violence in the lockdown got us thinking. Less than half of the affected respondents knew about the telephone counseling service, while less than 4% actually called there. (TU Munich study on domestic violence during the Corona pandemic from 22.04. to 08.05.20)
What is our vision?
We want to fight domestic violence in the long term by connecting those seeking help with those offering help/the right support services and by raising awareness.
Why the filter questions?
Because of the filter questions affected people can be connected with the right help offer. They are only used for qualification and will not be stored further.
What does the emergency exit mean?
The emergency exit directs you to a neutral site, such as Google. This is to prevent victims of domestic violence from being exposed to the risk that the perpetrator is nearby and sees that help is being sought.
What do we mean by affected people and those paying attention?
Affected people of domestic violence, are all people who experience any kind of domestic violence, as well as the people who perpetrate these types of violence.
Attentive people are people who are indirectly or directly affected, such as relatives or friends, as well as those who are outside and are in the environment of those who may be affected, such as teachers, educators, social pedagogues, neighbors, trainers, exercise instructors and many more.
Who currently supports SOS@Home?
SOS@Home has several partners: Novatec Consulting GmbH as technology partner. The Stracheg Center for Entrepreneurship (Munich University of Applied Sciences) supported SOS@Home with financial and non-material support during its foundation.
How can I get involved?
We are always looking for volunteer support and reinforcement of our team. You can find our current openings here.
How can a new help offer register?
We are always open to new organizations that are already doing a great job against domestic violence and would like to be represented on our platform. After all, it is only by working together that we can add value to society. If a new offer should be included on the platform, an email can be sent to Ida Diwert (ida.diwert@sosathome.org). We will immediately get in touch with the respective aid organizations.
How is my data handled?
No personal data is collected, stored or used on this site. Everything is anonymous. To avoid exposure, i.e. that someone sees that you have visited this site, you should always delete your search engine history. (Link to privacy page)
How can I minimize my digital footprint?
A digital footprint is all the data that is created by using the Internet and can be tracked. To keep it as small as possible, you should regularly delete your search engine history, especially after visiting websites that deal with domestic violence issues. You should clear your search history after leaving and closing the site. To be safe, you should permanently switch to private browsing mode. With these tricks you can safely search the Internet for help with your problems.
You can find out how to set the incognito mode or private browsing mode on your browser here: