About LOKK 

LOKK is a non-profit member organization comprising 52 non-profit women's shelters nationwide 

LOKK is a national civil society organisation which contributes to women's physical and mental health by strengthening Danish women’s shelters' work to protect, support and empower women and children subjected to domestic abuse.  

As a non-profit umbrella organization of Danish women's shelters, LOKK's main target population are shelter professionals and volunteers and works to ensure that individual women's shelters nationwide can deliver high levels of protection, as well as quality therapeutic and social care interventions.  

LOKK and its members of shelters serve a diverse population, including ethnic minority women, migrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, women with drug or alcohol addiction or women with disabilities. This intersectional population faces multiple barriers to safety and justice. The audience also includes frontline shelter staff and volunteers, who support survivors daily and rely on LOKK for legal, educational and methodological tools.  

LOKK was informally founded by women's shelters in 1987 and registered as a legal entity (association) in 1997. The Board of Directors, consisting of 9 members and presided by Chair Henriette Kinnunen, oversees the strategic direction and financial stability of the secretariat. LOKK's secretariat with 9 employees is located in Copenhagen, but its 55 member organizations (women's shelters with a total of 800 employees and 1500 volunteers) are located throughout Denmark.  

What is LOKKs mission  

LOKK’s mission is to ensure that victims of intimate partner violence—women and their children—receive comprehensive, high-quality, and rights-based support during and after their stay at a shelter. As the umbrella organization for women’s shelters in Denmark, LOKK strengthens the field through advocacy, data collection, legal knowledge, training, and policy development. Our priority objective is to secure the rights of survivors by pushing for structural improvements: the right to specialized support, the right to long-term safety and post-shelter services, and recognition of children as independent rights holders.  

LOKK brings together and empowers those working for a society where everyone can live in safety – free from violence and control. LOKK is the united voice of Denmark’s women's shelters and a strong professional community that ensures effective and professional support for people affected by violence. That is our mission. Our main vision is a society where everyone can live in safety - free from violence and control.  

What do we do 

LOKK coordinates a range of specialized programs and projects addressing the diverse needs of women and children affected by domestic abuse. Most of our projects focus on developing shelter quality interventions and methodologies, in close cross-sector collaboration with other civil society organizations, municipalities and authorities. Our legal counselling offers expert guidance on complex legal issues to shelter residents, helping to navigate family law, residency, and criminal procedures while ensuring trauma-informed support.  

We also manage support initiatives such as holiday retreats and our backpack project, with the Queen of Denmark’s foundation, which provides children arriving at shelters with essential supplies and personal items, helping their transition to the shelter.   

How do we work 

LOKK’s methodology is rooted in a rights-based and trauma-informed approach. Our work is grounded in the principle that safety, dignity, and access to support are fundamental human rights. We strengthen the shelter field through national coordination, legal expertise, training, and data collection. Our support to women and children is both direct and indirect: directly through legal counselling and targeted interventions, and indirectly by equipping shelters with the tools, training and standards necessary to provide consistent, high-quality services.  

Our legal counselling is individualized, accessible, and informed by knowledge of the specific effects of violence. We also advocate for structural improvements such as post-shelter support, quality models, and equitable access to services.  

Through partnerships with civil society, authorities and academia, we share expertise and develop new interventions, continually adapting our methods to the lived experiences of survivors and the evolving policy landscape.