Updates on the contract negotiations with the Hanseatic City of Lübeck

With the announcement by the Lübeck administration to cut social spending, Lübeck's welfare landscape has been shaken. The budget agreements 2027 onwards, which are to be newly concluded, must be renegotiated, with cuts of 10% being considered.

While fully understanding the need to scrutinize municipal spending, the basic funding for facilities that prevent, support, and protect against (mostly male) violence must remain untouched.

The Violence Assistance Act (GewHG) comes into force on 01.01.2027 and thus lays the foundation for implementing the nationwide entitlement to protection and counseling from 01.02.2032. The expansion of women's shelters is firmly planned with 200 places in Schleswig in view of the need for additional capacity. Schleswig-Holstein has made 30 million euros available for this from the „Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality“ special fund.

The Autonomous Women's Shelter offers 47 places of refuge, of which 8 places are municipally owned. At the same time, the need for shelters in Lübeck is higher, as in 2025, 714 people (331 women with 383 children) were turned away from the Autonomous Women's Shelter alone. On this basis and the high occupancy rate of 100.59% (2025), a municipal cutback is not only unjustifiable but must be prevented.

The Lübeck City Mothers project is also affected, as the budget agreement for 2027 and beyond must be renegotiated here as well. The project, which supports women and families, is established in Lübeck through its low-threshold access and helps, among others, newly arrived individuals gain easier access to the host society. The challenges in Lübeck, the increase in bureaucracy, and the intensification of disturbing societal developments make an expansion of the project necessary. It can be assumed that cuts in personnel hours and training measures would significantly weaken the project's effectiveness. Fewer women in Lübeck would have the opportunity to participate in the training courses to become city mothers and thus pass on the acquired knowledge as multipliers. Additionally, fewer women in Lübeck and fewer institutions would have the chance to use the support offered by a Lübeck city mother.

The negotiations now pending will be conducted in alliance with autonomous advisory centers in Lübeck.