30 years ago and more, behind the facade of an intact family, there was a state of emergency for women victims of partner violence. 

When a group of socially and politically committed women founded the Unterschlupf association on November 30, 1993, their mission was to provide a place of welcome and shelter for women victims of violence.

Founding members: Sr Christophora (president), Stucky Alice (vice-president), Zehnder Lea (secretary), Kronig Anna (cashier), Näpfli Philipp, Imhof Daniela and Hauser Brigitte (assessors)

The creation of the association was preceded by two years' work on the project. A specially commissioned "(K)ein Tabu" study ascertained the extent to which the subject of domestic violence and marriage was perceived in the Upper Valais, and the degree of acceptance of a regional women's shelter 

Aware of the lack of acceptance of a women's shelter in the region, and due to a lack of financial resources, a decentralized model for a women's shelter was developed, which still exists today.

With several accommodation options spread throughout the Upper Valais, Unterschlupf is not a women's shelter in the classical sense of the term. And yet, with its range of services, it meets the requirements of the catalog of services offered by women's shelters in Switzerland, and has been a member of the umbrella organization for women's shelters in Switzerland and Lichtenstein since 2004. 

The refuge has always been more than a women's shelter. Indeed, the primary objective was to counsel women victims of violence so that they could free themselves from abusive situations. The shelter offered protection and was seen as a transitional solution.  

When the association was founded in November 1993, no one had any idea that the Federal Law on Assistance to Victims of Crime, enacted the same year, would have a decisive influence on the development and fate of the shelter. 

• in 1996, Unterschlupf was commissioned by the cantonal victims' aid commission to provide an on-call service outside the regular office hours of the former Upper Valais victims' aid center, due to its easy accessibility. 
• 1993-2003: After 10 years financed by donations and the voluntary work of the first employees, two women were hired for the first time in 2003, at 80%, following an evaluation of the services and tasks performed to date. 
• 2003-2005: A period of reflection enabled us to draw up new strategic guidelines and a concept aimed at professionalizing the refuge's tasks. 
• 2005-2008: After various negotiations to obtain financial support from the canton, in October 2008 Unterschlupf was granted cantonal recognition by the Department of Social Affairs as a center specializing in victim counseling in the Upper Valais.
• in 2017, the mandate was extended by the tasks of managing coercive measures for assistance purposes (FSZM). 
• Since 2018, expenses for accommodation, i.e. the work of the women's shelter proper, have been co-financed by a second performance mandate from the cantonal Office for Equality and Family KAGF.
• 2019-2021: Introduction of the counseling concept for children and young people at the victim support center. Child and youth victims of crime will have their own voice.
• 2022 : After revision of the accommodation concept, if the decentralized women's shelter model is maintained, the current team will be reinforced by 3-4 accompagnateurs:trices.

Sociopolitical developments and their legal underpinnings: 

• January 1993: entry into force of the law on assistance for victims, see Swiss federal law on assistance for victims of crime. 
• April 2004: domestic violence was declared an official offence, subject to prosecution ex officio. The cantonal police law was adapted accordingly. 
• 2006: Research by Amnesty International, Swiss section, into state measures against domestic violence in the canton of Valais. Discussion at federal level of the possibility of deporting perpetrators of violence. 
• 2015 : The possibility of deporting the perpetrator of violence is included in the Valais cantonal police law. 
• 2011: Istanbul Convention: Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. 
• January 2017: the cantonal law against domestic violence in Valais comes into force. 
• April 2018: The Istanbul Convention enters into force in Switzerland.

The Executive Board consists of five members: Irmina Imesch-Studer, Anja Zehnder, Christian Bayard (Chair), Medea Marx and Sandrine Volken.

We are funded through service contracts with the canton, membership fees and donations.

The department is managed by Céline Salzmann, social educator. 

The current team consists of 7 professionals with basic training in social pedagogy or social work. All the women on the team have specialized training in victim counseling.

We currently have no vacancies.