Effective January 1, 2026, Senator for Women Claudia Bernhard has designated two new counseling centers for protection against domestic violence: the Counseling and Intervention Center for Relationship Violence and Intervention.Plus. Victims as well as perpetrators can find support and assistance there for a life free from violence. The counseling centers offer specialized counseling and intervention in cases of domestic and relationship violence based on nationwide professional standards.
Counseling for victims of domestic violence
Violence is not a private matter – anyone affected by violence in (former) partnerships can receive free and confidential help. In Bremen, those affected can find support at the counseling and intervention center for relationship violence run by the Inner Mission Association.
The counselors provide a safe space for processing experiences of violence and respect the needs and self-determination of women affected by violence. Non-binary, intersex, and transgender people, as well as men, can also receive anonymous and confidential counseling upon request. The individual affected decides on any further steps.
Intervention.plus is restructuring its work with perpetrators
To break cycles of violence, perpetrator intervention programs target the source of the violence – those who perpetrate it. The proactive counseling program Intervention.Plus, offered by the Hoppenbank association, supports participants in sustainably ending their violent behavior. The goal is effective protection against further incidents of violence.
Contact details of the advice centers
For those affected:
Association for Inner Mission in Bremen,
Counseling and Intervention Center for Domestic Violence,
Am Brill 2-4,
28195 Bremen,
Tel.: (0421) 349676767,
E-Mail: interventionsstelle@inneremission-bremen.de
For perpetrators:
Hoppenbank eV
Intervention.Plus
Hastedter Heerstraße 290
28207 Bremen
Tel.: 0176 97728974
E-Mail: Intervention.Plus@hoppenbank-ev.de
Source: Press Office of the Senate of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, The Senator for Health, Women and Consumer Protection, Press Release , December 23, 2025